Sports

An authoritative Aryna Sabalenka blew China’s Zheng Qinwen off court on Saturday to successfully defend her Australian Open title — the first woman to do so in more than a decade. The Belarusian world number two proved too powerful for the 12th seed with a 6-3, 6-2 drubbing in 76 minutes to claim her second Grand Slam crown on Rod …

HYDERABAD: Ollie Pope led England’s fightback with an unbeaten 148 and powered the visitors to a notable 126-run lead over India on Day 3 of the ongoing first Test. England were 316/6 at stumps on the third day with Pope and Rehan Ahmed on the crease. Coming out to bat at number three with the scoreboard reading 45/1 after Zak …

EAST LONDON: Former champions Pakistan continued their impressive run at the ICC U19 Men’s World Cup with a perfect 10-wicket victory over New Zealand in their last group fixture on Saturday. Pakistan finished as the leaders of Group D with six points in three matches, followed by New Zealand with four and Nepal with two in as many matches. The …

MELBOURNE: The Australian Open will crown a new men’s champion after Jannik Sinner shock holder Novak Djokovic to reach the final, where the Italian faces twice runner-up Daniil Medvedev, who came from two sets down to outlast Alexander Zverev on a thrilling Friday. Sinner roared to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 win that ended top seed Djokovic’s bid for …

Ollie Pope was unbeaten on 67 at tea with England still trailing by 18 runs and struggling against a persistent Indian bowling attack in the opening Test on Saturday. England were 172-5 at the break in Hyderabad after beginning the second innings behind by 190 after the hosts were bowled out for a mammoth 436 in the morning session. Pope …

ABIDJAN: Morocco’s 1-0 win over Zambia at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday had the knock-on effect of sending Ivory Coast through to the last 16, after a day in which the tournament hosts sacked their coach. The final day of group-stage action also saw Namibia secure a place in the knockout stage of an AFCON for the first …

DUBAI: Australia captain Pat Cummins and England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt were named Cricketers of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday. Cummins won the men’s award after a year in which he led Australia to the World Test Championship and World Cup titles. “It’s a huge honour. It has been a big year, lots of wonderful team success,” …

LAHORE: Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez will not see an extension following the completion of his three-month tenure, marked by disappointing performances against Australia and New Zealand. Despite only securing a consolation victory in a T20I match, Pakistan endured defeats in three Test matches against Australia and four T20Is against New Zealand during Hafeez’s tenure. After returning from the challenging …

Cricketer Shoaib Malik on Friday responded to reports regarding the termination of his contract with Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Fortune Barishal, saying he had left the country due to a “pre-committed media engagement in Dubai”. The statement came after several media outlets, without citing a clear source, reported that Shoaib’s BPL contract was terminated over suspicions of match-fixing. According to Bangladeshi …

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp announced in a shock decision on Friday that he will leave the club at the end of the season. Klopp, who led Liverpool into the final of the League Cup on Wednesday, had informed the club’s hierarchy that he would end his eight-and-a-half years at Anfield at the end of the current campaign. Assistant managers Pepijn Lijnders and …