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Stosur grinds out win over Vesnina Sam Stosur got her Tournament of Champions off to a winning start against Elena Vesnina in Sofia. The number four seed won 6-3 6-3, but that does not tell the full story as she was 0-3(0-30) down in the second set before roaring back to victory. The...

Wawrinka on track for Tour finals after overcoming Lopez Stanislas Wawrinka ran into a spot of bother but stayed on track for the ATP World Tour finals by seeing off Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The seventh-seeded Swiss, looking to...

Djokovic moves into third round of Paris Masters World number two Novak Djokovic started his Paris Masters campaign with a routine second-round 7-6(3) 6-3 win over French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The Serb staved off two set points in the opening stanza then stepped up a gear and never...

Tsonga down and out of Paris and London Jo-Wilfried Tsonga double-faulted on match point to lose to Kei Nishikori in the second round of the Paris Masters in Bercy, meaning he fails to qualify for the World Tour Finals in London. Frenchman Tsonga, the world number 10, cruised to the opening...

Ivanovic starts off with win in Bulgaria Twice winner Ana Ivanovic started her Tournament of Champions campaign with an easy win over Tsvetana Pironkova in Sofia. The Serb, who won the tournament in 2010 and 2011, beat the Bulgarian 6-0 6-2 with a controlled performance against her fellow...

World Cup - Del Bosque agrees new Spain deal Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has agreed a two-year contract extension with the world and European champions which ties him until 2016, the 62-year-old said on Friday. "I can confirm that I have signed with the national team until 2016," Del Bosque...

Cilic wins first match since returning from doping ban Marin Cilic won his first match since returning from a doping ban with a 5-7 6-1 6-4 success against Igor Sijsling at the Paris Masters. Cilic was only cleared to play last week after he has had his nine-month ban for a doping offence...

Tsonga makes coaching change French tennis star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has appointed the duo of Thierry Ascione and Nicolas Escude as his new coaches. World number 10 Tsonga, who missed the entire North American hard-court season through injury, parted ways with Roger Rasheed at the end of August...

Nadal: Federer doesn't care about number one spot Roger Federer does not need to be world number one anymore and he might well be a top contender at next year's Australian Open, his chief rival Rafa Nadal has said. Federer's decline has been well documented since 2011, the year he failed to...

Serena steamrolls her way to fourth WTA Championship title Serena Williams overcame a slow start to beat Li Na 2-6 6-3 6-0 in the WTA Championship final in Istanbul. The 32-year-old American finished off a dominant year, in which she also won the French and US Opens, by scooping up her 11th...

International friendlies - Sanchez at the double as Chile sink England International friendly, Wembley - England 0 Chile 2 (Sanchez 7, 90) England's preparations for next summer's World Cup got off to a disappointing start as Alexis Sanchez's brace gave Chile a deserved 2-0 victory at...

Youzhny denies Ferrer to clinch Valencia Open title Unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny denied top seed and defending champion David Ferrer a fourth Valencia Open title when he beat the world number three 6-3 7-5 in the final of the Spaniard's home event on Sunday. Ranked 21 and a couple of...

Del Potro beats Federer to defend Basel title Roger Federer's unhappy season continued on Sunday when he lost to Juan Martin del Potro in the final of the Basel Open for the second year running. The Swiss played some of his best tennis this year but it was not enough to avoid a 7-6 (3) 2-6 6-4...

International friendlies - O'Neill's Ireland era begins with win over Latvia International friendly, Aviva Stadium - Republic of Ireland 3 (Keane 22, McGeady 67, Long 79) Latvia 0 Martin O'Neill's tenure as Republic of Ireland manager got off to a winning start with a convincing 3-0 victory...

Cilic looking forward to 'gift of year' in Paris after ban Marin Cilic has called his appearance at next week's Paris Masters "the gift of the year" after the Croatian was allowed to play again when the Court of Arbitration for Sport cut his doping ban on Friday. The 25-year-old was suspended...

International friendlies - Italy and Germany play out tepid draw Interntational Freindly, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza - Italy 1 (Abate 28) Germany 1 (Hummels 8) Italy and Germany drew 1-1 in a lacklustre match at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza . Germany scored on the eighth minute when Matt Hummels...

Youzhny to face Ferrer in Valencia final Mikhail Youzhny will face David Ferrer in the final of the ATP Tour event in Valencia after the two came through their semis. Youzhny secured victory in the first all-Russian ATP Tour semi-final in more than three years, beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-2 6-4...

World Cup - Ten-man Iceland hang on for play-off draw with Croatia Ten-man Iceland hung on for a heroic 0-0 draw in the first leg of their play-off with Croatia to keep alive their ***** of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time. Croatia had the upper hand in the opening 20 minutes...

Federer sets up Del Potro final in Switzerland Roger Federer won a tight three set match against Vasek Pospisil on home soil to set up a final with defending champion Juan Martin del Potro at the Basel Open in Switzerland. The Swiss will play top seed Juan-Martin Del Potro in Sunday's final...

World Cup - Greece put three past woeful Romania World Cup 2014 play-off first leg, Stadio Karaiskaki – Greece 3 (Mitroglou 13, 66, Salpigidis 20) Romania 1 (Stancu 18) Greece took a huge step towards qualifying for next summer’s World Cup after beating Romania 3-1 in the first leg play-off...

Out of sorts Serena stumbles into final Serena Williams moved into the WTA Championship final despite an uneven performance against Jelena Jankovic in Istanbul. Title holder Williams struggled early on with her own game before overcoming Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4 2-6 6-4 and will now face...

World Cup - Red-faced France on brink after defeat to Ukraine World Cup play-off first leg, Olimpiysky Stadium - Ukraine 2 (Zozulya 61, Yarmolenko 82 pen) France 0 Ukraine took a giant stride to the World Cup in Brazil after goals from Roman Zozulya and Andriy Yarmolenko gave the home side a...

Li beats Kvitova to spot in Istanbul final China's Li Na reached the final of the WTA championships after beating Czech Petra Kvitova in straight sets on Saturday, becoming the highest-ranked player ever from an Asian country. Her 6-4 6-2 victory means she will climb to third in the rankings...

World Cup - Ronaldo heads Portugal closer to Brazil World Cup qualifying play-off first leg, Estadio da Luz, Lisbon - Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 82) Sweden 0. Cristiano Ronaldo headed Portugal closer to the World Cup as they beat Sweden 1-0 in their play-off first leg in Lisbon. Ronaldo met a Miguel...

Ferrer downs Janowicz to reach Valencia semis David Ferrer stepped up his game when it mattered to post a 6-4 4-6 6-0 win over Jerzy Janowicz and reach the semi-finals of the Valencia Open. The top seeded Spaniard sealed victory in one hour and 40 minutes after losing just one point on serve...

Federer beats "Baby Federer" to keep up Tour Finals bid Roger Federer ended Grigor Dimitrov's seven-match winning streak and showed the Bulgarian he has some way to go to live up to his 'Baby Federer' tag with a 6-3 7-6 (2) quarter-final victory at the Basel Open on Friday. Third seed Federer...

Federer and Del Potro march into Basel semis Roger Federer continued his good home run to beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 7-6(2) and reach the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors in Basel. Federer, 31, has been in a worrying slump this season and found himself battling to stay in the race for the...

Li makes it a hat-trick of wins against injured Azarenka China's Li Na made it a hat-trick of White Group victories, overpowering back-injury victim Victoria Azarenka 6-2 6-1 on Friday to march through to the semi-finals of the WTA Championships. Li next meets Czech Petra Kvitova, who beat...

Cilic cleared to return after doping ban reduced Tennis player Marin Cilic has had his nine-month ban for a doping offence reduced to four months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Due to time already served, that means that Cilic is free to compete at next week's Paris Masters. Former...

No-nonsense Serena keeps it simple with third win Round-robin formats at tennis tournaments can cause confusion but Serena Williams has an easy solution, just keep winning. The American crushed Petra Kvitova 6-2 6-3 to complete her stroll through the Red Group at the season-ending WTA...

:hi: Angelik Duval! :wave: Welcome to the board :heart:

Ferrer crushes Benneteau to reach Valencia last eight Top seed David Ferrer cruised past Julien Benneteau in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Valencia Open and keep alive his hopes of winning the title for a fourth time. The Spaniard needed just 70 minutes to dispatch of his...

Del Potro sails into Basel quarters Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro dismantled Marcos Baghdatis to progress to the quarter-finals of the Basel Open in Switzerland. Del Potro was rarely troubled as he broke four times to see off the Cypriot’s challenge 6-1 6-2 in 73 minutes and set up...

Laver: Tomic must try harder The gulf between Australian tennis great Rod Laver and the nation's brightest hope Bernard Tomic has been starkly highlighted this week with bouquets flowing in one direction and brickbats the other. The 75-year-old Laver, the only men's player to win two calendar...

Rally Wales GB - Ogier edges away in Rally GB lead Sebastien Ogier pulled clear in the lead of Rally GB on Friday morning, while Robert Kubica crashed out. Ogier started leg two with M-Sport Ford's Thierry Neuville and his own Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala within five seconds of his...

Battling Federer won't be thinking of retirement says Laver Roger Federer's struggles in 2013 are unlikely to hasten his exit from the game and the Swiss master could hit back and win next year's Australian Open, according to tennis great Rod Laver. The 75-year-old Laver, the only player to...

WRC - Ogier fastest in Rally GB qualifying World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier has made the best possible start to this week's Rally GB with the fastest time in this morning's qualifying stage. The Frenchman's Polo was seven hundredths of a second quicker than Thierry Neuville (Ford Fiesta RS...

Serena powers to second win in Istanbul, Jankovic shines World number one Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska for the eighth time in eight matches between them to move ominously towards the semi-finals of the WTA Championships on Wednesday. The American was again too strong for the Pole...

WRC - Kubica: Co-driver change will hurt me Robert Kubica says his ****** co-driver change will be his biggest obstacle on his debut at the Rally GB. The WRC 2 champion has been drafted into Citroen's factory squad for 2013 season finale. But Kubica's co-driver Maciek Barran's decision to...

Del Potro, Federer through in Basel, Gasquet out Roger Federer came from a set down to beat world number 48 Denis Istomin 4-6 6-3 6-2 while Juan Martin Del Potro also progressed. With both Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet losing, the win improves Federer’s hopes of making the ATP World...

WRC - Ogier heads Neuville in GB lead fight Sebastien Ogier leads Thierry Neuville in a close fight for the Rally GB lead after Thursday evening's trio of stages in Wales. The 2013 World Rally champion beat his Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala through the first two tests on Gwydyr and...

Ferrer dispatches Monfils in Valencia Top seed David Ferrer beat Gael Monfils 6-3 6-2 as he opened his bid for a fourth Valencia Open. Ferrer, a finalist at this year’s French Open, broke serve four times as he completed the win in 62 minutes. In the next round, he joins John Isner, who beat...

Motorsports - British racing legend Franchitti announces retirement Scotland's three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti has announced his retirement from the sport a month after a horrific crash. The Scot said he was quitting on medical advice following a heavy crash in Houston last...

Armstrong's urge to tell all is "a little late" - USADA Lance Armstrong's promise to come clean about doping is "a little late", the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Thursday, accusing the disgraced cyclist of trying to use events to "gain advantage". Travis Tygart...

Injured Tipsarevic hopes to recover for Davis Cup final Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic faces a race against time to get fit for next month's Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic after being hampered by a foot injury. The world number 28 has won only one match on the ATP Tour since reaching...

Simon upset in Valencia Sixth seed Gilles Simon was shocked by Alejandro Falla 6-1 6-0 in the opening round of the ATP tournament in Valencia. Frenchman Simon had no answer to the Colombian, who saved all five break points he faced and broke six times himself on his way to sealing victory in...

UCI chief: Inquiry can help to restore image Cycling has a difficult process of soul-searching to get through if it is to restore its reputation after years of doping scandals, new International Cycling Union (UCI) president Brian Cookson said on Thursday. "Let's get all of the allegations...

Berdych, Wawrinka Finals hopes dealt blow in Basel Tomas Berdych and Stanislas Wawrinka were both ousted from the Swiss Indoors event in Basel in surprise first-round results. Second seeded Berdych fell 4-6 7-6(4) 7-6(2) to big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic while Wawrinka, seeded fourth, suffered...

Fahey: Only a miracle would reopen Armstrong case Only American anti-doping authorities can lift Lance Armstrong's life ban from cycling and any review of his case would require powerful reasons, World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) president John Fahey said on Tuesday, adding that he felt the...