Milan scrape past brave Gunners

Three first-half goals saw Arsenal on the verge of creating UEFA Champions League history only for AC Milan to hold firm after the break and advance 4-3 on aggregate into the quarter-finals.

Di Matteo discusses pressure, Torres

Chelsea interim manager Roberto Di Matteo has discussed the woes of striker Fernando Torres, his aims until the end of the season, and the talks he has held with every player in the squad.

New and old clash in Group B

Some of Asia’s most prominent football nations – Australia, Japan and Iraq – have been drawn alongside some new names as the continent’s Brazil 2014 qualifiers head towards a climax.

Djokovic Flies High, But Stays Grounded

Novak Djokovic returns to the BNP Paribas Open as the World No. 1 and defending champion, but enters with the mentality that he’s part of the chasing pack.

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F1B Downshift- Michael Cannell ~ author of The Limit

Michael’s publisher sent me a copy of this book to review and I must be honest, I bought a copy for myself. It is a terrific book about the American champion Phil Hill and Count Wolfgang Von Trips. I hope you enjoy this interview with Michael and it adds to your understanding of that era

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Napoli canter in nine-goal scorefest

Napoli tore into Cagliari tonight in Naples, scoring six in scintillating style, only to concede a Joaquin Larrivey hat-trick, which will leave mid-week opponents Chelsea trumbling and licking their lips in equal measures.

Ajaccio snatch win to stun OM

Marseille's hopes of another season in the UEFA Champions League took another blow as Ajaccio scored a crushing late winner courtesy of Benjamin Andre to leave Didier Deschamps' side eight points off third.

Azarenka edges Barthel, now 18-0

Losing a set and 4-0 lead to Serena Williams at a Grand Slam tournament, which Victoria Azarenka did at the 2010 Australian Open, is one thing. Losing that same lead to Mona Barthel in the second round at Indian Wells is another. The top seed seemed to realize that distinction just in time on Friday, recovering from a double-break deficit in the third set, among other perilous moments, to survive Barthel, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6).
 
When I saw Novak Djokovic in person for the first time last year, in Montreal, he gave off the aura of a world No. 1. I was curious to see if Azarenka, who’s occupied the top spot for just over a month, would do the same today. She certainly looked the part, wearing the same attire as she had for the first 17 matches of 2012, all wins. And for a while, she played the part, too. Azarenka made Barthel pay for any short ball, returned aggressively, and generally played points long enough to either put herself in a winning position or force an error from her opponent.
 
But one thing Azarenka never had working today was her serve. Barthel also returned aggressively, not necessarily by choice, but because she couldâ€"Azarenka didn’t dictate play when holding the balls. Double faults were plentiful; she had 12 in all.
 
But a so-so serve doesn’t matter much when you’re leading by a set and two breaks. However, it was at this juncture that the silent Barthel produced some deadly tennis. The German flattened out her strokes, pushing Azarenka back and into retrieval mode. This occured in both players’ service games, sending the already vocal Azarenka into several screaming fits. Before you knew it, Azarenka’s lead was just 5-4, and when she failed to convert a match point, Barthel took full advantage, winning an eventual tiebreaker. For Vika, it was opportunity for an easy night lost. For Mona, it was a work of art.
 
A new set did nothing to change the momentum of the match. Barthel’s blitzkrieg continued, which included a number of down-the-line winners that elicited huge cheers from the growing, curious crowd. Azarenka’s frustration mounted, punctuated when she double-faulted on three consecutive points to fall behind 4-1.
 
Still, if the world No. 1 can blow a double-break lead and lose a set, so can the world No. 37. And that’s exactly what happened, more because of Barthel’s nerves than anything. Her once fearsome groundstrokes vanished, along with her follow-through. She was unlucky, tooâ€"up a Hawk-Eye review confirmed that Azarenka saved a break point by an angstrom; it would have given Barthel an even greater cushion. Ultimately, that may have cost her the match. Tight as a drum, Barthel failed to serve it out at 5-4, and suddenly she knew how Azarenka felt a set earlier.
 
At that point, I felt confident that Azarenka couldn’t possibly lose. My conviction was tested when Barthel again had a chance to serve out the match at 6-5, and when Azarenka’s 3-0 lead in the third-set tiebreaker became 4-4. But three hours after it began, Azarenka’s winning streak improved to 18 matches. What did we learn from this? I’ll let Steve Tignor try his hand on that in a forthcoming post. But I can say this for sure: Not all wins are created equal.
 
â€"Ed McGrogan

Serena unsure if Venus will play Miami

Serena Williams tells USA Today that while her sister Venus will go to the tournament in Miami in a week and a half, she is not sure whether her she will compete there.

Venus, 31, played her first match since the U.S. Open in Fed Cup, winning a dead-rubber doubles match in early February with Liezel Huber against Belarus. She is contending with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease, and pulled out of last week's event in Kuala Lumpur.

Serena not sure Venus will play Miami

Serena Williams tells USA Today that while her sister Venus will go to the tournament in Miami in a week and a half's time, but she is not sure whether she will compete there.

The 31-year-old Venus Williams played her first match since the US Open in a Fed Cup doubles victory in early February with Liezel Huber against Belarus. She is contending with the autoimmune disease, Sjogren's syndrome, and pulled out of last week's event in Kuala Lumpur.

Jankovic loses Indian Wells opener to Hampton

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP)â€"American wild-card entry Jamie Hampton beat former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
 
A few minutes later, America’s Christina McHale beat Elena Vesnina of Russia, 6-3, 7-5 to set up a possible third-round match against Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who was scheduled to play the final match Friday night.

Hampton will face Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia in the third round. Gajdosova upset No. 22 seed Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
 
Australian Open champion and top-ranked Victoria Azarenka was also scheduled to play with a matchup against Mona Barthel of Germany.
 
On the men’s side, U.S. teenager Denis Kudla also won, taking a 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Tobias Kamke of Germany. Kamke was a last-minute fill-in for Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, who withdrew due a wrist injury.
 
The men the crowd came to seeâ€"No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Rafael Nadal and American stars Andy Roddick and Mardy Fishâ€"didn’t play singles Friday.
 
Hampton, who last week moved into the top 100 for the first time at No. 99, had never won back-to-back matches in a WTA Tour event, and her most recent match against a top-ranked player was a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Maria Sharapova in the second round of the Australian Open.
 
She said that this time the experience gained in Australia and her first-round win over 38th-ranked Polona Hercog both were beneficial against Jankovic.
 
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Hampton. “I think the fact that I got a match under my belt here helped me a lot. In Australia I didn’t have that against Maria and she wiped the court with me.”

Djokovic: defeat to Federer at RG toughest

No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who will attempt to defend his title at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells this week,  says that the last time that a defeat got him down in the dumps was at the 2011 Roland Garros, when he fell to Roger Federer in four long sets in the semifinals. Ironically, the Serbian said that was his favorite memory in all his matches at the tournament.

"It was probably against Roger in French Open last year," Djokovic said. "Even though it was first loss of the year, I think it was a tough one. He was a better player that day, so I wasn't disappointed with my game because I think I played well. I think I went for all my shots. I mean, I wasn't being too defensive there.  But still it was a disappointing loss because I was hoping that I can play the first final in Roland Garros."

Djokovic added that he was able to quickly forget his semifinal defeat to Andy Murray in Dubai last week, perhaps the first time since 2011 when he lost a match when fully healthy.  "I haven't played great there in that event, especially that day he was playing better," Djokovic said. "But I'm putting that aside. I'm moving on. I have very, very important tournaments ahead of me that I need to prepare for." - Matt Cronin

Fener keep up chase

A 2-0 win over bottom side Ankaragucu, courtesy of goals from Moussa Sow and Mehmet Topuz, saw Fenerbahce keep within sight of Galatasaray, closing the gap to six points ahead of weekend's fixtures.

Majola believed to have violated Companies Act

The committee investigating the payment of unauthorised bonuses to Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola believes the Companies Act was violated and has recommended that the case be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority

Rangers players agree to wage cuts

The Rangers playing staff have agreed to massive wage cuts, ranging between 25-75 per cent, until the end of the season in a bid to help the club stay afloat, administrator Paul Clark has announced.

Late double sends Al Jeish third

An own goal and then an 83rd-minute strike from Abdulgadir Bakur was enough to send Al Jeish up to third with a win over Al Ahly, while Umm Salal claimed a vital win over Qatar SC.

Inter win late to reduce Ranieri heat

A late pair of Argentinian goals, from the heads of Walter Samuel and Diego Milito, were enough to stun Chievo and claim a 2-0 win for Inter Milan, lifting some of the pressure on coach Claudio Ranieri.

Friday Preview - Nadal, Djokovic In Doubles Action

Media notes for the BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Fish Among Charity Recipients Honoured In Indian Wells

Top 10 star Mardy Fish was honoured Thursday in Indian Wells along with two other ATP Aces For Charity awards recipients: doubles player Eric Butorac and The Champions Volunteer Foundation, the primary beneficiary of the BNP Paribas Open.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Mature Hanke putting team first

Following his move to Borussia Monchengladbach last season, former Germany international Mike Hanke has shed the bad-boy image of his youth and now ranks as a model team player, as he told FIFA.com.

Mature Hanke puts team before self

Following his move to Borussia Monchengladbach last season, former Germany international Mike Hanke has shed the bad-boy image of his youth and now ranks as a model team player, as he told FIFA.com.

Cairns fury as Modi fails to give evidence

Chris Cairns, the former New Zealand international, had to be ushered from the courtroom by his lawyer after respoinding angrily to Lalit Modi's decision not to take the stand to defend his allegations of match-fixing.

We’ve got our first pre-GP quotes of 2012

Amazingly, these fresh 2012 quotes feel a lot like the 2011 vintage. But… we’re here to serve. So… Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull 2011 Qualifying – 1st, 2011 Race – 1st “Testing has been busy over the last few weeks and I think we have made a decent step with the car. You never really know

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Kurukurus enjoying Spanish lessons

After a baptism of fire at Brazil 2008, the Soloman Islands have called on the services of Spain coach Venancio Lopez, who spoke with FIFA.com, to give them some pointers ahead of Thailand 2012.

Home comforts fuelling Marcelo Moreno

After a torrid time in Europe, Bolivian international Marcelo Moreno is rediscovering his form having returned to Brazil with Gremio and, in speaking to FIFA.com, the much-travelled striker reveals he is now feeling at home.

Second FIFA/LOC Host City Tour re-scheduled

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter has personally written today to the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff in order to schedule a date for an agreed meeting, with the second FIFA/LOC Host City Tour now being re-scheduled.

Australia preview quotes - Red Bull, McLaren, Caterham & more

After months of preparation and weeks of testing, it is almost time for the 12 teams and 24 drivers that make up the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship to show just what they can do. The Formula One fraternity looks ahead to next weekend's season opener in Melbourne's Albert ParkÂ…

Solomon Islands embraces FIFA's '11 for Health'

The Solomon Islands is the latest nation set to benefit from FIFA’s '11 for Health' programme following the recent visit by FIFA’s Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of the FIFA Medical and Research Centre, Professor Jiri Dvorak.

Australia preview quotes - Caterham, Mercedes, HRT & more

After months of preparation and weeks of testing, it is almost time for the 12 teams and 24 drivers that make up the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship to show just what they can do. The Formula One fraternity looks ahead to next weekend's season opener in Melbourne's Albert ParkÂ…

Australia preview quotes - McLaren, Caterham, Mercedes & more

After months of preparation and weeks of testing, it is almost time for the 12 teams and 24 drivers that make up the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship to show just what they can do. The Formula One fraternity looks ahead to next weekend's season opener in Melbourne's Albert ParkÂ…

WMSC modify DRS and tyre usage rules for wet events

The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) met on Friday in the Italian city of Milan and agreed a number of minor changes to the sporting regulations. The amendments include tweaks to DRS and tyre usage at events affected by wet weather. The FIA also revealed they had slightly modified the curfew rules for team personnel.

Alexander Rossi joins Caterham as tester

American Alexander Rossi has joined the ranks of Caterham as their test driver for the 2012 season. Rossi will work alongside the team's racers, Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov, and reserve driver Giedo van der Garde. The 20 year-old, who participated in November's Abu Dhabi young driver test for the team, is expected to take part in several Friday practice sessions. He will also compete for a second year in the World Series by Renault 3.5 for the newly-formed Arden Caterham team.

Alexander Rossi: An American in Formula One

Team Caterham announced today that American driver Alexander Rossi would join drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov, and Reserve Driver Giedo van der Garde as the teams test driver for 2012. The news came on the back of his new position as driver for the newly formed Arden Caterham team in the Renault 3.5 series. Rossi will

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Tamim dropped, Mushfiqur retained captain

Mushfiqur Rahim has been retained as Bangladesh captain for the Asia Cup, starting March 11 in Mirpur. This comes a day after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 14-member squad for the tournament

Samba starts Russian adventure with win

Chris Samba got his Russian Premier League career off to a winning start as Anzhi Makhachkala claimed a 1-0 win at Dinamo Moscow in their first game since the winter break.

Hughes: No shortcuts to survival

Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Hughes talks exclusively to FIFA.com about the London club’s challenge to remain in the Premier League and their future potential if they can achieve that goal.

Ranieri refuses to give up

Under-pressure coach Claudio Ranieri says Inter Milan must work together to begin winning again, after their 2-2 draw with Catania left I Nerazzurri 11 points short of a UEFA Champions League spot.

FIFA President touched by Nepal welcome

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter enjoyed a packed visit to Nepal, where he met with the country's President and Prime Minister, inaugurated the AFC Challenge Cup and pledged his support to the growth of the game in the country.

Inter rescue draw with Catania

Inter Milan went two goals behind within the first half against Catania, but a second-half resurgence through Diego Forlan and Diego Milito ensured the Serie A strugglers salvaged a 2-2 draw.

Ameobi equaliser ends feisty derby

Shola Ameobi grabbed a last-gasp equaliser to save a 1-1 draw for Newcastle United against old rivals Sunderland in an entertaining Premier League encounter which included two red cards and a missed penalty.

Australia preview quotes - Mercedes, HRT & Sauber

After months of preparation and weeks of testing, it is almost time for the 12 teams and 24 drivers that make up the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship to show just what they can do. The Formula One fraternity looks ahead to next weekend's season opener in Melbourne's Albert ParkÂ…

Conte refuses to criticise

Antonio Conte has praised his players and refused to offer any criticism despite watching Juventus draw at home to Chievo yesterday, a result which meant they lost ground on title rivals AC Milan.

Stadiums progress: Brazil 2014

The latest photos from the stadiums set to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil show the significant progress made in recent weeks. In some pictures, both the upper and lower terracing are visible.

Harrison Dismisses Cipolla; Querrey, Ginepri Advance

Ryan Harrison rolled over Flavio Cipolla 6-1, 6-2 in just 58 minutes to begin his campaign at the BNP Paribas Open Thursday evening in Indian Wells.

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Much improved forehand fuels Murray

Andy Murray credits a much improved forehand for his upset of Novak Djokovic in Dubai and his near take out of the No.1 ranked Serbian at the Australian Open. No. 4 Murray specifically said that his new coach, Ivan Lendl, has helped him add more weight to that wing. During his dominant period in the mid 1980s, Lendl was widely recognized for having the best forehand in the game.

"If you watch what it was like before and what it is like now, it is pretty major," the 24-year-old said. "It's not a major change but when you look at it, it's very different in terms of the way that I am moving my feet This week I have been hitting it really, really well and hopefully I can keep that up. It makes a big difference, especially going into the clay court season because it's probably one of the most important shots on clay I never used to make that many mistakes on my forehand, it's just a bigger weapon now than it was before and that's important, to keep developing weapons in different ways to win points and shorten points as well ... the more free points you can get, the less toll matches are going to take on your body."

Querrey, Ginepri, Harrison advance at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP)â€"Robby Ginepri became the first American to win his way into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open by beating Paoli Lorenzi of Italy 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday.
 
The oft-injured Ginepri was joined later by Sam Querrey, a 7-6 (1), 6-4 winner over fellow American Tim Smyczek. But the other U.S. playersâ€"Jack Sock, Jesse Levine and Rhyne Williamsâ€"were sent home after three-set losses.
 
Ryan Harrison showed why he is considered one of America’s rising stars. The 19-year-old from Bradenton, Fla., needed just 58 minutes to rout Flavio Cipolla of Italy 6-1, 6-2.

Harrison is in the same quarter of the tournament bracket as No. 4 seed Andy Murray.
 
Lukasz Kubot of Poland came away with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Ivo Karlovic, who complained about having to share a practice court on Tuesday.
 
On the women’s side, Irina Falconi of the United States and Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania played into the second set before Dulgheru called it quits due to a left knee injury and gave Falconi a 4-6, 5-2 win.
 
Jelena Dokic retired after the first game of her match with Gisela Dulko of Argentina because of a right wrist injury. Greta Arn of Hungary lasted five games and was down 4-1 in the opening set of her match with Johanna Larsson of Sweden when she retired with neck problems.
 
Other men advancing to the second round were Andreas Seppi of Italy, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Sergly Stakhovsky of the Ukraine, Matthew Ebden of Australia and two Spaniards, Pablo Andujar and Albert Ramos.
 
Dudi Sela of Israel, Frederico Gil of Portugal, Nicolas Mahut of France and Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan earned their second-round berths later in the day.
 
Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova opened the Friday night session with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who had been sidelined for the past month with lower back and left hip problems.
 
Lauren Davis , the 18-year-old wild card from Alabama and No. 221 in the WTA Tour rankings, toppled Petra Martic of Croatia, 6-2, 7-6 (7), and will face No. 30 seed Nadia Petrova on Saturday.
 
Varvara Lepchenko, who was born in Uzbekistan and lives in Allentown, Pa., also advanced with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over Alexandra panova of Russia.
 
Other women’s winners included Simona Halep of Romania, Tamira Paszek of Austria, Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa, Silvia Soler-Espinoza of Spain, Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan, Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine and Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.