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Serena Williams launched her latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam with a 56-minute demolition of Laura Siegemund at the Australian Open. The American, 39, said it was "vintage Serena" as she thrashed the German 6-1 6-1 in front of a small, unmasked crowd on Rod Laver Arena. US Open champion Naomi Osaka also made a convincing start with a 6-1 6-2 win over Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But former champion Angelique Kerber was the first seed to be knocked out. The German

Morocco became the first team to successfully defend the African Nations Championship (CHAN) trophy with a 2-0 win over Mali in Cameroon on Sunday. The Moroccans were made to work hard for their win and both of their goals came from second-half corners in front of around 6,700 fans at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaounde. Soufiane Bouftini headed home the first before Ayoub El Kaabi, who scored nine goals in 2018 to help Morocco win the title on home soil, scored the

Ishant Sharma is the sixth Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets. Ishant Sharma on Monday became the third Indian pacer to bag 300 Test wickets, after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan. Sharma, 32, reached the milestone when he dismissed England batsman Dan Lawrence in the 16th over of England’s second innings in the Chennai Test. Sharma is now the sixth Indian bowler to reach the landmark in red-ball cricket. He is also the slowest to 300 wickets. Former India captain and leg-spinner Anil

Tampa’s victory prevented Mahomes and the Chiefs (16-3) from becoming the first repeat champions since Tom Brady’s Patriots did it in 2003-04. Tom Brady made his seventh Super Bowl title look familiar – despite moving south to a new team and conference during a pandemic. Brady threw two touchdown passes to old friend Rob Gronkowski and one to good pal Antonio Brown, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City 31-9 on their home field in Super Bowl 55 on Sunday.

Doha: Qatar is currently hosting the FIFA Club World Cup for the second time in a row — and locally-based fans of SE Palmeiras and FC Bayern Munich have been sharing their excitement for the competition with www.qatar2022.qa. The CONMEBOL and UEFA representatives will both enter the tournament at the semi-finals stage.  Palmeiras will get their campaign underway at Education City Stadium on February 7,  when they face Mexican side Tigres UANL (kick-off 21:00), while Bayern Munich take on Egyptian giants Al Ahly SC

Set to begin in second week of April; No Ranji Trophy for the first time in 87 years of the tournamentMUMBAI: Buoyed by the successful hosting of the Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, the first of any cricket in India since March 2020, the BCCI has now set itself on the path to host a couple of more domestic tournaments - the Vijay Hazare and a one-day tournament for women - in February and March, followed by the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April. IPL 2021 Auction Players list –

World number one Ashleigh Barty says she is "happy with the progression" of her tennis after warming up for the Australian Open by winning the Yarra Valley Classic. The Australian had not played for 11 months because of the coronavirus pandemic but won four matches at the tune-up event in Melbourne. Barty won 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in the final against Spain's Garbine Muguruza. Now she is aiming to become the first home champion at the major since 1978. arty, 24, reached the semi-finals

Defending champions England clawed back six points and Russell's charge was briefly halted by a yellow card. But a resilient Scotland were undeterred and added another penalty. England had been favourites to win the tournament but, with France having opened their Six Nations with a 50-10 defeat of Italy, their chances suddenly seem much slimmer. Scotland, on the other hand, look likely to improve on last year's fourth-place finish with Wales their opponents at Murrayfield next weekend. That is one of three home games

With most of the world still living under strict coronavirus restrictions, there is some light relief for tennis fans in the form of a very different Australian Open. The first Grand Slam of the year does take place in Melbourne as planned, although it starts three weeks later than usual on 8 February. Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic and Spain's Rafael Nadal - who is aiming to win a 21st major title and move clear of Roger Federer - lead the men's

The first edition of the Katara International Arabian Horse Festival (KIAHF), held under the patronage of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, concluded on a resplendent note yesterday. Some of the finest purebred Arabian show horses competed in the championships of the prestigious Title Show. Stallions, mares, colts, fillies, and yearling, finalists in their respective classes, graced the arena, impressing judges and spectators with their graceful trot and absolutely gorgeous looks. Noft Alnayfat, a senior mare, and Sundown K.A, a

Zak Crawley, who turned 23 on Wednesday, had slipped on the marble floor of the Chepauk dressing room, thereby injuring his wrist. Fast-rising England opener Zak Crawley was on Thursday ruled out of the first two Test matches against India after sustaining a freak wrist injury on his 23rd birthday. Crawley, who turned 23 on Wednesday, had slipped on the marble floor of the Chepauk dressing room, thereby injuring his wrist. “Following the results of last night’s scan, England top-order batsman Zak Crawley

With the pandemic hitting cricket at all levels, the birthplace of the sport needs the game’s biggest drawcard like never before. A few days ago, a banner popped up at the premises of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. ‘Virat Kohli’s India, coming to the county ground’, it screamed. The tentative dates given were July-end. And on the right-hand side, there was an orange patch with a call to action about tickets. ‘On Sale Soon. Register your interest now’, it read, a full six months

England ended day one of the first Test against India on 263-3 after a special century from Joe Root (128no) in his 100th Test match; the England captain put on 200 for the third wicket with Dom Sibley (87) but Jasprit Bumrah's late strike removed opener The 30-year-old Yorkshireman became just the third Englishman, after Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart, and the ninth batsman overall to achieve the feat as he continued his stunning start to 2021 with his third century in as

Wimbledon organisers are planning for a reduced-capacity crowd at this year's Grand Slam tournament, though other options remain, the All England Club. The club previously announced that the tournament, cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, would go ahead with or without fans. The three options are full capacity, reduced capacity or no fans. The majority of our planning focus is currently centered on the option of a reduced capacity Championships and how that would affect each stakeholder group, but we are

Former France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac scored twice as Mexico’s Tigres defeated Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 yesterday to qualify for the semi-finals of the Club World Cup. Tigres, the CONCACAF Champions League winners, will face Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras of Brazil tomorrow for a spot in next week’s final. Defender Kim Kee-hee headed Ulsan ahead from a corner in Al Rayyan, as the South Koreans returned to the Gulf state just six weeks after their triumph in Asia’s top club competition. Gignac slammed

By Samuel Eto’o This week, the eyes of the world will be on Qatar, as it takes another big step on its journey to the FIFA World Cup in 2022 by hosting the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 from 4-11 February. During my playing career, I was very lucky to have had the opportunity not only to compete in this great competition, but to win it with Inter Milan. My memories of the Club World Cup could not be better, as for the

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to fire Juventus to a 2-1 comeback win over Inter Milan in a hard-fought Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg clash at San Siro on Tuesday. Lautaro Martinez gave the home side an early lead but the Portuguese replied with a penalty before pouncing on a defensive mix-up to put the Turin club in front before halftime. Inter, without suspended top scorer Romelu Lukaku, pushed for an equaliser but couldn't find a way past 43-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. The Italian produced

Barcelona scored five goals in 18 minutes to turn this Copa del Rey quarter-final – and just maybe their entire season – on its head. Antoine Griezmann scored twice and set up two, Jordi Alba scored his first brace ever for the club, and Lionel Messi pulled out a vintage performance when his team most needed it. Ronald Koeman can still win a trophy, in fact he is now just two games from doing it. And all that, having been two minutes from

Between 500 and 600 Australian Open players, officials and support staff will go into isolation after a worker at one of the event's quarantine hotels tested positive for coronavirus. Thursday's play at the six warm-up events at Melbourne Park has been cancelled as a result. But Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said: "At this stage there is no impact on the tournament proper." Players will be free to return to competition after a negative test. "We will work with everyone involved to facilitate testing

With the pandemic hitting cricket at all levels, the birthplace of the sport needs the game’s biggest drawcard like never before. A few days ago, a banner popped up at the premises of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. ‘Virat Kohli’s India, coming to the county ground’, it screamed. The tentative dates given were July-end. And on the right-hand side, there was an orange patch with a call to action about tickets. ‘On Sale Soon. Register your interest now’, it read, a full six months