Sports

Novak Djokovic battled through injury to survive a comeback by Taylor Fritz in the third round of the Australian Open, triumphing 7-6 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2.Crowds were told to leave the stadium as the match carried on past midnight and Melbourne's five-day lockdown came into force. While the 33-year-old Djokovic had enough in the tank to defeat world No. 31 Fritz, the world No. 1 admitted after the match that he may not be able to recover from the abdominal injury he sustained

Karolina Pliskova said she never got into her comfort zone on Saturday as the sixth seed exited the Australian Open following a 7-5 7-5 third-round defeat by Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova at Rod Laver Arena. Pliskova's frustrations boiled over in the first set as she received a code violation for racket abuse and was then handed a point deduction for smashing another racket in the tunnel between sets. Pliskova told a news conference she had been a little bit surprised at the second

Liverpool have suffered another injury setback with Brazilian midfielder Fabinho set to miss Saturday's trip to Leicester. Fabinho has largely been used in central defence by Jurgen Klopp this season after Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip suffered season-ending injuries. Klopp does at least now have some centre-back cover with new recruits Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies, signed on transfer deadline day earlier this month, available to make their debuts at the King Power for a crucial game in the battle

Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry is happy to let his game do the talking as it pertains to the MVP race this season. Curry, 32, is in the midst of one of the best stretches of his career, averaging 35.3 points per game and shooting 53-for-101 from beyond the arc over his past eight contests. After scoring 40 points in a 111-105 win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night, the former two-time MVP spoke with the type of confidence that

Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso was hospitalized after a road accident while cycling in Switzerland, according to a tweet from the Alpine F1 Team. "Fernando is conscious and well in himself and is awaiting further medical examinations tomorrow morning," the team's tweet read. The 39-year-old is an avid cyclist who is returning to Formula One racing this year. The Spaniard's return comes less than two years after he announced he was leaving the sport. Pre-season testing for the upcoming F1 season

A magnificent contest swung in both teams' favour before Carlo Ancelotti's hosts - showing huge reserves of resolve and fitness - finally struck the decisive blow when substitute Bernard fired home in the seventh minute of extra time. Spurs dominated the early exchanges and were rewarded when Davinson Sanchez headed in from a corner in the third minute before Everton sprang to life with a three-goal burst inside eight minutes before half-time. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who later went off with what looked like a

The head of the Tokyo Olympics has announced his resignation over sexist comments. Yoshiro Mori had said women talk too much during an online meeting of the committee's board of trustees earlier this month, where he also said women are driven by a "strong sense of rivalry". The former Japanese prime minister, 83, had previously refused to step down and later when asked whether he truly believed women talked too much, he replied: "I don't listen to women that much lately, so I

As it turned out for Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka on Friday in Melbourne, it's not how you win — it's just that you do. Seven-time AO champion Williams needed to battle past a determined effort from Russian teenager Anastasia Potapova, 7-6(5), 6-2, saving two set points in the first set and overcoming 31 unforced errors to set an enticing fourth-round meeting against the Belarusian No.1. Earlier in the day on Rod Laver Arena, Sabalenka eased to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Williams'

A desperate India have decided to go for the jugular by opting for a spicy turner against a well-prepared England side in the second Test starting Saturday, well aware that it can boomerang and cost them a spot in the World Test Championship final. The honeymoon of the Australian series is over after a sobering 227 run defeat in the first Test which must have shaken a complacent team out of its stupor ahead of three high stake Test matches. But it is

Sofia Kenin's bid to defend her Australian Open title ended in disappointment on Thursday after she was knocked out of the tournament by world No. 65 Kaia Kanepi. The American, who was moved to tears in her post-match press conference, looked way off her best and was beaten in straight sets 6-3 6-2 in just over an hour. The 22-year-old Kenin had admitted to struggling with the pressure that comes with being champion and it showed -- she made 22 unforced errors against

Fullback Pavard scores only goal of final against Mexico's Tigres Benjamin Pavard scored the only goal as Bayern Munich beat Tigres to win the Fifa Club World Cup final in Qatar, their sixth trophy in nine months. Bayern have won the Uefa Super Cup, German Super Cup and are now world champions, to complete a clean sweep of trophies after last season's Treble. Pavard's goal was initially ruled out for a Robert Lewandowski offside but given after VAR consultation. Joshua Kimmich had earlier

Carlos Alcaraz had not even played a Grand Slam match when Toni Nadal, the uncle and longtime coach of Rafael Nadal, anointed him the successor of his illustrious nephew. Brushing aside the hype, the 17-year-old Alcaraz made quick work of his first-round opponent at the Australian Open on Tuesday, defeating Dutch qualifier Botic Van de Zandschulp 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 for his maiden win at a major. And with that, the 141st-ranked Alcaraz became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam singles match

Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar is in a race to be fully fit for next week's Champions League clash against Barcelona after the Brazil star was injured in Wednesday's 1-0 French Cup win over Caen. Neymar went down after a robust challenge from Steeve Yago in the 56th minute, holding his left thigh as he left the field to be replaced by Kylian Mbappe. Moise Kean scored the only goal early in the second half before Neymar limped off the pitch raising concerns about participating

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is facing an investigation from the Spanish football federation over comments he made in a recent interview suggesting referees favour Real Madrid because most Spanish referees are Real supporters. Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is facing an investigation from the Spanish football federation over comments he made in a recent interview suggesting referees favour Real Madrid because most Spanish referees are Real supporters. A federation spokeswoman said Barca have been informed of the investigation into Pique, which will determine whether

Despite an injury-prone career, Ishant Sharma managed to become only the third Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan to get to 300 wickets on Monday. Unless his 'sore body' relents, the tall fast bowler is likely to become only the second pace bowler behind Kapil Dev to play 100 Test matches in the second series. The ongoing first Test is the 98th of his career. On Monday, when he reached the milestone by dismissing Daniel Lawrence leg-before wicket with a

Al Duhail emerged victorious with an impressive 3-1 win over Asian Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai, fetching them a fifth-place finish in the FIFA Club World Cup Sunday. In the opening matches of the tournament, both sides had lost – Al Duhail to Egypt’s Al Ahly and Ulsan to Mexico’s Tigres UANL. Both sides were left with the rather unglamorous prospect of having to complete the formalities in what is pretty much an event where only the winners are honoured. However, with Edmilson

Tigres beat Palmerias, becoming the first Concacaf team to reach the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. This historic moment came right after Andre-Pierre Gignac’s second-half penalty, securing the Mexican side a 1-0 win over Palmerias Sunday.  Palmerias entered the contest at the Education City Stadium as favorites, but the South American champions were clearly bested by Tigres in an entertainment match. In the final match that is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Ricardo Ferretti’s side will take on the winner

Zlatan Ibrahimovic surpassed 500 goals scored at club level by scoring twice as AC Milan moved back on top of Serie A with a 4-0 win over Crotone. The Swedish striker, 39, reached the milestone with a shot into the top corner in the first half. He then tapped in his 501st goal and his 14th in 11 league games this season. Ante Rebic scored twice in as many minutes to complete the comfortable win against Serie A's bottom side. AC moved two

Serena Williams debuted a striking single-legged leotard in her first match in the Australian Open on Monday, paying homage to the Olympic track champion Florence Griffith Joyner, known for her long, colourful fingernails and flamboyant outfits. After wearing the black, red and pink catsuit to dispatch Germany’s Laura Siegemund, Williams credited Nike for coming up with the idea to channel FloJo, as the athlete was popularly known, and spoke of her admiration for the late athlete. “I was inspired by FloJo, who was

England bowl India out for 192 on day five in Chennai to seal a comprehensive 227-run win in the first Test; Jimmy Anderson takes three wickets in phenomenal spell of reverse-swing bowling, Jack Leach claims four while Virat Kohli's half-century comes in vainJames Anderson produced a stunning spell of reverse-swing bowling before lunch to lead England to a memorable victory over India in the first Test.Three wickets for just six runs in a five-over burst broke the game open for Joe Root's side