Final

Davis Cup: Austria beat Russia, Serbia progress

London: Serbia did just fine without Novak Djovokic in the Davis Cup, while Russia's shorthanded team was surprisingly eliminated by Austria on Sunday. Serbia swept the reverse singles against Sweden to complete a 4-1 victory at home and set up a quarter-final against the Czech Republic, with Janko Tipsarevic clinching the win by beating Michael Ryderstedt of Sweden 6-2, 7-6 (5), 7-5. Dusan Lajovic then defeated Sweden's Filip Prpic 6-4,...

Zambia win African Cup after penalty shoot-out

Libreville, Gabon: Zambia returned to the scene of their worst sporting tragedy to make it a place of unrestrained joy after winning a nerve-racking African Cup of Nations final on Sunday on penalties over tournament favorites Ivory Coast. Stophira Sunzu scored the deciding sudden-death spot-kick after Gervinho missed for the Ivorians, giving Zambia a 8-7 win on penalties after the teams were locked at 0-0 through 120 minutes. Zambia's first...

Davis Cup: US win after Federer doubles loss

London: Roger Federer suffered defeat for the second day in succession as United States completed a surprisingly comfortable victory over Switzerland in the Davis Cup World Group first round in Fribourg on Saturday. Former world number one Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka needed to win the doubles to keep the tie alive after Friday's two singles went to the US, but after a good start the Swiss pair lost 4-6, 6-3,...

Mumbai enter WSB quarters after LA walkover

Mumbai: Mumbai Fighters gained a quarter-final berth in the World Series Boxing (WSB) after getting a walkover from Los Angeles Matadors in their last Group A league fight. The fight was scheduled for Monday in the US but was cancelled due to a re-structure of the home team's management. "Our fight against LA Matadors in The Music Box at Hollywood next Monday has got cancelled as their team management has...

Sania exits Pattaya singles, makes doubles semis

Pattaya: Sania Mirza's singles campaign at the Pattaya Open ended on Friday with a 5-7, 3-6 quarter-final defeat against Chinese Taipei qualifier Su-Wei Hsieh, but the Indian has kept herself in the title contention for the doubles by making the semi-finals. The 111-ranked Indian lost to the talented Tapiei player after battling for one hour and 20 minutes. However, in the doubles, Sania and her Australian partner Anastasia Rodionova continued...

Bartoli, Vinci reach Paris Open quarters

Paris: Second-seeded Marion Bartoli powered past Petra Martic of Croatia 7-5, 6-1 to reach the Open GDF Suez quarter-finals on Thursday. Roberta Vinci of Italy and Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium also moved into the quarters along with Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic and German pair Mona Barthel and Angelique Kerber. Bartoli hit a forehand return winner to clinch victory. The Frenchwoman won seven consecutive games to lead 4-0 in...

Sania reaches Pattaya QFs in singles and doubles

Pattaya: Sania Mirza dug deep into her reserves to overcome a fighting Anne Keothavong 6-4, 7-5 to progress to the singles quarter-finals of the USD 220,000 Pattaya Open on Thursday. The unseeded Indian, ranked 111, tamed her giant-killing British rival in a hard-fought second-round match after one hour and 40 minutes of struggle. Keothavong, ranked 88, had shocked second seed and world number 16 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in the...

Sharapova breezes into Paris Open quarter-finals

Paris: Maria Sharapova beat Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Open GDF Suez in Paris. The top-seeded Russian said the court was faster than expected after hitting 19 winners to 10 for Scheepers, who struggled with her serve and made eight double-faults. "It's just faster than what we played on the last couple of months. In Fed Cup, it was fairly...

Barcelona beat Valencia to enter Copa final

Barcelona: Cesc Fabregas scored one goal and set up another as Barcelona beat Valencia 2-0 on Wednesday to advance to the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao. Lionel Messi lobbed a long pass that Fabregas chased down and deftly chipped over goalkeeper Diego Alves for Barcelona's 15th-minute opener. And after Sofiane Feghouli left Valencia with 10 men late on after receiving his second booking, Fabregas set up Xavi Hernandez...

PLS: Argentine Sorin to be icon player for Haldia

Kolkata: The Rs 1.5 crore-prize money Premier League Soccer (PLS), that has already grossed over Rs 100 crore, is tentatively slated to begin March 24, with the final scheduled for May 6, the organisers said on Monday, while announcing Argentine 2006 World Cup skipper-Juan Pablo Sorin as the icon player of the Haldia franchisee. The franchisee, bought by the Grey Mind Communications, will be coached by former England star John...

PLS to kick off on March 24, final on May 6

Kolkata: The much-anticipated Premier League Soccer (PLS) will kick off in West Bengal on March 24, with the final scheduled to be held on May 6, paving the way for a collision with the Indian Premier League. The likes of Fabio Cannavaro and Hernan Crespo, along with some of the world's renowned coaches, will arrive in the city early next month as the pre-season training will begin on March 3....

Madonna cut daughter's scene from 'W.E.'

Los Angeles: Queen of Pop Madonna's daughter Lourdes was set to make an appearance in her mother's movie W.E. but the singer cut her out of the final edit. The 53-year-old Material Girl stepped behind the camera to direct the historical drama about American divorcee Wallis Simpson and British monarch King Edward Viii, who gave up the throne for their romance. Madonna has said that her teenage daughter Lourdes was...

Apple updates Final Cut Pro X

New Delhi: Apple released the Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3, an update to its professional video editing application, which introduces multicam editing that is touted to automatically sync up to 64 angles of video and photos; advanced chroma keying for handling complex adjustments right in the app; and enhanced XML for a richer interchange with third party apps and plug-ins that support the fast growing Final Cut Pro X ecosystem....

Barcelona feeling the pressure, admits Guardiola

Barcelona: Barcelona may finally be feeling the pressure that comes with being billed the world's best club, coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday. Guardiola spoke in rallying tones ahead of Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final at Valencia after the Spanish and European champions drew 0-0 at Villarreal to sit seven points behind league leaders Real Madrid. "Living with this constant pressure of having to win and win makes it hard,...

Amazing win yet to sink in for tired Djokovic

Melbourne: Novak Djokovic dispensed with the band and the raucous dressing room celebrations. After the longest final ever in a Grand Slam, it was only fitting that he put on a solo act and then pulled the curtains on another Australian Open. He chose the AC/DC rock anthem 'Highway To Hell,' belting out a few lyrics and strumming the air guitar. After a couple of hours of sleep, Djokovic arrived...