Latest - New Zealand tennis player Marcus Daniell and his Austrian partner Philipp Oswald have been beaten in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Doha.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
After beating the Australian Open doubles champions in the first round and the world number one ranked team in the semi-finals, Daniell and Oswald were beaten 7-5 6-4 by Russians Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev.
"We actually had a lot of opportunities to break but they came up with some big serves and we didn't finish a few volleys. They just played the big points a little better than us and had the luxury of having zero tension. But still a good week for us with some big wins." Daniell said.
Daniell and Oswald will move onto the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai in a confident frame of mind however after their wins over the in-form Aussie Open champions Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek and world number one ranked Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah this week.
The Kiwi number two is projected to climb to 39 in the ATP doubles rankings, just five places off his career high of 34.
Wildcats beat Breakers
The Perth Wildcats have beaten the New Zealand Breakers 85-75 in their Australian National Basketball League game in Melbourne.
Finn Delany Photo: Photosport Ltd 2021
The Breakers led by one at half time, but the Wildcats broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Breakers 33-17.
Finn Delany top scored for the Breakers with 30 points.
Breakers coach Dan Shamir again couldn't fault his team's heart shown but there was little pieces of execution they could have performed better.
"We started well obviously and it wasn't just having the lead, but we executed. We didn't make every shot but we came out the right way and built an early lead," Shamir said.
"But overall with our few limitations right now we once again left everything on the floor. I thought it was a good effort but it wasn't enough and I obviously focus on a lot of little things that we can do just a little better.
"We have to do that in order to win games because with 75 points that we produced offensively, we have to really be perfect on a lot of little things. But overall in the big picture I can't complain too much for their effort and attitude. It was just not enough."
The Breakers, who are second to bottom on the table with a 4 and 7 record, play South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday.
-NBL
Otago fight back
Otago have fought back on day two of their Plunket Shield cricket game against Canterbury at Hagley Oval.
In reply to the homesides first innings of 517, Otago ended the second day on 218 for 3 with Hamish Rutherford scoring 60 and Nick Kelly unbeaten on 50.
And despite losing the first day's play due to rain, the other two games are well advanced with Wellington 60 for five in reply to Central's first innings of 175 in Napier, and Northern 112 for two in reply to Auckland's 141 in Whangarei.
Wins for Knights and Eels
The Newcastle Knights and Parramatta Eels scored wins in the opening round of the National Rugby League on Friday night.
The Knights scored five tries in a 32-16 win over the Bulldogs, while the Eels pipped Brisbane 24-16 in Brisbane.
On Thursday night the champion Melbourne Storm beat Souths 26-18.
The New Zealand Warriors play the Gold Coast Titans in Gosford this evening.
Mercedes struggle
Champions Mercedes had a difficult start to three days of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas ended the day 10th and 17th fastest and managed the lowest number of laps in the field.
Mercedes had problems with reliability and the handling of the car.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fastest, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, Alpine's Esteban Ocon, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and new Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
Conditions were difficult all day, with strong winds and a sandstorm making the track slippery throughout.
England win opening T20 in India
England's bowlers did the spadework before opener Jason Roy's explosive 49 helped secure a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against India in the first Twenty20 International in Ahmedabad.
Electing to field, Eoin Morgan and his men denied India a strong start and eventually restricted them to a below-par 124-7 despite Shreyas Iyer's breezy 67.
Roy smashed three sixes and four boundaries in his 32-ball blitz and England wrapped up victory with 4.3 overs to spare with Dawid Malan, who made 24 not out, sealing the win with a six.
The series assumes more importance for both teams as India will host the Twenty20 World Cup in October-November.
Ahmedabad hosts all five matches in the series with the second match scheduled for Sunday.
-Reuters
Roglic wins again
Primoz Roglic claimed his second victory in this year's Paris-Nice race as he won the sixth stage, a 202.4-km ride from Brignoles to Biot, to extend his overall lead.
Primoz Roglic. Photo: Photo News / Panoramic
The Vuelta a Espana champion beat sprint specialists Christophe Laporte of France and Australian Michael Matthews at the end of a short uphill drag.
The Slovenian, who will be hoping to win the Tour de France after cracking in the final time trial while wearing the yellow jersey last year, now leads German Maximilian Schachmann by 41 seconds and Spain's Ion Izaguirre by 50.
Roglic is the Jumbo-Visma team-mate of New Zealander George Bennett.
The last two stages have been changed to avoid Nice amid a local weekend lockdown enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19.
-Reuters
Wilder leaving Blades
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder is set to leave his role today after almost five years in charge.
The Blades are bottom of the Premier League and effectively 13 points from safety with 10 games of the season left.
Ex-Blades defender Wilder joined the Yorkshire club in May 2016 and took them from League One to the Premier League in that time.
They finished ninth last season in their first year back in the league.
This season has proved a real struggle and they have endured the worst start to a season in Premier League history, although they have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Their first league win did not come until 12 January, in their 18th game, when they beat Newcastle.
-BBC
Brady staying with Bucs
Quarterback Tom Brady has agreed to terms on a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that will enable him to reach his goal of playing in the NFL until he is at least 45.
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Brady and the Buccaneers reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension that voids to a one-year extension.
Brady, who will turn 44 in August, was contractually linked with the Buccaneers through the 2022 season.
Brady signed a two-year deal in free agency in March 2020, exiting New England for $35 million in 2020 and the same amount in 2021.
Brady's first season in Tampa Bay was an unmitigated success.
He earned his seventh Super Bowl ring last month when the Buccaneers cruised to a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He threw three touchdowns while winning Super Bowl MVP honors for the fifth time.
-Reuters
Rebels score first win of the season
The Melbourne Rebels played the last 11 minutes with 14 men but held on for their first win of the Super Rugby AU campaign with a 10-7 victory over the Western Force at Perth Oval.
Unconverted tries from Lachlan Anderson and Joe Powell either side of halftime proved enough to secure the victory even after Ross Haylett-Petty had been shown a red card in the 69th minute for a dangerous tackle.
The Force had got their first win in two seasons of the competition -- and a first in Super Rugby since 2017 -- last week but their core of test veterans from around the world were unable to inspire a repeat.
-Reuters