Saina enters semi-finals of World Junior championship

India's Saina Nehwal and RMV Gurusaidutt notched up contrasting wins to advance to the singles semi-finals at the World Junior Badminton Championship on Friday.

Top-seed Saina prevailed over Lindaweni Fanetri of Indonesia 21-13, 21-13 in just 30 minutes, while fifth-seed Gurusaidutt stunned second-seed Korean Sung Min Park 21-16, 14-21, 21-19 in a 53-minute gruelling battle.

National champion Saina will next face third-seed Chinese Shixian Wang, while Gurusaidutt will take on another third seed, Chinese Zhengming Wang, for tomorrow's last four clash.

Manchester United nail West Ham

Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the groove as the Manchester United winger inspired a comfortable 2-0 victory over West Ham on Wednesday.

Ronaldo struck twice in the first half at Old Trafford to take his goal tally to five for the season and finally recapture the form that made him English football's Player of the Year last season.

A sluggish start to the campaign had led to claims that Ronaldo was sulking in the aftermath of his failed attempt to engineer a move to Real Madrid, but this was an encouraging display at last.

United started brightly as expected with Berbatov coming within a whisker of putting his side ahead inside the opening two minutes.

The Bulgarian international swept onto Nani's left wing cross only to see his goal-bound shot somehow deflected over by a fantastic challenge from Matthew Upson.

Nani went close himself moments later and the writing was on the wall for Zola's men, it was just a question of who found the back of the net first in a red shirt.

This honour fell to Ronaldo in the 14th minute and Nani was once again the provider. His pass was meant for Darren Fletcher but avoided him as well as James Collins before finding Ronaldo, who swept home a clinical left-footed shot to reward the home side's enterprising start.

Collins was becoming the scapegoat for the Hammers' defensive failings and was left red-faced again on 29 minutes when Ronaldo made it 2-0 with his second goal of the night.

The England star tried his best to keep his impressive scoring run going, unleashing a powerful drive that forced Robert Green into a hurried save before curling a delightful shot just wide as the one-way traffic continued right to the death.

Nadal easily reaches Paris Masters third round

World number one Rafael Nadal eased past France's Florent Serra 6-2, 6-4 to book a place in the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday.

The Spaniard, already sure of topping the ATP end-of-year rankings, next faces another Frenchman, 16th seed Gael Monfils, in his quest for a fourth Masters Series title this season.

Serra had warned he would attack Nadal but he was no more than a punch bag for the top seed in the opening set, which Nadal won in less than half an hour.

The Frenchman rallied in the second set but, after wasting his only break point of the match, dropped serve and Nadal then held to bag a straightforward win on his first match point when Serra returned long.

Ronaldo is FIFPro player of the year

Cristiano Ronaldo has been voted player of the year by his fellow professionals at FIFPro on Monday.

The international players' union, which has 57,500 members, announced that the Manchester United winger, who scored 42 goals last season when the Red Devils won both the Champions League and Premier League, had topped their poll.

"To be recognised by my fellow professional players worldwide coming from over 50,000 players is amazing," the Portugal winger said.

Ronaldo is also a strong contender to win the FIFA award and the European Golden Ball organized by the French magazine France Football.

"I would like to thank my teammates and coaches and everyone involved at Man United and the national team, as well as my family and friends for their support," Ronaldo said.

"Thank you also to FIFPro for this award and for your work in protecting the interests and welfare of players around the world."

Five of the Spanish stars who won the 2008 European Championship were named in FIFPro's team-of-the-year line-up.

With all but one of the players coming from either the Spanish or English leagues, the line-up includes Real Madrid's Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, Barcelona's Carles Puyol and Xavi Fernandez and Liverpool's Fernando Torres.

Barcelona's Argentina forward Lionel Messi is also in the team and Champions League winner Manchester United has Rio Ferdinand and Ronaldo.

Liverpool also has Steven Gerrard, John Terry is the only Chelsea player on the line-up and AC Milan's Kaka is the lone star from Italy's Serie A.

Arsenal keep pace after denting Hammers

An unfortunate own goal by West Ham defender Julien Faubert and a late clincher from Emmanuel Adebayor handed Arsenal a 2-0 win at Upton Parkon Sunday.

The Frenchman turned an Adebayor shot past his own goalkeeper after his side had looked set for a deserved point, with the substitute netting a second in stoppage time, which also saw Carlton Cole sent off for the home side.

Arsenal remained fourth in the Premier League but are now one point behind second-placed Chelsea, after their London rivals' 1-0 loss to Liverpool earlier in the day.

With perhaps an eye on this coming Wednesday's derby with Tottenham, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side that had beaten Fenerbahce 5-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

William Gallas, the captain, returned at the back with Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner restored as an attacking partnership.

Arsenal's reply was a shot from Bendtner that Green had to tip round his far post before Scott Parker was booked shortly before the break.

Wenger sent on Diaby and Adebayor for Walcott and Samir Nasri with just over 20 minutes left and Adebayor immediately headed narrowly wide from a corner.

Robin van Persie then launched a fierce drive through a crowd of players but Green reacted superbly to parry once again.

The Dutchman tried again, this time from a free-kick from well outside the box, and this time he saw his shot beat Green but smack back into play off the goalkeeper's right-hand post.

A goal was coming though and Faubert scored it for Arsenal, diverting Adebayor's shot past his own goalkeeper in a panic in the 75th minute, a fate Green did not deserve.

Adebayor made sure of the points by rounding Green after Bendtner had found him with a long ball and West Ham's unhappiness was compounded when Cole was shown a straight red card for a lunge on Alexandre Song.

Federer strides into semi-finals

Roger Federer dismissed unseeded Italian Simone Bolelli 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors on Friday to maintain his bid for a third straight triumph in his hometown tournament.

Federer's route to the final was also made easier - on paper at least - when his expected semi-final opponent, American fourth seed James Blake, suffered a 6-4, 7-6 defeat by Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

Lopez, the world number 39, has lost all six of his previous meetings with Federer who has yet to face a seeded player at this week's tournament.

After stuttering performances in his first two matches this week, the world number two was in full control against Bolelli, breaking the Italian twice in the opening set.

Following a further break in the second, Bolelli did well to save three match points on his serve at 5-2 but could do nothing more as Federer took the final game to love, ending the match with two aces and a service winner.

"He's a player with a lot of potential so I had to stay alert," said the Swiss after wrapping up his first meeting with the 23-year-old from Bologna.

"I tried to vary my serve a little and it all worked well, so it was a perfect result."

Blake was understandably less upbeat after missing out on the chance to play Federer and improve his hopes of a place at the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

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Roddick overcomes Ginepri to reach Lyon quarter-finals

Top seed Andy Roddick served a barrage of aces to beat fellow American Robby Ginepri 7-6 7-6 and reach the Lyon Grand Prix quarter-finals on
Thursday.

"Robby certainly played better than me and my serve obviously made the difference," said the former world number one, whose 26 aces included one on a set point for Ginepri in the second tiebreak.

Roddick faces Robin Soderling for a berth in the last four. The seventh seeded Swede easily swept past Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus 6-1, 6-2 in only 46 minutes.

Soderling beat Roddick in the quarter-finals in Memphis earlier this year in their only encounter so far.

The American, who is sixth in the race for the season-ending Masters Cup, is bidding for one of the three remaining places in the eight-man Shanghai event in November.

Manchester United and Villarreal are level

A second Champions League double in a row from Dimitar Berbatov helped Manchester United beat Celtic 3-0 on Tuesday, keeping the Europea
n champions top of Group E alongside Villarreal who beat AaB Aalborg 6-3.

United and Villarreal are level on seven points after three matches with Celtic and Aalborg trailing on one point.

Bulgaria striker Berbatov pounced on the half-hour to put United ahead before adding a second in the 51st minute and England forward Wayne Rooney wrapped up the victory in the 76th with his ninth goal in seven games for club and country.

A hat-trick by substitute Joseba Llorente helped Villarreal overwhelm Danish side Aalborg on a night when 36 goals were scored to equal a Champions League record from September 13 2000.

Arsenal remained in pole position in Group G with the 5-2 demolition of Fenerbahce in Istanbul, ending the Turkish club's 15-match unbeaten home record in Europe.

The English side have seven points, two points ahead of Dynamo Kiev who beat Porto 1-0 away. The Portuguese have three points and Fenerbahce just one point after three games.

Alessandro Del Piero and Amauri gave Juventus a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Group H in Turin where Ruud Van Nistelrooy pulled a goal back for the visitors who could not find an equaliser. Juve are top on seven points with Real just a point behind.

India completed a crushing victory over Australia in the second Test

India completed a crushing victory over Australia by a record margin of 320 runs in the second Test on Tuesday to seize a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

It was India's biggest ever Test win by runs, bettering their 280-run success over South Africa in Kanpur in 1996. Khan struck in the first over to dismiss Brad Haddin and snuff out any slim Australian hopes of salvaging a draw.

Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke top-scored with 69 before being the last man out, pulling leg spinner Amit Mishra to mid-wicket. Mishra finished with a match haul of seven for 106 after claiming five wickets in the first innings on his Test debut.

An off-colour Australia, reduced to 141 for five overnight, subsided against pace and spin on a slow Mohali pitch. Khan struck his first blow when he bowled Haddin on his overnight score of 37 with a perfect off-stump yorker.

In the next over, he forced Cameron White (1) to edge a drive to give wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni a low catch and he bowled Brett Lee first ball to be on a hat-trick.

Clarke, who added 84 runs for the sixth wicket with Haddin, put on another 50 for the ninth with Mitchell Johnson (26) before Mishra had the tail-ender caught and bowled.

Harbhajan Singh took five wickets in the match to leave himself one short of becoming the third Indian bowler to claim 300 Test wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar claimed the world record for most Test runs and Sourav Ganguly struck 102 in his farewell series to help India amass 469 in their first innings. The first Test in Bangalore ended in a draw. The third Test starts in New Delhi on October 29.

Manchester United thrashed West Bromwich 4-0 at Old Trafford

Wayne Rooney continued his remarkable goalscoring run as Manchester United thrashed West Bromwich 4-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani were also on the mark for United as Sir Alex Ferguson's side came up with the perfect response to victories from leaders Chelsea and second placed Liverpool earlier in the day.

Rooney, so impressive in England's World Cup victories over Kazakhstan and Belarus last week, also had what appeared a perfectly valid first half strike ruled out by referee Mark Halsey.

The manner, and size, of the defeat were harsh for Albion, given the manner in which they had stoutly kept out United for nearly an hour.

Nadal joins Federer and Andy in Madrid semis

Rafael Nadal shrugged off a pre-match shoulder injury scare to squeeze into the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters on Friday, beating close friend and compatriot Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4.

The top seed, and 2005 champion, revealed that he had taken treatment on his problem shoulder joint until shortly before the match.

Nadal will face off for a place in the final when he takes on Frenchman Gilles Simon, who defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 7-6 (7/2) in the face of 27 aces from the Croatian.

Andy Murray and Roger Federer earlier set-up a re-run of last month's US Open final as they ploughed to straight set victories.

Losing New York finalist Murray led the way with his 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Frenchman Gael Monfils, with second seed Federer storming past rising Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 6-3.

Murray and Federer stand 2-2 in their series, with the Scottish youngster winning in Dubai and Federer lifting his 13th Grand Slam singles title at Flushing Meadows in their second meeting this season.

Since Wimbledon, world number four Murray has played his way into the last four at every event he's entered save the Beijing Olympics, where he lost in the first round.

Federer saved the only break point he faced in 1hr 28min while breaking Del Potro three times.

The Swiss now stands 3-0 after beating the South American twice in 2007.

Murray improved to 2-1 over Monfils, coached by Lleyton Hewitt's former mentor Roger Rasheed who has instilled training discipline into the free-spirited French youngster.

But the new regime was not enough to make a difference on the day, with Monfils ending on a double-fault, his 31st unforced error of a 67-minute afternoon.

Murray struck 17 winners and 19 errors, breaking on six of his 11 chances.

The loss left Monfils adrift as he aims for a long-odds place in the eight-man season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, standing 14th with two weeks of ATP play remaining.

Murray has already qualified along with Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic with four spots still open.

Tendulkar breaks Lara's record, crosses 12000-run mark

Sachin Tendulkar became the highest scorer in Test cricket after surpassing West Indian legend Brian Lara in the ongoing second Test in Mohali on Friday.

After breaking Lara’s record, Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to reach 12000-run mark in Test cricket.

The Master Blaster needed just 15 runs today to overtake Lara's Test match tally of 11,953 runs and establishing a fourth world record in his illustrious career.

The 35-year-old batting maestro is already the world's top-scorer in One-Day International (16,361) and has the most centuries in Test matches (39) and One-dayers (42).

The Mumbaikar came close to surpass Lara's milestone in the drawn first Test in Bangalore but he fell short of just 15 runs after playing a gritty knock of 49 runs in the second innings to help India seal a draw.

Sachin made his Test debut at the tender age of 16 against Pakistan in 1989 in Karachi. From there on the little master of world cricket has never looked back.

The Mumbaikar came into limelight with his first Test century on a seaming Old Trafford track against a formidable English attack as he saved the match for India.

Tendulkar still remains the most admired cricketer from all quarters the world ranging from experts to cricket ardent fans despite not being in his best of form off late.

The body of the master blaster has taken its toll as he has been playing international cricket to close to two decades. Though several injuries marred his playing career time and again during the last five years but his never-say-die attitude still makes him the heartthrob of cricketing world.

Spain's Rafael Nadal returns to Lithuanian Ernests Gulbis

Rafael Nadal thrilled a sold-out home crowd with a comeback performance to win his 78th match of the season as he began the chase for a second title at the Madrid Masters on Tuesday.

The top-seeded world number one who claimed his only trophy in the capital in 2005, rallied past upcoming Latvian Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 riding a late break in the final set to victory.

Nadal, holder of eight titles this season including Paris, Wimbledon and the Olympics, has stalled in the quarter-final at the last two Madrid editions.

He was playing for the first time since leading Spain into the Davis Cup final against Argentina three weeks ago.

The Spanish hero failed to convert on his first match point against the 20-year-old Gulbis, but reached the third round on his second opportunity.

Nadal will play on Thursday against French 15th seed Richard Gasquet, a winner over Mardy Fish 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-3.

Saina Nehwal breezed into the quarter-finals in CYG

India had a good day, with as many as four shuttlers, including Olympian Saina Nehwal sailing into the quarter-finals of the badminton event in the third Commonwealth Youth Games on Tuesday.

Top seed Saina breezed into the quarter-finals, spanking Deborah Hay Beth Godfrey of South Africa 21-7, 21-4 in a lopsided contest that lasted only just 15 minutes.

In another women's singles match, Sikki Reddy stunned second seed Kate Robertshaw 21-16, 21-19 in a 24-minute battle to sail into the final eight.

In men's single, top seed Gurusaidutt RMV pummelled Joel Dubel of Seychelles 21-4, 21-2 to enter the quarter-finals, while Aditya Prakash got the better off second seed Wales James Van Hooijdonk 21-17, 21-13 in 28 minutes to book his quarter-final berth.

In the men's double, top seeded Indian pair of Sai Praneeth and Pranav Chopra thrashed Wales pair of Gareth Cox and Rhys Pritchard 21-8, 21-15 in 20 minutes to enter the final eight.

Kaka and Robinho lead Brazil to victory

World player of the year Kaka returned after an 11-month international absence to inspire five-time champions Brazil to a 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Venezuela on Sunday.

The 26-year-old AC Milan star was on target after just five minutes and set up the third goal as Brazil moved back into the second place in the South American standings with 16 points, four behind leaders Paraguay.

Manchester City ace Robinho also grabbed a share of the headlines with two sublime goals.

Venezuela came into the match buoyed by having won a friendly between the two nations 2-0 in a friendly in Boston last year, their first ever victory ending a run of 17 successive defeats against their illustrious rivals.

Venezuela had chances to hit back before half-time as Brazil's defensive frailities looked in danger of being exposed, but Alejandro Guerra, Jorge Rojas, Juan Arango and Giancarlo Maldonado all wasted opportunities.

Adriano was booked on the stroke of half-time which means he will be suspended for Wednesday's visit of Colombia.

Brazil keeper Julio Cesar was twice called on early in the second half to save from Maldonado at close range.

Venezuela, the only South American team never to have played in a World Cup, paid for their wastefulness after 69 minutes when Robinho added his second goal of the night being put through by Kleber.

Robinho controlled the ball superbly, steadied himself and slotted the ball into the corner of the net.

Kunitsyn, Jankovic win Kremlin Cup titles

Unseeded Igor Kunitsyn stunned Russian compatriot, and former world number one, Marat Safin to win the Kremlin Cup on Sunday in a three-set marathon which gave the 71st ranked player his first career title.

Jelena Jankovic won the women's title in the joint $.4-million TP-WTA tournament with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Russia's Vera Zvonareva.

Safin, who was seeded seventh, produced 21 aces but all in vain as Kunitsyn won 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 in two hours 49 minutes to deny his mercurial countryman a first title since winning the Australian Open in 2005.

Both Safin, who played his first final since losing the 2006 Kremlin Cup final to Nikolay Davydenko, and Kunitsyn, who was playing his first final -- kept their serves throughout the first set.

In a tiebreak that followed Kunitsyn was more accurate to gain a one-set lead in one hour six minutes.

Kunitsyn broke midway through the second set but Safin broke back immediately to level, forcing another tiebreak, which he won to level at one set all after two hours five minutes.

In the deciding set, Kunitsyn broke in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead, which he kept to clinch his first ATP title.

Kunitsyn, 27, received $171,000 while Safin earned $92,400.

Meanwhile, Jankovic won 6-2, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes to record a fourth victory in five head-to-heads with Zvonareva this season and clinch her fourth crown of 2008.

Jankovic received a silver trophy and a $196,900 prize cheque, while runner-up Zvonareva pocketed $105,800.

Jankovic crushes Dementieva to reach Kremlin Cup final

World number one Jelena Jankovic overcame a dreadful start to power past holder Elena Dementieva 0-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the Kremlin Cup semi-finals on Saturday.

The Russian third seed blew Jankovic off the court in the first set but the Serb, making her debut in Moscow, returned the favour by taking 12 of the last 13 games to clinch the see-saw encounter that lasted one hour 45 minutes.

The in-form Jankovic, who won titles in Stuttgart and Beijing in the past two weeks, will face second seed Dinara Safina or her Russian compatriot, number seven Vera Zvonareva, who meet in the second semi later on Saturday.

Also, men's seventh seed Marat Safin, who eliminated top seed and three-times Kremlin Cup winner Nikolay Davydenko in the quarters, takes on 98th-ranked German Mischa Zverev followed by unseeded Russian Igor Kunitsyn meeting Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

Sania to spearhead Asia-Pacific in World Challenge

Sania Mirza will spearhead the Asia-Pacific challenge in the World Team Challenge tournament in Hong Kong next year.

The January 7-10 tournament, a new concept and warm-up competition for the Australian Open, will feature four teams representing Europe, Russia, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

Each team will be represented by three players who would compete in both singles and doubles, Hong Kong Tennis Patrons' Association president Ian Wade said today.

There will be a semi-final draw for the teams, with each tie consisting of singles and doubles rubbers. The two teams which scores the most number of wins overall will progress to the final.

World number one Jelena Jankovic will lead Team Europe, Venus Williams will head the Americas, while Maria Sharapova will be leading Russia. The rest of the field will be announced later.

The tournament will replace the JB Group Classic exhibition, which is traditionally a warm-up event for women in the run up to the first Grand Slam of the season in Melbourne in January.

Ana Ivanovic became the second high-profile player to tumble

Ana Ivanovic became the second high-profile player to tumble out of the Kremlin Cup in two days after losing to Dominika Cibulkova on Wednesday.

The Serbian fourth seed followed Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Venus Williams, who was ousted by Italy's Flavia Pennetta in the first round on Tuesday.

World number five Ivanovic had two match points in the 10th game but the unseeded Slovak fought back to force a tiebreak, where she held her nerve to clinch a memorable victory.

Olympic champion Elena Dementieva also showed her fighting qualities to outlast Slovenian qualifier Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Russian third seed hit two successive aces in the tie-break to end a contest that lasted nearly three hours.

Owen omitted, Cole out for England World Cup qualifiers

The 28-year-old Newcastle United striker has scored 40 goals in 89 appearances for England but has still not convinced Capello about his fitness this season despite playing in his club's last six games. His last cap came against France in March.

Portsmouth forward Peter Crouch and Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips return to the squad for the Group Six fixtures after good form for their clubs.

Crouch is one of four strikers in the squad, the others being Portsmouth team mate Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey.

Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole is ruled out with a foot injury after scoring for his club on Sunday while Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinson is also missing because of a calf strain.

England, who top the group after away wins against Andorra and Croatia, face Kazakhstan at Wembley on Saturday before facing Belarus in Minsk the following Wednesday.

Liverpool steal late victory

Liverpool fought back to a last-gasp 3-2 victory at 10-man Manchester City to keep pace with Chelsea at the top of the English Premier League on Sunday.

The Reds were 2-0 down before Fernando Torres levelled with two goals and Dirk Kuyt snatched a late winner as Chelsea beat visitors Aston Villa 2-0 thanks to goals from Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka.

The results leave Liverpool and Chelsea level on points at the top of the Premier League, with the Blues ahead on goal difference.

Spain striker Torres scored Liverpool's 1,000th goal in the Premier League in the 55th minute, before City defender Pablo Zabaleta was sent off in the 67th minute for a dreadful challenge on Xabi Alonso.

Torres scored a simple glancing header six minutes later before Netherlands forward Kuyt stole a victory for the Reds with a drilled shot in injury time.

Gunners seek to build on Euro feelgood factor

Arsene Wenger's stomach will have been settled by Tuesday night's demolition of Porto in the Champions League after the Frenchman revealed last weekend's Emirates Stadium defeat by Hull had left him feeling sick.

And his usual picks had perhaps redeemed themselves just in time with their 4-0 midweek success as Wenger certainly has plenty of young talent in reserve waiting for a chance, as the 6-0 League Cup thrashing of Sheffield United demonstrated just days before the Hull reverse.

Opposition from the north are again on the Gunners' radar, in the form of Roy Keane's Sunderland, who play hosts at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, and Wenger believes last weekend's traumatic experience will ensure his players are fully focused this time.

"We responded well against Porto," the Frenchman said. "First of all it was important to show that Saturday was an accident. We gave the first half of the response on Tuesday night and we want to give the other half on Saturday at Sunderland."

"When you go to Sunderland, you want your team to be completely at its best, and focused. I believe what happened last week will help us to do that. The pain was big, the response was good. I believe we have a healthy attitude in the squad and that has been shown against Porto. We want to show we have learned from the defeat against Hull."

With Arsenal also having lost at Fulham already this season, Wenger is aware that the margin of error available to his side is diminishing.

"I do not think, looking at the league table, the Hull result has too much of an impact," he said. "But it is damaging because you do not want to lose at home against anybody."

Sunderland, who also suffered a 2-1 home loss last week, to Aston Villa, fear that Hull's success will probably diminish their own chances of success, or at least remove any complacency that might have lingered in the minds of men who will soon have World Cup qualifiers around the globe on their minds.

A good performance from goalkeeper Craig Gordon is likely to be vital for the Black Cats therefore and the Scotland international admitted the Hull result was one his side could have done without.

Ferrer ambushed by Del Potro in Tokyo

Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro ended top seed David Ferrer's reign as Japan Open champion with a 6-1, 7-5 quarter-final victory on Frida
y.

The fifth-seeded Del Potro, who recently helped his country reach the David Cup final, tore through the first set in just 27 minutes against a listless Ferrer.

The Spanish world number five, looking for back-to-back victories at the $969,000 Tokyo tournament, lifted his game in the second but ran into a red-hot opponent.

Ferrer, who suffered an embarrassing early exit in Beijing last week, had little left in the tank against a player he is set to meet again in next month's Davis Cup final in Argentina.

Sensing Ferrer's energy levels were low, the 20-year-old moved in for the kill as the Spaniard served at 5-6, finishing off the match with a crushing forehand into the corner.

A fifth title of the year would move Del Potro into the coveted eighth spot in the year-long rankings and in line for a place at the season-ending Masters Cup.

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have already qualified for the prestigious eight-man Shanghai shootout.

Federer plots Australian Open warm-up

US Open champion Roger Federer will again warm up for the Australian Open at the invitational Kooyong Classic, organisers said on Thursday.

Federer missed the tournament earlier this year with a virus and appeared lethargic at the Australian Open before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semi-finals.

Federer won his fifth US Open crown by beating Briton Andy Murray last month.

Federer's Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, who combined with the former world number one to win the men's doubles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in August, has also been confirmed for the January 14-17 tournament.

Former world number one Marat Safin will also compete, along with 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and James Blake of the US, who is playing at the courts in suburban Melbourne for the first time.

Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, who won the silver in the men's singles at Beijing, is also returning, while Latvia's Ernests Gulbis will make his debut at the event.

Real Madrid maintained their unbeaten start

Real Madrid maintained their unbeaten start in the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 win over Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday making it the first time in five years they have won their opening two matches.

UEFA Cup and Super Cup holders Zenit, coached by Dutchman Dick Advocaat, welcomed back star striker Andrei Arshavin, who was missing for their opening Group H loss to Juventus.

Real coach Bernd Schuster, who was having to make do without injured midfielder Guti, started Raul on the bench as he and his multi-millionaire squad went in search of a follow up win after seeing off BATE Borisov of Belarus a fortnight ago.

The Spaniards, who travelled to Saint Petersburg in buoyant form having won their last four league games, were rewarded for coming out of the blocks smartly with an own goal from Tomas Hubocan in the fourth minute.

Hubocan came off for Alejandro Domniguez and Fatih Tekke was introduced for Pavel Pogrebnyak. Arshavin, a target for Premier league side Tottenham over the summer, had a shot blocked in the 76th minute.

Then three minutes later the player who burst onto the international stage at Euro 2008 had Casillas beaten only for his close range angled shot to hit the far post.

Robben made way for former Feyenoord left wing Royston Drenthe with eight minutes on the clock with the closing stages dominated by the Russians.

Danny should have got the elusive equaliser in stoppage time but his shot from in front of goal went the wrong side of the crossbar.

The result in Saint Petersburg left Real Madrid sitting atop the table on six points ahead of Group H's later game between Juventus and Borisov.