Sports

ROME: Daniil Medv­edev beat Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5 to win the Italian Open on Sunday, his first trophy in a clay court tournament and a major boost ahead of the French Open. “I don’t love clay, but let’s call it a friendship,” said Medvedev after his one-hour, 41-minute win over the 20-year-old Dane. Medvedev, who had been 0-3 in Rome …

MELBOURNE: Australian fast bowler Scott Boland said he turned down the opportunity to play county cricket in England so that he would be fresh heading into the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the Ashes. Only the second Indigenous Australian male to play a Test, Boland made his debut in December 2021 at the last Ashes, where he announced himself …

BEIJING: Chinese badminton great Chen Long has announced his retirement aged 34, ending a decorated career that included Olympic gold and two world titles. The former world number one won the Olympic crown at Rio 2016 and followed it up with silver at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He has not played since and has now officially called it …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) has been awarded the Asia Rugby DIV 1 Championship which will be staged in Lahore from July 4 to 8. This is the second time Asia Rugby has allotted the championship to Pakistan. The country hosted the event last year too. According to a PRU spokesman, the continental event will comprise teams from Asia …

BERLIN: Union Berlin slumped to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim on Saturday to require victory on the last Bundesliga matchday to secure what would be a sensational Champions League spot for next season as fellow Berlin club Hertha were relegated. Union, this season’s surprise team, have only themselves to blame for the defeat, gifting the first two goals to the …

LAHORE: An all-round performance from Zimbabwe Select’s Blessing Muzarabani helped the hosts beat Pakistan Shaheens by 80-runs in the second one-day of the six-match series in Harare on Friday and take a 2-0 lead. Muzarabani scored an unbeaten 24-ball 50 that included seven fours and two sixes. The fighting knock towards the end of the Zimbabwe innings lifted them to …

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United claimed an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion to take a massive step towards clinching a top-four finish in the Premier League on Thursday. An own goal by Deniz Undav and a Dan Burn header before the interval put third-placed Newcastle in command. But Brighton, in sixth and themselves seeking to qualify for Europe …

SEVILLE: Erik Lamela propelled Europa League kings Sevilla into the final once again with a 2-1 victory over Juventus on Thursday, sealing a 3-2 aggregate triumph in a gripping clash. Lamela headed home in extra-time to complete an impressive comeback for the record six-time winners, who will face Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma in Budapest on May 31. Roma went through …

NEW DELHI: England could not make the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) but their ‘Bazball’ approach is something batting great Ricky Ponting longs to see when India and Australia clash in the one-off contest at the Oval next month. England’s chances of qualifying for the WTC final evaporated after debacles in Australia and West Indies last year with …

Rafael Nadal on Thursday withdrew from the French Open because his hip injury has not healed and said he expects 2024 to be his final year in professional tennis. “It’s not a decision I’m taking, it’s a decision my body is taking,” said the 36-year-old Spanish player, who has played at the claycourt major every year since 2005 and won …