Venus off to winning start
Montreal: Venus Williams advanced to the second round of the Rogers Cup after a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Caroline Dolehide on Monday. The 14th-ranked Williams made quick work of her 19-year-old fellow American in the second set after coming from behind to win a back-and-forth first set. The seven-time Grand Slam champion will now face either Sorana Cristea or Monica Niculescu in the second round.It looked like an upset was in the cards in the early going. The 124th-ranked Dolehide, who was making her Rogers Cup debut, jumped to a 3-1 lead in the first set after breaking Williams' serve. One of just two teenagers in the main draw, Dolehide used her heavy service game and aggressive play to challenge Williams on every point.
‘NO MENTAl BlOCK FOR SINDHU IN FINAlS'
New delhi: Indian badminton great Prakash Padukone insists that P V Sindhu doesn't have any mental block in major finals and urged the media to not put the star shuttler under pressure by focussing on her defeats. The former All England Champion backed Sindhu to win the World Championship crown soon after two consecutive Silver medal performances in the prestigious event. Sindhu lost the World Championship final to Spain's Carolina Marin on Sunday, her third major final defeat. She had lost the Worlds final last year and the title clash of the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also finished runner-up in the Superseries Finals in Dubai last year.
COURTOIS ON VERGE TO REAl MOVE
london: Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is closing in on a move to Real Madrid in a deal worth around 35 million euros ($41 million), Spanish media reported on Tuesday. "Courtois, decision imminent", Madrid sports daily Marca ran as its headline, claiming that the record 13-time European champions are "confident of his signing". "The Courtois soap opera is coming to its end. The target, who yesterday did not attend Chelsea training despite being at the end of his holidays, speeds up the process to sign for Real Madrid, an announcement that could become official in the coming hours," Marca wrote. Real will pay 35 million euros to bring the Belgium international, voted the best goalkeeper at the World Cup, to the Bernabeu, according to Marca.
Indian colts blank Yemen 3-0
Amman: Dishing out yet another impressive performance, the Indian football team routed Yemen 3-0 to end the five-nation WAFF U-16 Championship on a high in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday. After central defender Harpreet Singh headed the first one in the 37th minute, two goals in two minutes immediately after resumption took the issue beyond Yemen's reach. While the second goal was headed in by an ice-cool Ridge Demello in the 47th minute, Rohit Danu lobbed it over the rival goalkeeper a minute later, providing the perfect finish to a promising build-up.Head coach Bibiano Fernandes lauded the boys for their "fantastic display".