Nadal and Serena soundly beaten as grand slam preparations falter January 6, 2015 WORLD No3 Rafael Nadal’s hopes of winning a second Australian Open title have been dealt a blow after he suffered a shock defeat to unheralded German Michael Berrer at the Qatar Open. Nadal, who played just seven matches between Wimbledon and the end of 2014 due to injury and appendix surgery, lost in the first [...]
New age rules for F1 drivers January 6, 2015 FORMULA One drivers will have to be 18 years old to compete in the sport under a tougher set of qualification rules to be introduced in 2016. Drivers will also have to earn a fixed number of points from racing in junior series over a three-year period to obtain a super licence. Toro Rosso’s Max [...]
FA Cup: Inspirational Gerrard denies Dons’ FA Cup dream January 5, 2015 AFC WIMBLEDON 1 LIVERPOOL 2 LIVERPOOL captain Steven Gerrard is hoping to bow out of English football by hoisting the FA Cup on his 35th birthday after his quintessentially heroic display denied AFC Wimbledon a huge third-round shock last night. The fan-owned fourth-tier outfit, who play home games at non-league Kingstonian and were only formed [...]
FA Cup: Pochettino left fretting over fixture jam as replay looms January 5, 2015 BURNLEY 1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino bemoaned his side’s inability to dispatch fellow Premier League outfit Burnley and avoid fixture congestion as last night’s low-key FA Cup third-round tie ended in stalemate – in front of just 9,348 supporters at Turf Moor. Battle lines will be redrawn to see who entertains Leicester [...]
Oldham stall on Evans as outcry over deal grows January 5, 2015 OLDHAM chiefs last night refused to rule out the signing of former Wales striker and convicted rapist Ched Evans despite a deluge of outcry at the proposed move. The League One club said it would “conduct due diligence with regard to any decision we make on this matter”, while their manager Lee Johnson called it [...]
Foxes overtake Chelsea in race for £8m Croatia striker Kramaric January 5, 2015 TABLE-TOPPING Chelsea are poised to lose out to Premier League basement-dwellers Leicester in the race to sign of one of Europe’s hottest properties, Croatia striker Andrej Kramaric. The Blues had looked set to land Kramaric, who has scored 28 in 31 games for Rijeka this season, for around £8m in the January transfer window with [...]
Cameroon U-turn set to deprive Hammers of Song for a month January 5, 2015 WEST HAM are bracing themselves for a major blow ahead of tonight’s FA Cup third round clash at Everton as influential midfielder Alex Song looks set for a prolonged absence with Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Song was initially left out of the Cameroon squad having been omitted from the international picture [...]
Arsenal confirm Podolski exit as Wenger eyes defensive recruits January 5, 2015 ARSENAL yesterday confirmed that striker Lukas Podolski has joined Italian side Inter Milan on loan until the end of the season. Germany World Cup winner Podolski has found himself on the periphery of Arsenal’s first-team picture this term, failing to start a Premier League fixture and only managing a miserly 99 minutes of top-flight football. [...]
Robson and Lyth sparkle for Lions as Trott wobbles January 5, 2015 OPENERS Sam Robson and Adam Lyth both smashed centuries while skipper Jonathan Trott failed as England Lions began their tour of South Africa with a dominant batting display on day one of their warm-up clash with Gauteng Invitation XI in Soweto yesterday. Middlesex’s Robson struck 109 while Yorkshire run-machine Lyth amassed 106 as the pair [...]
Ill Farah out of cross-country January 5, 2015 DOUBLE Olympic and world champion Mo Farah has been forced to withdraw from Saturday’s cross-country race in Edinburgh after a bout of the flu left him behind with his training schedule. Farah, 31, had been due to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland against the United States and Europe in the Great Edinburgh XCountry international [...]