Category: SPORTS

Novak Djokovic lost his first career Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open. Then he won his second, which came at the Australian Open. And look where he is now, more than a dozen years later: One victory from a ninth championship at Melbourne Park and his 18th major title overall, which would put him two behind rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most by a man in tennis history. Daniil Medvedev also lost his first career Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open. And now he will…

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 IPL’s perennial under-performer Glenn Maxwell once again fetched big money at the players auction with Royal Challengers Bangalore bidding a whopping Rs 14.25 crore to secure his services here on Friday. England all-rounder Moeen Ali also went for a high price of Rs 7 crore to Chennai Super Kings. Both Maxwell and Moeen had base prices of Rs 2 crore. In contrast, Australian Steve Smith, who was released by Rajasthan Royals, was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 2.20 crore, only Rs 20 lakh more than his base price. KKR…

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Naomi Osaka advanced Tuesday to a potential semifinal showdown against Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Osaka earned her 19th victory in a row by overpowering Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2, and will next meet the winner of the quarterfinal match Tuesday night between Williams and No. 2-seeded Simona Halep. “Normally I never look at my draw, Osaka said. “But everyone has told me about my draw here, so I kind of had no choice but to know who my next opponent is. It’s definitely going to be really fun.” Seeded…

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Para-athletes Navdeep and Arvind secured quotas for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics as India’s gold medal tally swelled to nine after the third day of competitions at the 12th Fazza International World Para Athletics Grand Prix here. Overall, India has claimed 17 medals including nine gold, with four of them coming on Friday. The day was lit up by brilliant shows by Indian men’s javelin throwers — reigning world champion Sandeep Chaudhary (F44), Ajeet Singh (F46) and Navdeep (F41) — who were later joined by Pranav Prashant Desai with a yellow…

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Yoshiro Mori was expected to resign Friday as the president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee following sexist comments implying women talk too much. Mori’s departure at an executive board meeting comes after more than a week of non-stop criticism about his remarks earlier this month. He initially apologized but refused to step away, which was followed by relentless pressure from television pundits, sponsors, and an on-line petition that drew 150,000 signatures. But it’s not clear that his resignation will clear the air and return the focus to exactly how…

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Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels incumbent Joe Root is “arguably” the country’s best ever player of spin and can break all the Test batting records accumulated by the nation’s batsmen. Root struck 218 in England’s first innings on a spin-friendly pitch to lead his side to a 227-run win over India in the first Test in Chennai on Tuesday. “Root sure is one of England’s greats. He will probably end up breaking all records, he will probably go past Sir Alastair Cook’s 161 Test matches and probably tally of…

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Veteran pacer James Anderson bowled England into a winning position, scalping three wickets including two in an over, as India slumped to 144 for 6 at lunch in pursuit of 420 on the final day of the first Test here on Tuesday. India captain Virat Kohli (45 off 51 balls, 5 fours) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2), who copped a few blows on his body and one on the helmet, were at the crease at the interval, still needing 276 for a world record victory. Kohli was the lone hope left…

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After briefly falling behind, Williams swept 10 consecutive games and beat Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-1 on the first day of the tournament Monday. The victory marked the start of Williams’ latest bid for a record-tying 24th major title, and as she left the court, she flexed her biceps. “This was a good start vintage ‘Rena,” she said. “It’s definitely good. I’m pretty good at pacing myself at a Grand Slam. Williams wore a colorful one-legged catsuit, and her game looked flashy, too. She lost only nine points on her serve…

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Rishabh Pant’s flair and Cheteshwar Pujara’s doggedness came to India’s rescue after a top-order collapse as the side reached 154/4 at tea in reply to England’s enormous first innings total of 578 on the third day of the opening Test here on Sunday. Pujara (53) and Pant (54), heroes of India’s remarkable Brisbane Test triumph in the recent tour of Australia, combined to keep India afloat with a partnership 81 runs in 14.3 overs so far. The home team still trails England by 424 runs. For England, off-spinner Dom Bess…

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Joe Root is one of the best batsman in the world, an incredible athlete and above all an inspirational captain, is how England vice-captain Ben Stokes described his skipper on the momentous occasion of his 100th Test match. Insisting that he was privileged to have handed over Root his 100th Test cap, Stokes said a winning start to the four-Test series would be a perfect gift for Root. “I’ll certainly be doing whatever I can with bat, ball and in the field over the next five days to try and…

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