Andrey Rublev was tested early on but finished in style to beat Britain’s Jack Draper 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 and win the Qatar Open on Saturday.
“It feels amazing. It’s the first time I’ve won the same title twice,” the delighted Russian said. “I’m really happy. I don’t know what else to say.”
Continue reading...The British No 1, Jack Draper, produced another gutsy display to defeat Jiri Lehecka in three sets at the Qatar Open and reach the fifth ATP Tour final of his career, while world No 2 Alexander Zverev tumbled out of he Rio Open against Francisco Comesana.
Lehecka had stunned Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals in Doha and looked on course to claim another scalp when he won the first set. Draper required a tie-break to get the match back on level terms before he showed his class in the decider to take victory by a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 score.
Continue reading...Ryan Flamingo scored in extra time to give PSV Eindhoven a 3-1 home win on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff against Juventus, overturning a first-leg deficit and putting them into the last 16.
The tie was level at 3-3 on aggregate after 90 minutes and went into extra time before Flamingo poached a 98th-minute winner as Juventus became the third Italian side eliminated from the competition, after Milan and Atalanta on Tuesday.
Continue reading...The opening stage of the Tour of Algarve ended in chaos on Wednesday when most of the peloton took the wrong road just before the finish, and race organisers later cancelled the results.
When the riders came through a roundabout just before the home straight, the lead car went the wrong side of the barriers and the majority of the bunch followed suit, leaving the crowd bewildered as they watched two races unfurl.
Continue reading...The Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman said comments by his coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, describing him as “one of the worst penalty takers” he had ever seen after Tuesday’s Champions League exit were “deeply disrespectful” and hurtful.
Club Brugge stunned Atalanta 3-1 in the second leg of their playoff to dump the Italian side out with a 5-2 aggregate win and reach the last 16. Lookman pulled back one goal for Atalanta when they were 3-0 down. However the London-born Nigeria forward, who has scored 15 times this season, then had a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet, after which Gasperini said Lookman was not supposed to take the spot-kick.
Continue reading...Tour de France winner and two-time Olympic gold medallist Geraint Thomas will retire as a racing cyclist at the end of the season, the Briton said in a social media post on Monday.
Thomas, 38, won the Tour de France in 2018, after securing gold for Britain in the team pursuit in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. He was also part of the British team pursuit trio that won three golds in the Track Cycling World Championships between 2007 and 2012.
Continue reading...Jude Bellingham said that he was wrongly sent off and Carlo Ancelotti was left fuming over several refereeing decisions after Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Osasuna, extending the visitors’ winless La Liga run to three games.
Bellingham said of the 39th-minute incident: “I do not want to go into the details of what was said, but I didn’t insult the referee and I hope they review the footage because it was a misunderstanding, but I am here to apologise to the team anyways.”
Continue reading...Serhou Guirassy scored one and set up another in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 victory at Sporting in their Champions League playoff first leg to put last year’s finalists in the driving seat for a spot in the last 16.
The top scorer in this season’s Champions League headed in his 10th goal of the competition on the hour mark before providing Pascal Gross with a perfect assist to double the lead in the 68th minute.
Continue reading...Bayern Munich eased past Werder Bremen 3-0 on Friday with two goals from Harry Kane for their seventh league win in succession, to move nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
The Bavarians, who face Celtic in their Champions League playoff first leg next week for a spot in the round of 16, had their best chance of the first half through Kane but his stoppage-time header narrowly missed the target.
Continue reading...Several teams have pulled out of the Étoile de Bessèges cycling race in France after a car came towards the peloton at a roundabout during the third stage on Friday.
Ineos Grenadiers said: “The safety of our riders and staff is of paramount importance. Following multiple incidents of public vehicles entering the race course our riders, together with other teams, have decided not to complete today’s stage at #EDB2025.”
Continue reading...France’s Matthieu Jalibert will start at fly-half against England in the Six Nations on Saturday in place of the suspended Romain Ntamack, one of two changes from the team that beat Wales in the opening game.
Jalibert asked to be sent back to his club, Bordeaux-Begles, when he was left out of the 23 to face the All Blacks having been second in the pecking order at flyhalf to Thomas Ramos during last November’s autumn series but the France head coach, Fabien Galthié, said there was no grudge held against the 26-year-old.
Continue reading...Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin fractured his hand and his foot which will both require surgeries after a nasty crash in pre-season testing in Sepang, Malaysia, on Wednesday, casting doubts on his title defence this season.
Martin, who made the switch from Pramac Racing to Aprilia after winning the 2024 MotoGP championship, lost control of his bike on turn two where a highside launched the 27-year-old into the air before he landed hard on the tarmac.
The Spaniard also hit the track face first as his helmet shattered and the session was briefly halted with red flags. He was taken to the medical centre by ambulance before being moved to the hospital for further checks.
Barcelona closed the gap on La Liga leaders, Real Madrid, to four points, but were reliant on Robert Lewandowski’s second-half goal to beat struggling Alavés.
The home side dominated possession with Alavés, who sit in 18th place, happy to sit back and defend. Barça almost scored near the half-hour mark when Manu Sánchez’s attempt to clear Raphinha’s cross went to Lewandowski, but the Polish striker put his shot wide.
Continue reading...West Indies secured their first Test win in Pakistan since 1990 after beating the hosts by 120 runs in the second match in Multan on Monday to ensure the series ended in a 1-1 draw.
Pakistan needed 178 to win and sweep the two-match series after being reduced to 76-4 at stumps on the second day but lost two quick wickets when Saud Shakeel (13) and Kashif Ali (1) were removed cheaply by Kevin Sinclair and Jomel Warrican.
Continue reading...Two added time goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Samuel Chukwueze earned Milan an unlikely 3-2 win at home to struggling Parma in a dramatic game at San Siro on Sunday.
The win moves Milan to sixth in the standings, while Parma are just above the relegation zone in 17th. Parma took the lead in the 24th minute through Matteo Cancellieri before Milan equalised from the penalty spot, with Christian Pulisic converting seven minutes before the break.
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