Australian Open 2016: Novak Djokovic ready for latest instalment of titanic rivalry with Roger Federer after they join women’s champion Serena Williams in sweeping into the last four January 26, 2016 Defending champion Novak Djokovic is braced for another epic tussle with former world No1 Roger Federer after both men swept into the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday. Djokovic put an error-strewn fourth-round match behind him with a ruthless display against Kei Nishikori, beating the Japanese seventh seed 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Federer was almost [...]
Out-of-favour Tottenham winger Townsend set for £12m move to Newcastle January 26, 2016 ross mclean Tottenham exile Andros Townsend is poised to complete a move to relegation-threatened Newcastle after the two clubs agreed a £12m fee for his services. The 24-year-old, who has won 10 England caps, has made just three Premier League appearances for Spurs this season and has not featured since their Europa League clash with [...]
Hales, Compton and Taylor face axe, admits Cook after humiliating Test series conclusion January 26, 2016 England skipper Alastair Cook admitted that run-shy batsmen Alex Hales, Nick Compton and James Taylor could face the axe after his side’s humiliating collapse on the final morning of the fourth Test. South Africa needed just 66 minutes and 82 deliveries to claim England’s seven remaining wickets and rout their rivals for 101, chalking up [...]
IAAF crisis: Qatar bids for 2017 and 2019 World Championships in Doha under scrutiny January 26, 2016 The bidding for the 2017 and 2019 world athletics championships has been placed under the scrutiny of the IAAF's ethics commission, UK Athletics boss Ed Warner has revealed. Speaking to a parliamentary select committee, Warner also called for Russia to be barred from competing at this year's Olympics and said British athletes will be asked [...]
Former Arsenal director slams Chelsea striker Diego Costa as a “serial cheat” January 26, 2016 Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been branded "a serial cheat" by former Arsenal director Peter Hill-Wood following the Spaniard's match-winning display at the Emirates this weekend. Costa was at the centre of attention, scoring the game's only goal shortly after he was fouled by Gunners centre-back Per Mertesacker – a challenge which earned the German [...]
Ramires close to shock £25m move to China January 25, 2016 Defending champions Chelsea are on the verge of a hefty windfall after it emerged last night that midfielder Ramires is close to joining Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning for a fee in the region of £25m. The 28-year-old cost the Blues £18m when he joined the Stamford Bridge ranks from Benfica in 2010 and [...]
Australian Open 2016: Johanna Konta becomes first Briton to reach a grand slam quarter-final for 32 years January 25, 2016 Rising star Johanna Konta insists she is no overnight success after becoming the first British woman for 32 years to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam tournament. Konta, 24, continued her giddy ascent yesterday by beating No21 seed Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 in a titanic fourth-round slug-fest – the biggest win of her [...]
Anderson returns fire on De Villiers after pre-match jibe although England face uphill battle to save Test January 25, 2016 England seamer James Anderson returned fire on out-of-form AB de Villiers after dismissing the South Africa skipper for a third successive duck during the penultimate day a seemingly doomed fourth Test at Centurion. De Villiers was interpreted as aiming a pre-match swipe at Anderson, the seventh highest Test wicket-taker of all time, by implying that [...]
Rickie Fowler can win a Major this year after Abu Dhabi triumph – but will find it hard to break dominance of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day January 25, 2016 The spotlight was on Rory McIlroy for what was his first tournament of the year – the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which finished on Sunday – and it has to be said he did very little of note all week. Despite that, the Northern Irishman finished just two shots behind eventual winner Rickie Fowler and generally [...]
There is more risk not appointing bad boy Dylan Hartley as England captain, insists head coach Eddie Jones January 25, 2016 England head coach Eddie Jones believes the potential reward of appointing Dylan Hartley as skipper far outweighs the risk after unveiling the controversial Northampton hooker as his Six Nations captain yesterday. The 29-year-old has racked up more than a year’s worth of suspensions during his career and was axed from England’s World Cup by Jones’ [...]