Johanna Konta fails to hit top gear but still leads British assault at Australian Open January 17, 2017 World No9 Johanna Konta expressed her relief at clearing the opening hurdle of her grand slam season after defeating Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens in the first round of the Australian Open. The 25-year-old, who prevailed 7-5, 6-2, led the home nations charge in Melbourne as Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund also progressed, ensuring that five British [...]
Sir Andy Murray expects dust-up with former Soviet boxer’s son as he bids to progress at Australian Open January 17, 2017 While his opponent is something of an unknown quantity, Britain’s Sir Andy Murray is convinced that Russian teenager Andrey Rublev will come out swinging in a bid to derail his Australian Open campaign. Murray will cross swords with world No152 Rublev, who is the son of a former Soviet boxer, for a place in the third [...]
Dimitri Payet has given West Ham a custard pie – and the biggest problem is in the timing January 17, 2017 Long before he told the club he no longer wanted to play for them earlier this month, Dimitri Payet had already given West Ham supporters good reason to be disgruntled with his behaviour. Payet, an instant fan favourite in his dazzling first season in east London, has failed to live up to those standards this [...]
Chinese Super League club drop interest in Chelsea’s Diego Costa after limits imposed on foreign players in cash-rich league January 17, 2017 Diego Costa's chance of a big money move to the Chinese Super League has been thwarted by new rules restricting the number of foreign players in the country. Newly promoted Tianjin Quanjian had made an offer to the Chelsea striker, as well as other forwards Karim Benzema, Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani. Costa was dropped for The Blues' [...]
Wish List at the Royal Court peers inside the warehouse of online retailers like Amazon January 17, 2017 A barely concealed swipe at the working practices of big online retailers, Wish List tells the story of a young woman caring for her OCD-afflicted brother while struggling to make ends meet at her warehouse packaging job. Tamsin’s (Erin Doherty) jittery existence involves trying (and failing) to meet her impossible packaging quota, as a relentless [...]
Juventus unveil new club logo to embrace wider audience of “children, women and millennials” January 17, 2017 Juventus say their new logo "shouldn't be seen as a logo, but as a brand". (Source: Getty) Italian champions Juventus have unveiled a new minimalist club crest which they claim will help attract new followers amongst "children, women and millennials". Club president Andrea Agnelli described the logo, which has received a mixed reaction amongst fans on social media, as [...]
West Ham dig their heels in over rebel Dimitri Payet and reject second Marseille bid January 16, 2017 West Ham have underlined their refusal to be bullied into selling Dimitri Payet at a knockdown price by rejecting an improved £20m bid from Marseille for the wantaway midfielder. The offer for Payet, a hike of little more than £1m from the Ligue 1 club’s opening bid, is believed to have been rebuffed by Hammers [...]
Why England’s spate of injuries could be a blessing in disguise for Eddie Jones January 16, 2017 England’s so-called injury crisis may be lengthening bookies’ odds for a repeat Grand Slam, but it is causing little harm in the medium-term. Eddie Jones’s team can still win the tournament in the absence of some of their regulars, although it will certainly be a greater feat with Ireland confident and France having all the [...]
FiSahara takes place under the baking heat of the African sun. Alex Dudok de Wit finds an event unlike any other January 16, 2017 There’s a territory sandwiched between Morocco and Mauritania, divided from the former in atlases by a dotted line, that carries the opaque name of Western Sahara. You might occasionally spot footage of it on the news, grainy shots of a sand wall lined with landmines and Moroccan soldiers, although most will struggle to place it [...]
Valtteri Bottas predicts great success for Mercedes after joining forces with Lewis Hamilton January 16, 2017 Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas is convinced that he and three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will form a formidable partnership after succeeding Nico Rosberg at Mercedes. The 27-year-old arrives at Mercedes following four years at Williams and replaces Rosberg, who dramatically quit the sport just five days after securing his maiden world championship crown in Abu Dhabi [...]