Sports

ROME: Clay court king Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Italian Open on Saturday, falling to a straight sets defeat to Argentine Diego Schwar­tzman in a tournament the Spaniard had won nine times. Eight-seeded Schwar­tzman meted out a punishing 6-2, 7-5 loss in Nadal’s final warm-up before his bid for a 13th French Open, and record-equalling 20th Grand Slam in …

MADRID: Iago Aspas scored twice, including a brilliant free-kick, as Valencia slipped to a surprise 2-1 defeat by Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday. After a turbulent summer in which the club has sold several key players, Valencia were beaten by a side that only just survived relegation last season. Maxi Gomez pulled Valencia level early in the second …

PARIS: France forward Kylian Mbappe marked his return to action with a vintage performance and a goal as champions Paris St Germain rediscovered their form with an impressive 3-0 win at Nice in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Mbappe fired PSG ahead with a 38th-minute penalty and had a big part in Angel Di Maria’s strike before Marquinhos headed home the …

BERLIN: Hertha Berlin beat hosts Werder Bremen 4-1 in their Bundesliga opener on Saturday to earn their first win there in 14 years as they go into the season with renewed ambition. Hertha barely had any chances until they struck twice in three minutes late in the first half. Peter Pekarik was left unmarked at the far post and tapped …

KARACHI: Shaheed Benazir Bhutto XI edged past Abida Toosi Shaheed XI 38-36 in a thrilling girls basketball exhibition match which was held a part of Defence Day celebrations at the Arambagh-Abdul Nasir courts on Friday. A large number of women fans watched the match in which Cameron Turner with 12 points was the leading scorer for the winners, She was …

LONDON: Newly-promoted Leeds United continued their barnstorming return to the Premier League as they claimed their first points with a thrilling 4-3 win over Fulham at Elland Road on Saturday. After a 4-3 loss to champions Liverpool on the opening day, Leeds, back in the top flight after a 16-year absence, produced more vibrant attacking football along with defensive jitters. …

ROME: World No.1 Novak Djokovic and defending champion Rafael Nadal welcomed the decision to allow a limited number of fans to watch the Italian Open as the top men’s seeds advanced to the quarter-finals on Friday. Italy’s government has said that 1,000 spectators can be present at the Foro Italico from Sunday’s semi-finals, with matches so far being played in …

LAHORE: All players and player support personnel of the six provincial cricket association First XI sides participating in the National T20 Cup, which starts in Multan on Sept 30, have tested negative in their second Covid-19 tests. “They will now enter the bio-secure zone today in which they will be able to roam and interact with each other freely. Balochistan …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday held a strategic meeting over successfully executing its five-year development plan. Presided over by PCB chairman Ehsan Mani, the meeting was attended by directors of almost all wings of the PCB who mainly discussed various proposals for successfully executing the Board’s five-year plan. Sources said that after the first session of the …

KARACHI: FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Friday welcomed dialogue with the Pakistan government on the issues it has with the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalisation Committee but warned against interference in the matters of the body appointed by the global football body. FIFA installed the Normalisation Committee to oversee PFF matters in September last year after football in Pakistan was …