Journeymen pros crowd fund, couch surf to chase tour dream
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Aspiring tennis professionals are washing their shirts in hotel baths, sleeping on couches and relying on crowd funding to chase their Grand Slam dreams, a stark contrast with the top tier players that some fear could fuel corrupt…
Hewitt prolongs Australian Open swansong
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – An emotional Lleyton Hewitt staved off retirement for at least one more match by beating countryman James Duckworth 7-6(5) 6-2 6-4 to reach the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Azarenka romps into second round without dropping a game
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Victoria Azarenka sent a strong message to the rest of the Australian Open field with a 6-0 6-0 hammering of Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck in just 53 minutes in the final match of the second day’s play on Tuesday.
Wawrinka says gambling sponsorships can help protect tennis
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Former Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka believes betting companies can help tennis weed out corruption, playing down concerns over the propensity of gambling brands sponsoring major events.
FIFA presidential candidate suggests 40-team World Cup, co-hosting
BERNE (Reuters) – FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino suggested expanding the World Cup to 40 teams and following the example of the European championship by spreading it across several countries to share out the “honour and benefits” of the t…
Serena, Djokovic back in action on day three in Melbourne
(Reuters) – Defending women’s champion Serena Williams resumes her pursuit of a seventh Australian Open singles title against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday, after fifth-seed Maria Sharapova takes on Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Rod Laver Arena.
Wawrinka advances as Tursunov retires with injury
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – French Open champion Stan Wawrinka shook off a stubborn early challenge from Dmitry Tursunov to advance to the second round of the Australian Open when his Russian opponent retired injured.
IAAF scandal worse than soccer’s crisis, says Johnson
LONDON (Reuters) – The corruption scandal that has rocked athletics is worse than the one that has plunged soccer body FIFA into crisis because it punished clean athletes, four-times Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson said on Tuesday.
Kipchoge and Kipsang set for another London Marathon duel
(Reuters) – Defending London Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya will renew his rivalry with 2014 winner and compatriot Wilson Kipsang at this year’s race after both confirmed their participation in the April 24 event, organizers said on Tuesday….
Konta flows to halt Venus progress in Melbourne
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Venus Williams’s dreams of winning a first Australian Open title at the age of 35 were shattered on Tuesday when she was beaten 6-4 6-2 in the first round by British number one Johanna Konta.
