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Today's sports news: What you need to know

07:23 am on 17 May 2021

Latest - England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of their two-test series against New Zealand starting next month due to pain in his elbow.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Archer had surgery in March to remove a glass fragment from a tendon on his right hand, an injury he sustained in January when an attempt to clean his fish tank went wrong.

The 26-year-old was having treatment for a long-term elbow problem at the time.

Archer returned to action for county side Sussex against Kent this week at Hove but only bowled five overs in Kent's second innings due to pain in his right elbow.

He did not bowl during the final two days of the county championship match.

The first test against New Zealand will be held at Lord's from June 2-6 before the second game in Birmingham from June 10.

-Reuters

Keeper Alisson heads Liverpool to last-gasp victory

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker scored in the fifth minute of stoppage-time as Liverpool snatched a 2-1 victory at the death against relegated West Bromwich Albion.

Alisson Becker Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Alisson headed home from a corner to secure what could be a precious three points for Liverpool in their bid to qualify for the Champions League next season.

They stay in fifth place on 63 points from 36 games, one behind Chelsea in the fourth and final qualification position. Leicester City are in third on 66 points with the latter two to play on Tuesday.

Striker Hal Robson-Kanu had scored in his first Premier League start in three-and-a-half years to give West Brom the lead, but Mohamed Salah equalised for the visitors to move level with Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane on 22 Premier League goals for the season.

Both sides missed opportunities to add to their score, but it was Alisson's incredible late winner that clinched a precious victory for the visitors.

-Reuters

Nadal wins in Rome

Rafa Nadal warmed up for the French Open with a battling 7-5 1-6 6-3 win over world number one Novak Djokovic as the Spaniard claimed a record-extending 10th Italian Open title in Rome in the latest chapter of their rivalry.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

After a mid-match wobble, Nadal turned up the heat in the decisive moments of his 57th meeting with top seed Djokovic - the pair's ninth in Rome - to secure the victory over the defending champion in two hours and 49 minutes.

"I was lucky in some moments, especially against (Denis) Shapovalov," Nadal said, referring to the round of 16 match he won in a tiebreak in the decider.

"And then I think I played a good tournament, I have been playing better and better, finding my rhythm on clay. I had a very positive week and I'm very happy.

"It's amazing to have this trophy in my hands for the 10th time. It's something impossible to imagine but it happened so I'm super happy and can't thank my team enough."

Nadal will now target a 14th French Open crown when the claycourt Grand Slam begins on May 30. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris and Christian Radnedge)

-Reuters

Kane helps tame Wolves and boost Spurs' European chances

Tottenham Hotspur's England striker Harry Kane scored his 22nd Premier League goal of the season to help his side to a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton which boosted their bid to secure European football for next season.

After Kane's late first-half strike, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg grabbed Tottenham's second just past the hour to seal a victory which lifted Ryan Mason's team to sixth in the standings.

Kane, the league's leading scorer, struck on the stroke of halftime, shortly after seeing Conor Coady block his header on the goal-line with the England defender then also clearing a goalbound follow-up shot from Giovani Lo Celso.

Hojbjerg spotted Kane with space in behind and played in the England captain who took the ball into the area and showed composure to hold off Coady and deliver a cool finish past a diving Rui Patricio.

Spurs hit the post twice in a matter of seconds shortly after the break but finally doubled their lead when a low drive from Gareth Bale was parried into the path of Denmark midfielder Hojbjerg who ran into the six-yard box to tap the ball home.

-Reuters

Swiatek demolishes Pliskova to claim Rome crown

French Open champion Iga Swiatek served a warning to her rivals ahead of the claycourt Grand Slam with a 6-0 6-0 demolition of former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the Italian Open final on Sunday.

The victory in 46 minutes meant the world number 15 from Poland, who shot to fame at Roland Garros last year by beating Sofia Kenin in straight sets in the final, will enter the top 10 for the first time when the new rankings are out on Monday.

Swiatek's third title overall following triumphs at Roland Garros and Adelaide came on the back of one of the most dominant performances of the 19-year-old's career as she dropped only 13 points against the Czech, who was the 2019 Rome champion.

She served with ruthless accuracy, winning more than 93% of points on her first serve, and converted six out of eight break point opportunities to close out the win against a frustrated Pliskova, who had no answers on the day.

It was also the first double bagel in the final of the Rome tournament and the most one-sided since Hungary's Andrea Temesvari beat American Bonnie Gadusek 6-1 6-0 in 1983.

The French Open will begin on May 30.

-Reuters

Australia's Miller wins rain-hit French Grand Prix

Ducati's Jack Miller held his nerve in a crash-filled MotoGP race in rainy conditions to win the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, with the Australian finishing ahead of local hopes Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo.

It was Miller's second consecutive victory following his success in the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, making him the first Australian to seal back-to-back wins since Casey Stoner in 2012.

In chaotic scenes at the Bugatti Circuit following a spell of heavy rain, a number of riders including defending champion Joan Mir, six-times champion Marc Marquez, Miguel Oliveira and Alex Rins failed to finish the race.

-Reuters