Sports

PARIS: Top seed Novak Djokovic resisted a valiant and inspired fightback from Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up a French Open final showdown with old rival Rafael Nadal on Friday, winning a near four-hour battle 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1. Showing no sign of the physical problems that troubled him during his previous match, Djokovic was initially dominant and poised for …

KARACHI: Balochistan rode on an excellent contribution from Awais Zia to complete a six-wicket victory over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their First XI clash of the National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi on Saturday. The left-handed opener, who had played five Twenty20 Internationals between 2012 and 2014 without much success, anchored Balochistan home in the 17th over with an undefeated 92 despite …

LAHORE: Central Punjab fast bowler Naseem Shah has been withdrawn from the ongoing National T20 Cup after the player complained of a niggle in groin. According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Saturday, Naseem, who earned a chance to play international cricket at the age of 16, has been replaced by paceman Waqas Maqsood. Naseem, …

LONDON: Serbia reached the Euro 2020 playoff finals after a double from second-half substitute Sergej-Milinkovic Savic gave them a 2-1 win away to Norway after extra time on Thursday while seven other nations joined them on a night of nerve-wracking action. Scotland will face the Serbians in Belgrade in one of four playoff finals on November 12 for a berth …

In my late sixties, and in the sunset of a cricket career which never really had a dawn, I have found it a huge privilege to play in Pakistan. I have recommended this experience to all my cricketing friends in England: some have followed me, and I hope that more will follow them. Some have asked me whether Pakistan is …

Rawalpindi: With Central Punjab (CP) and Southern Punjab (SP) making a surprising comeback today, the National T20 Cup has taken a curve and things look quite enthralling ahead in the tournament.  Here is how the points table of the event looks like after completion of 16 matches:      Teams         M         W …

PARIS: Twelve-time champion Rafael Nadal reached his 13th French Open final on Friday with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) win over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, setting up a potential blockbuster title clash against Novak Djokovic. For 34-year-old Nadal, it was a 99th win at Roland Garros since his 2005 debut and put him just one victory away from equalling Roger Federer’s …

KARACHI: Central Punjab revived their semi-final aspirations in the National T20 Cup on Friday when the returning Pakistan duo of Babar Azam and Faheem Ashraf combined to put an end to reigning champions Northern’s remarkable 10-match winning streak in Rawalpindi. The opening fixture of the 19-game First XI competition’s second leg at the Pindi Cricket Stadium was a virtual one-way …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is all set to rope in an Australian trainer to improve national players conditioning, agility and speed, PHF president retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar said on Thursday. “Currently, we are in talks with three to four trainers from Australia. Hopefully, within the next few days we’ll reach on an agreement with one of them …

COLOMBO: The draft for Sri Lanka’s upcoming Premier League tournament has been postponed, the cricket board said on Thursday, as the island nation battles to contain its biggest-ever coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Leading internationals including Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo, Shahid Afridi and Shakib Al Hasan had been up for grabs at a Friday ceremony ahead of the Twenty20 competition. …