Benitez: My next club must match my desire

FIFA.com recently met former Inter Milan, Liverpool and Valencia coach Rafael Benitez. In this first of a two-part interview, the Spaniard reveals how he spends his time away from football and what he wants from his next club.

TV Schedule: Davis Cup Quarter-Finals

The 14th of the 2012 season feature four Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group quarter-finals, which sees ATP World Tour stars on national duty.

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Kansas maintain perfect start

Sporting Kansas City stretched their perfect start to the season to four successive wins with a 1-0 victory at Chivas USA, while Colorado Rapids defeated Chicago Fire.

Santos Laguna go top

Santos Laguna eased to a 3-1 win at Toluca to go top by a point, while Monterrey went fourth as Angel Reyna snatched a 3-2 victory at Club America with a last-minute winner.

Getafe add to Valencia's woes

Jaime Gavilan created three goals for Getafe as they came from behind to defeat a slumping Valencia side who have won just three games since the start of the year.

Bayern reduce gap as Schalke climb

Bayern Munich have moved with two points of leaders Borussia Dortmund after a 2-1 win over Hannover, while Schalke climbed up to third with a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Introducing Sergio Perez…introducing his team

Sergio Perez is still capturing the attention of Formula One fans the world over after his stunning performance in Malaysia where the Mexican driver placed 2nd overall and put Mexico on the podium for the first time in 41 years. Sauber, not missing a moment of press opportunities, have offered a nice Q&A with Perez:

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Hertha take step towards safety

Adrian Ramos was on target twice as Hertha Berlin claimed a vital three points in their battle to remain in the Bundesliga by recording a 3-1 victory away from home against Mainz.

Wade guaranteed a baggy green

Matthew Wade has a week to contemplate his receipt of a baggy green cap after the national selectors guaranteed his place as Australia's wicketkeeper for the first Test against the West Indies in Bridgetown

Oudin wins back to back for first time since '10

Former U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin has qualified for the main draw of Charleston, in the process winning back-to-back completed matches for the first time since November 2010.

'Big 4' have won 11 straight Masters titles

With Novak Djokovic’s title run at Miami’s Sony Ericsson Open, a Top 4 player has won the last 11 ATP Masters 1000 titles and 17 of last 18 since 2010 Monte Carlo. The exception is the 2010 Paris-Bercy Masters, which was won by then-No. 5 Robin Soderling.

Big 4 have won 11 straight Masters Series

With Novak Djokovic’s title run at Miami’s Sony Ericsson Open, a top 4 player has won last 11 ATP Masters 1000 titles and 17 of last 18 since 2010 Monte Carlo, with the exception being 2010 Paris-Bercy, which was won by then No. 5 Robin Soderling.

Radwanska pulls out of Charleston

Agnieszka Radwanska was forced to withdraw from the Family Circle Cup in Charleston due to a back injury, organizers said. The world No. 4 was the tournament’s top seed. Radwanska, who won Miami on Saturday, had played five straight tournaments without a break, winning two.

Sharapova: Surgically-repaired shoulder healed

No. 2 Maria Sharapova, who had near career-ending shoulder surgery in October of 2008, says that her right arm is fine now, even though her service speed on average is bit down than it was pre surgery. "My shoulder feels really good," said the Russian, who has reached the finals of the three out of the last four tournaments she has played, but has not won any of them. "I'm really happy, that I got over that injury.  It took a really long time and a lot of adjustments. " It was certainly tough because I had to make those adjustments.  I wasn't used to them.  But, yeah, I'm really happy with the way the shoulder is."

Djokovic Beats Murray For Third Miami Crown

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic repeated as champion at the Sony Ericsson Open Sunday, defeating 2009 titlist Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6(4) to triumph for the third time at Crandon Park.

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Maradona: Speed of thought separates best

Diego Maradona says no player has ever had the same speed of thought as himself and compatriot Lionel Messi, while the FIFA World Cup winner has also named his favourite current stars.

Juve keep pace, Inter bounce back

Juventus moved within two points of leaders AC Milan as they ran out comfortable winners over Napoli, Andrea Stramaccioni began his tenure as Inter Milan coach in thrilling fashion, while Roma eased past Novara.

Olympiacos near title, Doxa drop

Olympiacos moved ten points clear at the top of the Super League table with a 1-0 win over Panetolikos to edge closer to the Super League title, while Doxa Dramas were relegated after a loss to FC Xanthi.

#F1Chat Preview – Karthikeyan, Massa, and the return of the French Grand Prix?

Another week has flown by and after two flyaway races, the teams are now back at their factories busying themselves ahead of China in a fortnight’s time. While we wait patiently for the next race of the season, here’s what’s coming up on this week’s #F1Chat. Narain Karthikeyan has had his say over Sebastian Vettel

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Djokovic tops Murray for third Miami title

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP)â€"Top-ranked Novak Djokovic won his third Sony Ericsson Open title Sunday, holding every service game to beat Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Djokovic also won in 2007 and last year. Only six-time champion Pete Sampras won more men's titles.

The lone break point Djokovic faced came in the fifth game, and he erased that. In the tiebreaker he lost only one service point, went ahead to stay when Murray double-faulted to make it 3-2, and closed out the victory when the Scotsman sailed his final forehand long.

Djokovic improved to 90-8 since the start of 2011. He has won five Grand Slam titles, including the past three in a row.

Now begins the clay season culminating with the French Open, the only major event Djokovic has yet to win.

Fener stumble, Samsunspor boost hopes

Fenerbache let a half-time lead slip in a 1-1 draw against Trabzonspor, while at the other end of the table, Samsunspor claimed a vital 1-0 win over Besiktas in their quest to avoid relegation.

Hoffenheim, Schalke share the spoils

Schalke maintained their third-placed position in the Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim, who led through a Sejad Salihovic penalty but were pegged back by a Klaas Jan Huntelaar spot-kick.

Dinamo deny Lokomotiv, Rubin rise above Anzhi

Dinamo Moscow won their derby with Lokomotiv to deny the latter a chance to climb to second in the Russian Premier League, while there were also victories for Rubin Kazan and Amkar Perm.

Newcastle buoyant as Reds implode

Papiss Cisse struck a double as Newcastle United cemented their place in the Premier League top six with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool, who had goalkeeper Pepe Reina sent off with minutes remaining.

Celtic on title verge, Hibernian near survival

Celtic moved within one point of winning the Scottish Premier League title after a 2-0 win over St Johnstone, while Hibernian boosted their hopes for survival with a 3-2 defeat of Inverness.

Miami Sunday Briefing - Men's Final

Media notes for the Sony Ericsson Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

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F1 Timeline – this week in #F1

After a busy couple of weeks on Twitter, where the teams, drivers and media have had plenty to say about both the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix, this week has been rather quiet in the world of social media. However, there has been a bit of reflection on Malaysia and Twitter gained a new F1

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Radwanska beats Sharapova in Miami final

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP)â€"The two finalists met at the net to shake hands, Maria Sharapova standing a head taller, even with her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

She finished second again Saturday.

Sharapova lost serve in the final game of each set and fell short in the latest bid for her first Sony Ericsson Open title, losing to Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-4.

Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is winless in four Key Biscayne finals. She was also the runner-up in 2005, 2006 and last year.

The pattern extends beyond South Florida. Ranked No. 2, she was runner-up at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells to Victoria Azarenka, which makes her 0 for 3 this year in finals.

“It’s always tough, because you do a really good job to get there,” Sharapova said. “It’s obviously always the toughest round.”

She hasn’t won a tournament since August.

Radwanska, ranked a career-best No. 4, earned her ninth career title and fourth since last summer. She’s 0-4 in 2012 against the top-ranked Azarenka and 26-0 against everyone else.

The match was 72 minutes old before Radwanska hit her first baseline winner. She was content to play the role of counterpuncher and extend rallies until the more aggressive, harder-hitting Sharapova would make a mistake.

There was a 28-stroke rally in the first game, but many of the points were quick, with Sharapova often too eager to end them. She finished with 45 unforced errors, most due to an unreliable backhand.

The relentless Radwanska committed only 10 unforced errors while chasing down almost everything, sometimes scooping balls at shoe-top level to keep a point going.

“She hit a lot of good balls on the run, and they were deep,” Sharapova said. “She didn’t just bring them back; she had something on them. Then the few errors on important points that I made, I thought maybe I shouldn’t have gone for the line so much, and aimed a little bit closer to the middle.”

The 5-foot-8 Radwanska used pinpoint placement of her serves to compensate for their modest pace, and erased all three break points she faced.

“Today was a very tight match,” she said. “I think I was just better for couple of points each set.”

Radwanska gave credit for her style of play to her father and coach, Robert. He flew home before the match rather than exchanging his plane ticket so he could watch the final.

“He said, ‘You’re playing well. So you know what you have to do, and just text me after the game,’ ” she said with a smile.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic will try for his third Key Biscayne title and second in a row when he plays 2009 champion Andy Murray in the men’s final Sunday.

The women’s final took place on the hottest day of the tournamentâ€"a cloudless 85 degreesâ€"and the stadium stands were aflutter with fans fanning themselves.

Shouts from the South Florida spectators suggested a division in allegiances.

“Vamos Maria!” one spectator yelled for the Russian.

“Vamos Agnes!” another hollered for the Pole.

Sharapova draped a rolled-up cold towel around her neck during changeovers, but the heat didn’t seem to faze either player. Instead it was the pressure to hold serve that made Sharapova wobble twice.

Serving at 5-6 in the first set, she committed four unforced errorsâ€" including a blown overheadâ€"to lose the set.

The second set was just as close, and decided in similar fashion. Radwanska reached her only break opportunity of the set on the final point of the match. When Sharapova sailed a forehand long, Radwanska lifted her arms in triumph.

“Obviously I would have loved to be the winner,” Sharapova said, “but that’s just the way it goes.”

Radwanska beat Venus Williams en route to the final and won every set she played. She improved to 2-7 against Sharapova, with her other victory at the 2007 U.S. Open.

“I’m playing against a really good player, second in the world right now,” Radwanska said. “I had pretty much nothing to lose. It’s just a great feeling to beat those kind of players, especially in the final playing great tennis.”

Roma recover to put five past Novara

Roma fought back from a shock early deficit to thrash Novara 5-2 at home in their Serie A encounter, meaning Luis Enrique's team are now just four points from UEFA Champions League qualification.

Suwon reach summit after Gwangju stall

Suwon Bluewings lead the way in the K-League after their 2-0 win at home to FC Seoul lifted them above Gwangju FC, who were fortunate to rescue a 1-1 draw against Gangwon FC.

Celtic edge ever closer to SPL title

Georgios Samaras scored one goal and forced another to give Celtic a 2-0 win at home to St. Johnstone, meaning Neil Lennon's side need just one more point to seal the Scottish Premier League title.

Panesar place under threat for second Test

Little more than two months after his successful return to Test cricket Monty Panesar could find himself back on the sidelines as England try to balance their side in their attempt to level the series against Sri Lanka.

FIA may have no non-compete but they’ve got a new engine man

We discussed the concern several months ago. Gilles Simon, the FIA engine chief, left the regulatory organization to join Craig Pollock at PURE engines. PURE, you’ll recall, is set to enter Formula One as an engine supplier in 2014 according to Pollock’s comments. In fact, the former BAR Honda boss says they could be ready for 2013

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England batting 'a sin' says Trott

Jonathan Trott has described England's batting in the Galle Test as "a sin" but has struggled to pin down a reason why a batting line-up that was so prolific only a few months ago is now struggling to compete.

England batting "a sin" says Trott

Jonathan Trott has described England's batting in the Galle Test as "a sin" but has struggled to pin down a reason why a batting line-up that was so prolific only a few months ago is now struggling to compete.

Teams commit to compete after 2012

Formula One Group Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone announced today: "I am very pleased to announce that we have reached commercial agreements with the majority of the current Formula One teams, including Ferrari

Wenger targeting quality, not quantity

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hinted that he will be planning to bring in just a handful of big names in the summer transfer window, rather than overhauling the squad totally.

South Africa solid on stop-start day

A fluent 63 from Hashim Amla eased South Africa to 136 for 2 at stumps after a wet outfield in the morning and poor light late in the day only allowed 42 overs to be bowled

Sundhage: Olympics are something special

After being pipped to the title at Germany 2011, USA coach Pia Sundhage told FIFA.com she is hoping to go one better this year by winning Olympic gold in London.

Magilton quits as Victory coach

Jim Magilton has quit his role as interim head coach of Melbourne Victory after a run of just two wins from 12 games under the Northern Irishman left the club outside the A-League play-offs.

Henry fires hat-trick, LA lose at home

Thierry Henry struck three times as the New York Red Bulls thrashed Montreal Impact 5-2, two late goals put Real Salt Lake top of the Western Conference, while Los Angeles Galaxy lost 3-1 at home to New England Revolution.

The things they say: Ahmed Hassan

Following his his recent world record achievement as the most-capped player in history, FIFA.com pays tribute to Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan by selecting some of the greatest quotes of his career.

The European Cup's exceptional upsets

If APOEL Nicosia are to make the UEFA Champions League semi-finals they will have to pull a huge upset to see off Real Madrid. FIFA.com looks back across the tournament's six decades for some inspiration from underdogs.

Malik stars as PIA take title

A captain's performance from Shoaib Malik, with bat and ball, helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) beat Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to take the Faysal Bank Division One title at the Gaddafi Stadium

Tiny St Kitts growing in stature

FIFA.com takes a closer look at Caribbean side St. Kitts and Nevis, who are rising up the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking following some historic results over the past year.

Football, a rich source of hope

A new Football for Hope Centre opens in Ghana on Saturday. To mark the inauguration, FIFA.com today presents a film on the Football for Hope Festival in South Africa.

Corinthians in Cruz control

Corinthians edged Mexico's Cruz Azul 1-0 to go to the top of their Copa Libertadores group, while compatriots Vasco da Gama and Internacional earned a win and a draw respectively.

Napoli into Italian Cup final

Napoli overturned a first-leg deficit to edge past Siena and set up an Italian Cup final meeting against Juventus in May with the Neapolitans hunting their first silverware since 1990.