UK-Sport Summary
Soderling crushes Djokovic to reach semi-finals
LONDON - Swede Robin Soderling became the first qualifier for the semi-finals at the ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday when he battered world number three Novak Djokovic 7-6 6-1 for his second major shock of the tournament. Soderling, only competing in the elite year-end showpiece at London's O2 Arena after Andy Roddick's injury-enforced withdrawal, backed up his opening Group B win over Rafael Nadal with another magnificent display of power and precision.
Seven games under match-fixing microscope - UEFA
LONDON - Seven European club matches, including one Champions League qualifier, are under investigation after last week's exposure of a match-fixing ring, UEFA said on Wednesday. "From the original list of around 40 fixtures in Europe that were considered suspicious in terms of results, UEFA is today further investigating seven European club competition fixtures under its jurisdiction in more detail," said UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino in a statement.
Liverpool assure Benitez his job is secure
LONDON - Liverpool have assured Rafa Benitez that his job is secure despite the club joining the Champions League also-rans. While the five-times kings of Europe switched their focus to winning the second-string Europa League, managing director Christian Purslow gave the Spaniard a vote of confidence.
Briton Wood is named Europe's rookie of the year
LONDON .
Arsenal expect Gibbs to be out for three months
LONDON that the player would undergo surgery on Wednesday.
India tighten grip after Dravid's 28th test ton
KANPUR, India - Rahul Dravid completed his 28th test century and moved into fourth place on the all-time scorers list as India tightened their grip on the second test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Dravid made a superb 144 after becoming the third player to score a hundred before India were all out for 642 soon after tea on the second day.
Leicester coach Cockerill banned for official abuse
LONDON .
Europe trembles as Barcelona make music again
MADRID - Barcelona firmly dismissed any idea they were struggling to replicate last season's excellence with a masterful Champions League victory over Inter Milan, Spanish media said on Wednesday. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi, who are both recovering from thigh injuries, watched from the bench but were not missed as the European champions swept past Jose Mourinho's side 2-0 on Tuesday with early goals from Gerard Pique and Pedro.
Karlsson just happy to be back for World Cup defence
SHENZHEN - After an injury-ravaged season, Robert Karlsson is just happy to be playing golf this week as he teams up with fellow Swede Henrik Stenson to defend the World Cup at Mission Hills. Karlsson had just captured the European Order of Merit when he and Stenson won the 54th version of the event last year, but an eye problem caused him to miss more than four months of this season and he plummeted down the world rankings.
My serve was pants, says beaten Murray
LONDON - Andy Murray rated his serve as 'pants' Tuesday but was still optimistic about reaching the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals despite being out-hit and out-foxed by Roger Federer. The British number one had high hopes of notching up his second successive round-robin victory at the season ending tournament as he took a 6-3 head-to-head record against Federer into the Group A match.