Sports

ROME: World number one Novak Djokovic swept into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday (May 13) with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in front of spectators at the Foro Italico. The five-time Rome champion won 6-2, 6-1 in 70 minutes against the 48th-ranked Spaniard, with the venue filled to 25 percent of capacity for the first time amid the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. "It was not good, it was great. I missed the crowd," said the 33-year-old, who next plays Stefanos

There are very few people who can tell Cristiano Ronaldo what to do, but his mum, Dolores Aveiro, insists she will try to convince her son to return to his boyhood club Sporting this summer. While Ronaldo leads the way in the Serie A goalscoring charts this term, scoring his 100th Juventus goal in his side's 3-1 win at Sassuolo on Wednesday, his club have endured a difficult season and could finish outside the top four. In contrast, the club where Ronaldo started

The NBA is set to announce on Thursday a new award that will recognize a current player for pursuing social justice and upholding the league's values of equality, respect and inclusion. Named after one of the most accomplished players in NBA history, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award winner will select an organization to receive a $100,000 contribution on his behalf, according to an NBA statement reviewed by Reuters. The other four finalists will each select an organization to receive a $25,000

Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire. Despite missing a number of first-team regulars, Real started the stronger and first-half strikes from Luka Modric and Rodrygo put the visitors in control. Such was their dominance that even when Jorge Molina halved the deficit on 71 minutes, tapping in after Thibaut Courtois had kept out Luis Suarez's initial effort, they rarely looked troubled. Substitute Alvaro Odriozola restored Real's two-goal advantage,

MANCHESTER, England: Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool boosted their hopes of a late push into the top four and Champions League football next season with a 4-2 Premier League win at Manchester United on Thursday (May 13). The fixture, re-arranged after fan protests 10 days ago led to the match being postponed, took place after a massive security operation foiled another attempt at disruption from protesters. After spending seven hours inside the ground having arrived early to avoid attempts to block their

LONDON: Chelsea slipped up in their push for a Champions League spot when they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday (May 12) with Emile Smith Rowe's first-half goal settling the London derby after a defensive mix-up by the hosts. The visitors capitalised on a wayward back pass by Chelsea's Jorginho to goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who scrambled back to palm it off the line. The ball fell to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who cut it back for Smith Rowe to

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Open Badminton tournament will be cancelled, it was announced by organisers Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday (May 12). The tournament, which was due to be held from Jun 1 to 6, will not be rescheduled. In a joint statement, the SBA and BWF said that the decision was made on the grounds of health and safety. "All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all

DOHA: Qatari side Al-Sadd announced on Wednesday (May 12) former Spain midfielder Xavi has signed a contract extension to keep him as their coach until 2023. Xavi, 41, has been linked with a move back to Barcelona to replace Ronald Koeman but the 2010 World Cup winner denied the reports in the Spanish press. "This is incorrect. I have a two-season contract with Al-Sadd, and I respect this contract, and I also respect the official negotiation methods between all parties," he said in

ROME: Champion Simona Halep was forced to retire injured in the second round of the Italian Open on Wednesday (May 12) weeks before her bid to reclaim the French Open. The world number three pulled up with a left calf issue while leading Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-1, 3-3 in their match on clay at the Foro Italico in Rome. The 29-year-old limped back to her chair helped by officials but left the court in tears after treatment. The injury comes three weeks before

LONDON: New Zealand's most successful test wicketkeeper BJ Watling will retire from all forms of cricket after their upcoming tour of England, the country's cricket board (NZC) said on Wednesday. Watling, 35, has been an integral part of New Zealand's test team since debuting in 2009, and holds the Black Caps' record for test dismissals with 249 catches (excluding 10 as a fielder) and eight stumpings. Watling, who also represented New Zealand in 28 one-day internationals and five Twenty20s, said the time had

LONDON: Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four seasons after Manchester United crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Leicester on Tuesday (May 11). Pep Guardiola's side are 10 points clear of second placed United and have wrapped up the title with three games to spare. In the midst of a gruelling run of three games in five days, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer effectively handed the title to arch rivals City by picking a weakened team with

As Canada continues to wrestle with the coronavirus pandemic, the country's national soccer team will play two more of its home World Cup qualifying matches south of the border in June. Canada will face Aruba in Bradenton, Fla., on June 5, and will take on Suriname in suburban Chicago on June 8, Canada Soccer confirmed Monday. The games are Canada's last two of four matches in CONCACAF Group B. A March 26 Canadian home match against Bermuda was held in Orlando, Fla., which

The Los Angeles Lakers could receive a jolt of energy this week with the return of the team’s best player. According to The Athletic, LeBron James is targeting Tuesday's home contest against the New York Knicks for his return to the floor. James suffered a right, high-ankle sprain against the Atlanta Hawks on March 20, forcing him to miss 20 games in a row. James returned from the injury six weeks later at the end of April. He played in two games against

SHANGHAI: Chinese media hailed Zhang Yufei as "the new butterfly queen" after she soared at the national swimming championships, firing a warning of intent with the Tokyo Olympics under three months away. The 23-year-old walked off with five gold medals and a silver after the action - which doubled as Olympic trials - concluded on Saturday (May 8) in the coastal city of Qingdao. She clocked 2:05.44 in the women's 200m butterfly, easily the fastest time in the world this year, and also

ROME: Serena Williams will this week play her first match since her Australian Open semi-final exit in February but the American does not feel unprepared for the WTA 1000 event having had enough practice before arriving in Rome. The 39-year-old said she felt "pretty fresh" ahead of the clay court swing as she prepares for the French Open, which starts at the end of May. "I trained for the past two-and-a-half weeks at Patrick's (coach Mouratoglou's) academy, and then training a lot on

LONDON: Red Bull need Sergio Perez much closer to the front to put pressure on Mercedes and help Max Verstappen in his title battle with Lewis Hamilton, team boss Christian Horner said after Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Mexican Perez started in eighth place, after suffering shoulder pain in qualifying, and finished fifth at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya - more than a minute behind Mercedes' winner Lewis Hamilton. Seven-times champion Hamilton and Verstappen were so far ahead of the rest that the decisive strategy

Manchester United's Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani has signed a one-year contract extension at the Old Trafford outfit having hit a purple patch in recent matches, the Premier League club said on Monday. Free agent Cavani arrived at United on a one-year contract in October with an option of another 12 months but was undecided about his future after a difficult start to life at the club after a social media faux pas resulted in a three-game ban. The former Paris St Germain forward's

LONDON: Russian Daniil Medvedev overtook Rafael Nadal and moved into No 2 in the ATP rankings on Monday. And for the first time since the computerized rankings began in August 1973, there is no American man in the top 30. Novak Djokovic remained No 1, extending his all-time record to 320 weeks. Medvedev slid in behind him after Spain's Nadal fell to eventual champion Alexander Zverev of Germany in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open last week. A first-round loss in Madrid

LONDON: The Premier League has welcomed the British government's announcement on the easing of lockdown restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Chief Executive Richard Masters said on Monday it is their priority to have full stadiums next season. The government said in February that under the third stage of its four-stage "roadmap", stadiums would - if all conditions are met - from May 17 be allowed to hold up to 50 per cent of their capacity, or 4,000 people, whichever is lower. A

TOKYO: International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach has been forced to postpone a visit to Japan, organisers said Monday (May 10), after a COVID-19 state of emergency was extended less than three months before the Tokyo Games. Bach's trip was scheduled for May 17-18 but organisers "decided to postpone it based on various situations including the (government's) extension of a virus state of emergency". It is just the latest coronavirus disruption for the postponed 2020 Games, which have seen several test events cancelled,