Top seed Andy Murray cruised past Spain's David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday and Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov received a walkover into the China Open final after Milos Raonic withdrew due to an ankle injury.

France produced a scintillating show as they put memories of one of the most painful moments in their soccer history to one side by crushing Bulgaria 4-1 in a World Cup Group A qualifier on Friday.

Bulgarian's Grigor Dimitrov claimed a first career win over former world number one Rafael Nadal at the eighth time of asking to reach the semi-finals of the China Open on Friday.

Second seed Rafael Nadal survived a late fightback from Adrian Mannarino as he beat the French qualifier 6-1, 7-6(6) on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open during a rain-hit day in Beijing.

Russia's envoy to the UN and President of the Council for October Vitaly Churkin announced that after the sixth straw poll, Guterres has emerged as the "clear favourite" even as hopes for a woman to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the world's top diplomat suffered a major setback.

Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.

'If you ask me what is God, I'd say, God is Mr World.'

Switzerland struck twice in quick succession to stun Euro 2016 champions Portugal 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and hand them a first competitive defeat in two years under coach Fernando Santos.

Ana Konjuh was not a year old when Serena Williams played her first US Open match but both will be in the Arthur Ashe Stadium spotlight on Wednesday, with four gripping quarter-finals to take centre stage at the year's final Grand Slam.

Tennis must consider shortening matches in a bid to engage with a younger fanbase and avoid losing television viewers, according to former ATP Player Council president and doubles specialist Eric Butorac.

It may have been the Labor Day holiday in the United States on Monday but Andy Murray came ready to work, demolishing Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to storm into the quarter-finals of the US Open.

A curious fox cub, an inquisitive orca all play starring roles in images from the finalists of Wildlife Photographer of the Year's fifty-second competition.

Fourth seed Rafael Nadal showed he is healthy and ready to challenge for a third US Open title as he rolled into the last 16 at Flushing Meadows on Friday with a fist-pumping 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.

British 13th seed Johanna Konta felt 'embarrassed' after recovering from a health scare at a humid US Open on Wednesday to claim her place in the third round with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.

Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic suffered a shock 6-7(4), 1-6 loss against Denisa Allertova of Czech Republic in the women's singles first round at the 2016 US Open on Tuesday. Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open winner, started off well but failed to maintain her momentum. With the scored tied 6-6, the first set went into tie-break and the Serbian star failed to keep her nerves.

Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams face challenging early tests at the US Open following Friday's draws for the year's last Grand Slam starting on Monday.

The gold medallists on Day 16 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday.

Sizzling hot Andy Murray roared into his seventh successive final with a commanding victory over Canadian Milos Raonic at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Saturday.

Check out the gold medallists on Day 15 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday:

Haryana wrestler Sakshi Malik has come a long way in her fairy-tale journey to etch her name in the sporting history of the country.

Olympic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray picked up where he left off in Rio by drubbing Argentina's Juan Monaco to take his place in the third round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Wednesday.

The Rio Olympics athletics programme suffered its first doping setback as Bulgarian runner Silvia Danekova has tested positive for EPO, sources told Reuters on Thursday.

'People will talk about the action but I want the people to talk about the emotions.' Ajay Devgn unveils his directorial debut Shivaay.

Vijender Singh broke into the World Boxing Organisation's (WBO) rankings at No 10 after being crowned its Asia Pacific super middleweight champion in Delhi last month.

Swiss second seed Stanislas Wawrinka won a hard-hitting battle with American Jack Sock on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the Rogers Cup with a 7-6(3), 6-2 triumph.

Lithuania's Laura Asadauskaite will be favourite to defend her Olympic title when modern pentathlon enjoys a rare share of the global sporting spotlight on the final weekend of the Rio Games.

His Olympic dream in jeopardy after a failed dope test, wrestler Narsingh Yadav claimed innocence, saying that the scandal is a conspiracy against him.

Athletes from one sport should not be punished for the sins of those from another, the IOC president said on Wednesday, cooling speculation that Russia could be banned from the Olympics altogether for systematic doping.

Russia was among 14 countries which signed a convention between the Council of Europe and European soccer body UEFA on Sunday aimed at stopping a repeat of fan violence which has marred Euro 2016.

Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and B Sai Praneeth advanced to the semi-finals of the $55,000 Canada Open Grand Prix badminton tournament after notching up contrasting victories in the men's singles competition in Calgary, Canada.

India's shuttlers continued their good run at the Canada Open. Six singles players, including Ajay Jayaram and H S Prannoy, qualified for the quarter-finals in the US $55,000 Grand Prix badminton tournament, in Calgary.

Second seed Garbine Muguruza, bidding to add the Wimbledon crown to her French Open title, was sensationally beaten in the second round on Thursday by Slovakian qualifier Jana Cepelova 6-3, 6-2 in the shock of the tournament so far.

'It is important to keep new tricks in your bag to win at the biggest event of world sports.'

'Britain always had a very special relationship with the EU -- it always was an on/off relationship. It retained its own currency and visa.' 'Britain always had what you call in EU lingo 'opt out clauses', which other countries don't have.'

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com interviews Ummu Salma Bava of European Studies, professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Rediff.com, present to you a dummy's guide to the historic vote that could shape British-EU ties for generations.

Russia's weightlifters face being banned from the Rio Olympics, subject to confirmation by the International Olympic Committee, in another collective doping punishment to hit the country.

Commonwealth Games silver-medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg) stormed into the semi-finals, while Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) entered the quarters to be just one win away from clinching Olympic berths at the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament in Baku on Tuesday.

Commonwealth Games silver-medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg) stormed into the quarter-finals, while the experienced Manoj Kumar (64kg) entered the last-16 stage in the International Boxing Association's World Olympic Qualification tournament after notching comprehensive victories in Baku, Azerbaijan.

One question stands out after Portugal's 0-0 draw with Austria on Saturday -- does Cristiano Ronaldo have to take every single free kick and penalty?