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World number one Novak Djokovic began his quest for a fourth Madrid Open title with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils on Tuesday, improving his unbeaten record to 18-0 against the Frenchman. The result ensures Djokovic remains at the top of the rankings while it earned Monfils the ignominy of having the worst record against a single opponent without winning in the Open era. "I would probably rate it as the best performance of the year," Djokovic told reporters. "I felt very

Liverpool survived a first-half scare to reach the Champions League final with a 3-2 win at Villarreal on Tuesday, for a 5-2 aggregate victory, after the night had threatened to turn sour for Juergen Klopp's side. The visitors fell 2-0 down with an insipid first-half performance before fighting back with three goals in a 12-minute spell after the break to advance to their third European Cup final in five seasons. The Premier League side had won 2-0 in England but looked in danger

UEFA has banned Russia from the Women's European Championship in July and from participating in qualifying for next year's World Cup following the country's invasion of Ukraine, European soccer's governing body said on Monday. Portugal will replace Russia for the July 6-31 tournament in England, having lost to them in the qualifying play-offs. They will join the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland in Group C. UEFA also ruled Russia's bid to host the men's Euros in 2028 and 2032 ineligible, which means Britain and

Defender Raphael Varane scored his first Premier League goal as Manchester United returned to winning ways with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Brentford on a night of potential farewells at Old Trafford. Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo, the latter with a penalty, also netted on Monday, which is the last home fixture of a difficult campaign for United. Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic were given starts by departing coach Ralf Rangnick in what is likely their final season with the club, while Edinson

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni on Sunday (1st May) talked about the captaincy saga after his side’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 46 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 in Pune. Ravindra Jadeja recently on Saturday (30th April) resigned as the skipper of CSK. The all-rounder handed the leadership reigns back to Dhoni ahead of their match against SRH. Notably, the keeper-batter had passed on the captaincy baton to the Jadeja but his stint as the captain of the

Real Madrid's triumphant 2021-22 LaLiga campaign will be remembered for the exploits of striker Karim Benzema. The marauding French international scored his 26th goal in 30 league games on Saturday, sealing Real's 4-0 home win over Espanyol that secured a record-extending 35th Spanish league title with four games to spare. It has been a stellar season that took some time to arrive for the 34-year-old French striker, who took his place as the undisputed leader and most influential player in a team that

An own goal and a Sadio Mane strike earned Liverpool a 2-0 victory in their Champions League semi-final first-leg against Villarreal on Wednesday, putting Juergen Klopp's side on course for their third European Cup final in five seasons. After the drama of Tuesday's other semi-final, which saw Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4-3 at the Etihad, it was never going to be easy for this game to compete in the entertainment stakes. But Liverpool did enough to build themselves a solid lead for

Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal will make his return from a month-long absence due to injury at this week's ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Open that begins later this week, the Spaniard announced on Tuesday. The 35-year-old, who last played in the final of Indian Wells against Taylor Fritz on March 20, suffered a stress fracture in his rib during the tournament, forcing him to miss claycourt events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. "Despite arriving just before the tournament and preparation being difficult, I

After one of the greatest of Champions League semi-final clashes, Manchester City will take a 4-3 lead into the second leg of their tie against Real Madrid following an extraordinary encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. A breathtaking and relentlessly fast game, packed with chances, moments of individual brilliance and a smattering of defensive lapses, was a treat for the spectators but leaves City, who had the better of the game, with the slenderest of leads to defend at the Santiago Bernabeu

Leeds United coach Jesse Marsch is hoping for a better result when he comes up against Manchester City for a second time this season after his former side RB Leipzig lost a nine-goal Champions League thriller last year. Marsch was in charge of Leipzig when they were lost 6-3 to City in a group stage match in September before he parted ways with the Bundesliga club at the end of the year. Leeds, who drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace in the Premier League

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou said he hopes to fight Tyson Fury in a crossover bout in 2023 and that there is a "70% chance" his next opponent will be the British boxer. WBC heavyweight champion Fury had suggested he would fight Ngannou when the pair spoke in the ring following the Briton's win over Dillian Whyte on Saturday. "We both want this fight, that's clear, and we respect each other," Ngannou told the MMA Hour podcast on Monday. "Probably next year it

Everton slipped into the relegation zone with Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool but manager Frank Lampard said the game had left him "more positive" about the club's chances of Premier League survival. Everton are now 18th and trail Burnley, who have played one game more, by two points. Despite the defeat, Lampard said he was delighted with the attitude of his players and that he was "more positive" about their chances of staying up. "I was pleased with the way we competed in

World number one Novak Djokovic's barren title spell in 2022 continued as he went down 6-2 6-7(4) 6-0 to Russian Andrey Rublev in the final of the ATP 250 Serbia Open in Belgrade on Sunday. Playing his second tournament on clay this season after being knocked out by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Monte Carlo earlier this month, Djokovic was off to a slow start as second seed Rublev broke him twice to clinch the opening set 6-2. Djokovic had prevailed from a set

Bayern Munich eased past title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Saturday to secure their 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown in front of a sold-out home crowd and with three games to spare. First-half goals from Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski put the hosts 2-0 up before Emre Can cut the deficit with a 52nd-minute penalty. Jamal Musiala got Bayern's third goal seven minutes from the end Bayern, 12 points clear of second-placed Dortmund, have now won 31 Bundesliga titles since the introduction of the

Paris St Germain secured a record-equalling 10th French top flight title after stuttering to a 1-1 draw against 10-man RC Lens but the celebrations were rather muted as frustrated fans headed for the Parc des Princes exit immediately after Saturday's final whistle. Lionel Messi's goal was cancelled out by Corentin Jean as PSG were left on 78 points, 16 ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille who will play their game in hand at Stade de Reims on Sunday. PSG have now won eight

West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday, calling time on a career which saw him feature more than 200 times across one-day and Twenty20 internationals. Pollard, 34, played 123 ODIs and 101 T20s for West Indies since making his debut in 2007, scoring 4,275 runs and taking 97 wickets in total. The Trinidadian all-rounder was part of the team that won the T20 World Cup in 2012. He led West Indies 61 times in the two

Russian players will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to a report in sports industry news site Sportico on Tuesday. Earlier this month, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organises the grasscourt Grand Slam, said it was in talks with the British government on the participation of players from Russia and Belarus. The organisers said it planned to announce a decision in mid-May ahead of the entry deadline for the June

Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool thumped old rivals Manchester United 4-0 at Anfield on Tuesday to move top of the Premier League, for 24 hours at least. After a 5-0 win at Old Trafford in October, this was another humiliation of United by Juergen Klopp's team, who were barely threatened by their lifeless opponents. Liverpool moved to 76 points from 32 games with title rivals Manchester City on 74 points from one game fewer, with Pep Guardiola's side hosting Brighton and Hove

Yuzvendra Chahal's hat-trick in the 17th over of the innings helped Rajasthan Royals defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs in the ongoing IPL 2022 season at Brabourne Stadium on Monday. Shreyas Iyer and Aaron Finch played knocks of 85 and 58 respectively for Kolkata Knight Riders but this effort was not enough as Chahal returned with figures of 5-40 in his quota of four overs. Earlier, Jos Buttler played a knock of 103 runs as Rajasthan Royals posted 217/5. Buttler had brought

Barcelona's faint hopes of catching LaLiga leaders Real Madrid suffered a huge blow as they slipped to a shock 1-0 home defeat by relegation-threatened Cadiz on Monday. Real's last-gasp victory at Sevilla on Sunday extended their advantage over Barca in second to 15 points, but Xavi Hernandez's in-form side were expected to close the gap by beating Cadiz at the Camp Nou. The hosts never really got going, however, in front of a disgruntled crowd and Cadiz had the better first-half openings with