Category: Sports

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Second seed Novak Djokovic was forced to work hard by Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in his first match of the Australian Open on Monday before prevailing 7-6(5) 6-2 2-6 6-1 to stay on course for a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park. Playing against an opponent he defeated both times in straight sets…

(Reuters) – Raheem Mostert rushed for four touchdowns as the San Francisco 49ers beat Green Bay 37-20 to book a spot in the Super Bowl where they will face Kansas City, who advanced to the NFL championship game for the first time in 50 seasons with a 35-24 win over Tennessee on Sunday. Kansas City…

(Reuters) – As Tiger Woods makes his first attempt this week at surpassing Sam Snead for the most all-time PGA Tour victories, the man largely responsible for pegging Snead’s number at 82 has weighed in with his thoughts on how the two greats compare. Many of ‘Slammin’ Sammy’s’ victories – achieved from 1936 to 1965…

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Iran’s only female Olympic medalist Kimia Alizadeh, who has said she had left her homeland because she had had enough of being used as a propaganda tool, is moving to Germany, her Dutch coach said. Alizadeh, who won taekwondo bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics, had been training in the southern Dutch…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Stefanos Tsitsipas called for fans to be “a little more respectful” of his opponents after a rowdy first match win over Italy’s Salvatore Caruso at the Australian Open on Monday. Melbourne’s large Greek community was out in full force at the Margaret Court Arena, chanting “Ole! Ole! Stefanos Tsitsipas!” as the Athens-born…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – World number one Ash Barty made a stuttering start to her bid to end her country’s long wait for a homegrown Australian Open champion on Monday before calming the nerves of her compatriots with an emphatic 5-7 6-1 6-1 victory over Lesia Tsurenko. After rain had washed out a big chunk of…

(Reuters) – This year’s world rally championship has been reduced to 13 rounds after Chile was removed at the request of local organizers, the governing FIA said on Monday. The gravel rally had been scheduled as the fourth round on April 16-19. The championship starts this week in Monte Carlo. The decision means the subsequent…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Mohamed Safwat may have crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday, but he was quickly looking to the future as he prepares to become the first Egyptian to compete in tennis at the Olympics later this year. The 29-year-old is no stranger to making history, drawing praise…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Spain’s Rafa Nadal will begin his quest for a 20th Grand Slam title against Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien at the Australian Open on Tuesday, while organizers are confident a rain-hit opening day will not hold up the tournament. World No. 1 Nadal, the reigning French and U.S. Open champion, has not lifted the…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Coco Gauff shone on her Australian Open debut on Monday as she knocked Venus Williams out of the first round in a repeat of her stunning victory over the seven-times Grand Slam champion in the Wimbledon opener last year. The 15-year-old American sensation, 24 years Williams’ junior and the youngest player in…