Kaka rescues Brazil in 4-3 thriller

Real Madrid's new signing Kaka rescued Brazil with a last-gasp penalty to hand the defending champions a thrilling 4-3 win over Egypt in the Confederations Cup on Monday. Brazil were leading 3-1 with first-half strikes from Kaka, Luis Fabiano and Juan cancelling out Mohamed Zidan's effort before Egypt drew level with two second-half goals inside a minute.

The game looked destined for a draw until substitute Ahmed al-Muhamadi deliberately handled the ball on the Egyptian goal-line and was sent off, leaving Kaka to coolly convert from the spot in the 91st minute. Once again the match was played in front of thousands of empty seats, despite FIFA president Sepp Blatter's criticism that organisers had not done enough to sell tickets for Spain's game with New Zealand on Sunday.

But there was a carnival atmosphere inside the ground that was ignited by an incredible opening 12 minutes that saw three goals. Kaka produced a piece of magic, and exploited hesitancy in the Egyptian defence, to open the scoring in the fifth minute.

Barcelona full-back Daniel Alves chipped the ball into the box and Kaka took one touch to lob it over a defender then rounded another before slotting it past goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary. But Brazil's jubilation did not last long with Egypt back on level terms four minutes later when Wael Gomaa crossed from the right and Zidan rose above Alves to send a powerful header into the net.

There was more drama to come in a breathless opening spell with Brazil taking the lead again after 12 minutes when Elano's free kick found Luis Fabiano, who cleverly directed his header into the bottom left-hand corner. After three goals in seven minutes, the game calmed down somewhat although both Elano and Juan had chances for Brazil, while at the other end Hosni Abd Rabbou went close with a long-range drive.

Brazil got their third eight minutes before the break when Juan climbed above the defence to plant a header past Al-Hadary from Elano's well-placed corner. Egypt had plenty to prove here after crashing 3-1 to Algeria in World Cup qualifying last week - a result which has put their place at next year's tournament in doubt and the African Nations Cup holders showed their mettle, rattling Brazil with quick goals that drew them level.

After a clever build-up Sayed Moawad pulled the ball back from down the left to Mohamed Shawky, who thundered a right-footed strike past Julio Cesar. Before a dazed Brazil had time to recover, Egypt had another with Zidan finding the net barely seconds after the restart.

It sparked a new urgency to the game with the crowd getting behind the underdogs. Brazil coach Dunga took off Manchester City pair Robinho and Elano soon after and replaced them with Benfica midfielder Ramires and AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato but it was Kaka who ultimately saved the day.

Brazil next face CONCACAF Gold Cup winners United States on Thursday before a heavyweight bout with fellow contenders and world champions Italy on June 21. Egypt play Italy on Thursday before meeting the United States. Only the top two teams from each group go through to the semi-final.

Dementieva begins Wimbledon run-in with victory

Olympic champion Elena Dementieva began her warm-up for Wimbledon with a swift 6-2, 6-2 win over fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko at the Eastbourne International on Monday. With the 35-year-old event including a men's tournament for the first time, second seed Dmitry Tursunov of Russia had to battle hard to beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Former women's world number one Ana Ivanovic's struggle to get back to the top continued when she lost a seesaw match with Russian seventh seed Nadia Petrova 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Serbian Ivanovic, who has dropped to 13th in the rankings, was in sight of victory at 4-1 up in the third set but double-faulted to allow Petrova to break and then surrendered meekly.

"I think I could have played a lot better and that is why I was a little bit disappointed because I was practising really well," said Ivanovic, who parted company with coach Craig Kardon last week. Top seed Dementieva, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, looked to have a fight on her hands when Kirilenko saved three breakpoints in a 14-minute opening game which went to deuce seven times.

Kirilenko, who had lost in seven previous first rounds this year, buckled however as the set progressed and allowed Dementieva to go 5-2 ahead.

Torres hits hat-trick as Spain rout New Zealand

Fernando Torres bagged a hat-trick as European champions Spain crushed New Zealand 5-0 to open their Confederations Cup campaign in emphatic style on Sunday. The Group A victory, their 13th consecutive win, extended their unbeaten run to 33 games as they look to overturn Brazil's world record 35 matches without defeat between 1993 and 1996.

Yet despite Spain being the world's number one ranked team and packed with star names, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium was half empty, something that will worry FIFA with the World Cup in South Africa less than a year away. The match was always going to be a David versus Goliath battle and it was all Spain, with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and Valencia's David Villa also getting on the scoresheet.

"We did what we had to do, we started with a good rhythm and played good football and were leading 4-0 after 24 minutes," said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque. "The second half was a question of saving energy for our next match." Torres said it was a fantastic start for the team. "It was great for the team and for me it is always important to score. I got three so I'm very happy," he said.

They opened their account after six minutes when Fabregas slotted the ball to Torres on the edge of the box and he cooly curled his shot into the top right hand corner.

It was 2-0 eight minutes later after Villa cut the ball back for Torres, who side-footed it past flailing goalkeeper Glen Moss. The Liverpool striker collected his hat-trick inside 17 minutes as the one-sided game threatened to become an embarrassing rout.

Joan Capdevila crossed from the left and Torres outjumped the defence to powerfully head the ball home for his 22nd international goal. It was the second hat-trick for his country - the other coming against San Marino in a 2006 World Cup qualifier.

New Zealand's confidence was shattered as their defence, missing injured Blackburn star Ryan Nelsen, was run ragged. With Spain keeping possession and pressing forward, Fabregas got their fourth on 24 minutes with a simple tap-in after Capdevila squared the ball into his path.

The only other time the two teams have met was at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1997 when Spain won 13-0 and All Whites coach Ricki Herbert looked a worried man in the dugout with another double-figure demolition appearing possible.

He took off striker Jeremy Brockie, replacing him with Jeremy Christie to shore up the defence, and the tactic worked with the score remaining the same at the half-time whistle. But it didn't stay that way for long with Villa scoring the fifth just three minutes after the restart following a comical miskick from defender Andy Boyens gifted him the ball and the Valencia striker made no mistake.

Torres was substituted with 20 minutes left as Spain took their foot off the gas, conscious that they have another game on Wednesday. "The first 25 minutes were very tentative and on the world stage against the world's top team we got punished for a lot of things," said Herbert. "I made some changes and we grew a bit in the second 45 and were more disciplined."

With hosts South Africa drawing 0-0 with Iraq, Spain top Group A with three points.They next meet Iraq in Bloemfontein while New Zealand look to salvage some pride against South Africa on the same day in Rustenburg. The top two from the group qualify for the semi-finals.

Sania in semis of Aegon Classic

Sania Mirza's impressive run at the Aegon Classic continued as the Indian ace sealed a semi-final berth by beating 16th seed Hungarian Melinda Czink in straight sets on Friday. The unseeded Indian survived some anxious moments in the dying minutes of the match before pulling off a 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the quarter-finals of the $220,000 WTA event being played in the build up to the Wimbledon.

Sania will next face winner of the other quarter-final match between 13th seed Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova and unseeded Polish Urszula Radwanska. Sania went ahead by breaking Melinda at love in the fourth game. The Hungarian double faulted and the Indian pounced on the first chance and held next game to surge to a 4-1 lead.

Melinda struggled with her serve and a flurry of double faults again helped Sania's cause as the Indian capitalised on her rival's error to get one more break in the sixth game and served out the set in the game. The double fault bug bit the Indian too in the second set as she committed two in the fourth game to hand a 3-1 lead to the Hungarian.

Sania though returned the compliment in the next game when she converted the second breakpoint and held her serve in the next to make it 3-3. The Hyderabadi broke Melinda in the ninth game to create that little vital gap but squandered a match point in the next game to let Melinda draw parity.

Again she survived few anxious moments in the 12th game before stretching it to a tie-breaker, where she outplayed her rival to make the next round. With this win Sania also equalled the win-loss record against Melinda 1-1 as she had lost her first match against the Hungarian when the two had clashed in Kolkata in 2005.

Saina squeezes into second round of Singapore Open

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal survived some anxious moments before getting past qualifier Maja Tvrdy of Slovenia in a thrilling three-game opening tie at the Singapore Open Super Series in Singapore City on Wednesday. Sixth seed Saina came from behind to beat Maja 18-21, 21-11, 21-16 in a 50-minute gruelling battle in their women's singles match.

However, compatriot Aditi Mutatkar suffered a first round defeat against Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands after she went down 21-14, 21-19 in a just over half an hour clash in another match. It was also curtains for India's mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju as the duo went down to sixth seeded Chinese pair of Zhongbo Xie and Yawen Zhang 21-13, 21-14 in 23 minutes.

Saina said initially she was struggling to adjust to the conditions of the court. "It was a difficult match. She was a solid player. She was better aware about the conditions while I struggled initially. I was making many unforced errors, hitting the shuttle outside and conceded the game," she said.

"But in the second and third game, I could control the shuttle better and I involved her in long rallies. She was finding it difficult and made many unforced errors," Saina added. The 20-year-old Hyderabadi will next face Indonesian Adrianti Firdasari in the second round tomorrow. Firdasari beat qualifier Korean Moon Hi Kim 23-21, 21-15.

"I have played against Firdasari, she is a very good player. Our count so far is 1-1. I had beaten her last year here, while she defeated me in Korea. So I will have to play very well," she said.