Kiev: Spain aims for a third straight major tournament title on Sunday when it plays Italy in the European Championship final, an unprecedented feat for a World Cup winner. In 13 previous Euro finals, no defending champion has retained the trophy. The match at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, pairing the past two World Cup winners, promises to continue a tradition of tense finals that have delivered late drama, shock...
10:05 AM, Jul 01, 2012
Krakow, Poland: The idea of Italy reaching Sunday's Euro 2012 final in Kiev would have been laughed at in the piazzas and pizzerias of Rome and Milan a month ago but now Cesare Prandelli's side are there against all the odds. Thursday's 2-1 semi-final win over Germany stunned not just Joachim Loew's side but the Italian nation itself. A 3-0 friendly defeat by Russia and yet another match-fixing affair which...
05:16 PM, Jun 29, 2012
CNN-IBN's football experts analyse Germany's 4-2 win over Greece that put them into the Euro 2012 semi-finals. ...
11:45 AM, Jun 23, 2012
Den Bosch, Netherlands: Kim Clijsters withdrew from the Unicef Open before the semi-finals on Friday because of a stomach muscle strain, saying she did not want to jeopardise playing in her last Wimbledon before retirement. Clijsters' physiotherapist, Sam Versleghers, said the 29-year-old Belgian felt the injury on Thursday during her tough two-set quarterfinal against Francesca Schiavone. The announcement came just hours before Clijsters was due to play Urszula Radwanska, who...
10:50 AM, Jun 23, 2012
Gdansk: Germany are planning to bide their time and eventually wear down defensive-minded Greece when they meet in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals on Friday. The Germans advanced through Group B with three wins from three games but are bracing for a much tougher defence than what they faced against Portugal, Netherlands and Denmark. Greece conceded only five goals in 10 qualifiers, though they also let in three goals in three...
12:48 PM, Jun 22, 2012
Reuters: The Miami Heat demolished the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 on Thursday to win the National Basketball Association championship 4-1, sweeping the last four games of the series. LeBron James led an outstanding team effort with a brilliant all-round game, grabbing a triple-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high 13 assists. Six Heat players scored in double figures, including Chris Bosh with 24 and reserve Mike Miller with...
10:19 AM, Jun 22, 2012
London: The Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna overcame fighting Marcos Baghdatis and Jamie Murray to reach the quarter-finals of the AEGON Championships, in London on Thursday. The fifth seed Indian duo, which got a bye in the first round, beat the Cyprus-Scot combo 6-3 7-6(5) in one hour and 12 minutes in the pre-quarterfinal round. The second set was stretched to tie-breaker as Murray and Baghdatis fought...
10:18 PM, Jun 14, 2012
Estoril, Portugal: Sania Mirza and her partner Anastasia Rodionova crashed out of the Estoril Open after losing to the Kazakh pair of Yaroslava Shvedova and Galina Voskobo 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the women's doubles semi-finals on Thursday. The second-seeded Indo-Australian combo fought hard before going down to third seeds in an hour and 24 minutes. There was, however, little to differentiate between the two teams. While Sania and Rodionova saved...
01:54 PM, May 04, 2012
Estoril, Portugal: Sania Mirza and her partner Anastasia Rodionova overcame a late resistance from Eleni Daniiliidou and Andreja Klepac to progress to the quarter-finals of the Estoril Open on Monday. The second-seeded Indian-Australia pair got the better of their unseeded rivals 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-5 in the opening round of the USD 220,000 clay-court event. It took Sania and Rodionova one hour and 27 minutes to down the Greek-Slovakian combination. After...
10:49 PM, Apr 30, 2012
Stuttgart: Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus advanced to the Porsche Grand Prix quarter-finals when Andrea Petkovic was forced to retire after picking up another in a long list of serious injuries on Thursday. Azarenka was leading 6-2, 4-4 when the German stepped awkwardly and twisted her right ankle on the indoor red clay court and had to give up. Petkovic didn't even try to continue playing and had to be...
08:39 AM, Apr 27, 2012
Barcelona: Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray cruised into the Barcelona Open quarter-finals with straight-set victories on Thursday. Nadal broke Robert Farah of Colombia in the first game on his way to a 6-2, 6-3 victory for his 31st straight win at the tournament. The six-time champion set up a last-eight match with fifth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic after the Serbian beat Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-2. "It may sound stupid but against players...
08:37 AM, Apr 27, 2012
Moscow: Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic won their reverse singles matches on Sunday to put Serbia into the Fed Cup final for the first time with a 3-2 win over Russia in the semi-finals. Jankovic defeated two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 to score the decisive third point and give Serbia an insurmountable 3-1 lead. Ivanovic had put Serbia up 2-1 on the indoor clay court at the Megasport...
03:56 PM, Apr 23, 2012
Ostrava, Czech Republic: Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova used her powerful serve and forehand to clinch victory for Czech Republic over Italy in the Fed Cup semi-finals and give the hosts a chance to defend their title. The third-ranked Kvitova overcame Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 (1) on Sunday to give the Czechs an insurmountable 3-0 lead and wrap up the best-of-the five series on an indoor hardcourt at the CEZ Arena....
03:53 PM, Apr 23, 2012
Moscow: Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to put Russia level at 1-1 with Serbia after the opening singles in their Fed Cup semi-final on Saturday. Jelena Jankovic won the first point for Serbia by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3. After trading sets, Kuznetsova broke Ivanovic in the first game of the decisive set and it turned out to be enough to win the match. She closed it...
03:18 PM, Apr 22, 2012
Monaco: Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek were routed 2-6, 0-6 by top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan as the Indian challenge ended at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters came to an end on Friday. The crushing defeat of the fifth-seeded Indo-Czech pair came about in just 50 minutes in the quarter-final contest. The Bryan brothers gained sweet revenge for this year's Australian Open and Sony Ericsson Open losses to Paes...
12:35 PM, Apr 21, 2012
Madrid: While Barcelona and Real Madrid chase a clasico Champions League final, Sporting Lisbon are the only team that are keeping Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Valencia from making the Europa League finale an all-Spanish affair. Valencia travel to Atletico for the first leg of their semi-final on Thursday, when Athletic play at Sporting looking to maintain their status as competition favorites. Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa has managed to get...
07:40 PM, Apr 18, 2012
New Delhi: A pat on the back by none other than International Boxing Association president Ching Kuo Wu came as a shot in the arm as five Indian boxers geared up for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers semi-finals in Astana, Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Of the five in fray, only Vijender Singh (75kg) is assured of a London berth so far as his category has four slots on offer. The 26-year-old Olympic...
03:14 PM, Apr 10, 2012
Charleston, South Carolina: Venus Williams kept up with sister Serena by winning a third-round match at the Family Circle Cup, moving one step closer to an all-Williams semi-final. Venus and Serena both reached the quarter-finals of the Family Circle Cup on Thursday with straight-set victories. Venus defeated Anastasia Rodionova 7-5, 6-2 on center court shortly after Serena ousted Marina Erakovic, 6-2, 6-2. Should the sisters win on Friday, it would...
01:09 PM, Apr 06, 2012
Madrid: Spanish clubs continued their impressive run in European play this season as Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Valencia reached the Europa League semi-finals alongside Sporting Lisbon on Thursday. Bilbao twice rallied to squash Schalke's hopes with a 2-2 draw that put them through 6-4 on aggregate, Valencia routed AZ Alkmaar 4-0 to easily go through 5-2, and Adrian Lopez scored one of the season's most memorable goals as Atletico...
08:48 AM, Apr 06, 2012
London: Athletic Bilbao are best-placed of the three Spanish clubs aiming to reach the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday and still the one that seem to be pressing hardest for victory. While Atletico Madrid will defend a narrow 2-1 lead at Hannover and Valencia need to overturn a 2-1 deficit when they host AZ Alkmaar, Bilbao have targeted another win over visiting Schalke despite already holding a 4-2 advantage from...
04:32 PM, Apr 05, 2012
