Somdev Devvarman failed to make the singles main draw of the Toronto ATP Masters after going down fighting to third seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the second round of the qualifying event. The 14th seed Indian began well but lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(10) to the world number 54 Uzbek in the second and final round.
Germany broke Austrian hearts with a last-gasp win in Vienna on Friday, extending their perfect start to Euro 2012 qualifying on a night of far more serene progress for Italy and frustration for France.
India's young assured themselves a medal by entering the semi-finals of the Junior Asian Table Tennis Championships in Bangkok for the first time in the history of the game. The entry to the last-four stage has not only assured the four-member Indian team a bronze medal but also a straight entry into the World Junior Championships, to be held in Slovakia in December.
India's Achanta Sharath Kamal came up with a splendid performance to shock top seed Li Ching of Hong Kong and win the Egypt Open Table Tennis Championships in Cairo on Sunday. The sixth seeded Indian Olympian won 11-5,11-6,14-16,12-10,11-9 to claim his second successive title in as many weeks, having won the US Open last Sunday, beating Keineth Thomas of Slovakia in Michigan.
Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal notched up the biggest title of his career when he clinched the US Open Table Tennis Championships crown, beating Keineth Thomas of Slovakia at Michigan.
The impressive Dutch march through the World Cup finals might hit a brick wall on Friday when they meet a Brazil side in startling form and looking everything like becoming champions for a sixth time. Netherlands have their sights set on lifting the trophy themselves but coach Bert van Marwijk faces a tactical dilemma for a quarter-final in Port Elizabeth against a team that has mercilessly punished their opponents, whatever their approach.
Netherlands striker Robin van Persie's petulant reaction to his substitution in their World Cup second-round victory on Monday could be the first hairline crack in the united front so far presented by the squad.
India's Mahesh Bhupathi and his Belarussian partner Max Mirnyi crashed out of Wimbledon after a shock defeat at the hands of Robert Lindsted of Sweden and Horia Tecau of Romania in the men's doubles third round in London.
Brazil produced their best performance of the World Cup so far to crush Chile 3-0 on Monday and set up a mouth-watering quarter-final against Netherlands.
Old rivals England and Germany's second-round match will set World Cup betting records spurred by a wave of 'patriotic gambles' on the game, bookmakers said on Saturday.
Slovakia forward Robert Vittek admired the view from the top of the World Cup scoring table on Friday while his team-mates wondered how many more goals were up his sleeve after a barren spell in qualifying.
The Netherlands advanced to a second-round meeting with Slovakia in ominous style on Thursday when they beat Cameroon 2-1 to make it three wins out of three and secure top spot in Group E. After wins over Denmark and Japan, the Dutch were already assured of progress and the victory secured with goals by Robin van Persie and Klaas Jan Huntelaar guaranteed top spot.
Italy coach Marcello Lippi took full responsibility for their humiliating World Cup group stage exit on Thursday, saying he had not trained the team well enough.
Paraguay qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup despite being held to a goalless draw by a well-organised New Zealand in their Group F match on Thursday.
Paraguay will not settle for less than topping Group F ahead of world champions Italy following their victory over Slovakia on Sunday, striker Roque Santa Cruz said.
Italy coach Marcello Lippi refused to accept he had omitted more talented players from his squad after the uninventive world champions were held to a surprise 1-1 draw with New Zealand on Sunday.
Defending champions Italy relied on a penalty conversion to save themselves from a famous upset as they were held to a remarkable 1-1 draw by rank outsiders New Zealand in a FIFA World Cup Group F match.
World champions Italy suffered an embarrassing 1-1 draw with underdogs New Zealand in their second World Cup Group F match on Sunday, a result which complicates their chances of progressing to the knockout stage.
Kim Clijsters surged into the quarters-finals of the Eastbourne grasscourt tournament on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Lucie Safarova.
One New Zealander was far from happy when defender Winston Reid's last-gasp equaliser against Slovakia on Tuesday earned the country a first ever World Cup finals point as the goal cost them NZ$40,000 ($27,800).
Defender Winston Reid was New Zealand's man of the moment. He headed the ball home in the dying seconds to earn the Kiwis a 1-1 draw with Slovakia and secure his country's first ever World Cup point in their Group F opener on Tuesday.
Portugal got their World Cup finals off to a stuttering start with a goalless draw against a spirited Ivory Coast on Tuesday, a match that saw the return of Didier Drogba only 11 days after breaking his arm. Semi-finalists at the 2006 finals, Portugal struggled to make a serious impact and made their job of advancing from a fierce Group G -- which includes Brazil and North Korea -- no easier in a fluid match that yielded only a handful of goalscoring chances.
When the World Cup draw sent both 2006 finalists to Cape Town for their first matches the locals were delighted but having seen Italy and France in action they could be forgiven for wondering what the fuss is about.
World champions Italy, traditional slow starters, began the defence of their World Cup title on Monday by coming from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw against Paraguay in Group F.
Young Libertad striker Rodolfo Gamarra was a surprise inclusion in Paraguay's 23-man World Cup squad on Monday.
Cameroon captain Samuel Eto'o threatened to stay away from the World Cup, while Diego Maradona, another man who has endured a turbulent relationship with his national side, got a lively send-off as Argentina left for South Africa.
The surprise exclusion of Fabio Grosso from Italy's World Cup party has propelled left back Domenico Criscito into the limelight and placated critics demanding more youth in the Azzurri team. The fresh-faced 23-year-old looks just out of school with his shy smile, soft voice and boyish blonde hair.
Paraguay's preparations for next month's World Cup finals suffered a minor blow on Tuesday with a 2-1 defeat by Ireland.
New Zealand midfielder Tim Brown could miss the World Cup after fracturing his shoulder in a warm-up match against Australia.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram overcame Rajiv Ouseph of England to enter the men's singles final of the $50,000 Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix, in Almere, The Netherlands.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark moved into the quarter-finals at the Family Circle Cup with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Switzerland's Patty Schnyder on Thursday.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki breezed into the third round of the Family Circle Cup with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova on Wednesday.
Francesco Totti has no shortage of obstacles standing in his way if he wants to come out of international retirement and play for Italy at the World Cup finals. The AS Roma striker quit the national team after their 2006 World Cup triumph but coach Marcello Lippi has consistently said he would consider the 33-year-old for the June 11-July 11 tournament in South Africa if Totti reverses his decision.
David Beckham became England's most capped outfield player when he won his 109th cap as a halftime substitute in the friendly against Slovakia at Wembley on Saturday. Beckham, 33, beat the previous record of 108 caps he shared with the late Bobby Moore, England's 1966 World Cup-winning captain.
Former World No 1 Ana Ivanovic has pulled out of Serbia's Fed Cup World Group playoff tie with Slovakia next month over poor form.
World Cup title hopefuls Spain, England and Argentina seized morale-boosting victories in warm-up matches on Wednesday.
Roger Federer survived a huge fright to scrape past bogeyman Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 and reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday. Defending champion Federer had lost both his previous two meetings against Simon, but the 16-times Grand Slam winner just about had the measure of the Frenchman on a chilly night in Melbourne.
The World No.1 Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki will begin their Australian Open campaign as the top seeds in the men's singles and women's singles respectively.
United States were the only team to take a lead after Saturday's Fed Cup World Group first round ties where Serbia's Ana Ivanovic continued her woeful form.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy could not resolve their differences over further boosting the European Financial Stability Facility, recapitalisation of European banks heavily exposed to sovereign debts and a partial write-down of Greek government's debts at a two-hour emergency meeting in Frankfurt on Wednesday night.
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