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American Horner takes Vuelta lead after stage two win American Chris Horner seized a solo victory on stage three of the Vuelta a Espana on Monday to claim the overall lead. The 41-year-old RadioShack Leopard rider moved ahead of the splintering pack in the final kilometre of stage three's...

Azarenka overcomes Serena Williams for Cincinnati title Victoria Azarenka won a showdown between the world's two top ranked players beating number one Serena Williams in a three-set thriller 2-6 6-2 7-6 in the final of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. For two hours and 30 minutes...

World Championships - Decathlon champ Hardee out after high jump failure Double defending decathlon world champion Trey Hardee was dumped out of the competition on Saturday as he no-heighted in the high jump leaving fellow Americans Ashton Easton and Gunnar Nixon fighting it out at the halfway...

Nadal beats Isner in Cincinnati for back-to-back titles Rafa Nadal continued his sizzling hardcourt form by beating John Isner 7-6 (8) 7-6 (3) in the final of the Cincinnati Masters. Unbeaten on the surface in 15 matches this year and comin goff a win in Montreal, the third ranked Nadal, who...

World Championships - Phillips planning golden sunset to long jump career Long jumper Dwight Phillips postponed his retirement for a year in a bid for one final golden moment and the chance to become the first US athlete to win five individual world championship titles in the same event. The...

Williams ends Li reign to reach first Cincinnati final World number one Serena Williams fought her way to a 7-5 7-5 win over defending champion Li Na to reach the final of the Western and Southern Open on Saturday and close in on one of the few titles to elude her. Williams, who has been...

World Championships - Kiplagat denies Straneo to retain marathon title Kenyan Edna Kiplagat defied hot and humid conditions and a brave front-running display from Italian Valeria Straneo to become the first woman to retain the world marathon title on Saturday. Kiplagat, 33, won the first gold...

Nadal to meet Isner in Cincinnati final Rafa Nadal continued his perfect run on the North American hardcourts, taming Tomas Berdych 7-5 7-6 (4) at the Western and Southern Open on Saturday to set up a final showdown with big-hitting American John Isner. Earlier, unseeded Isner had blasted his...

World Championships - Osagie full of confidence Andrew Osagie believes a lack of race preparation could prove to be a blessing in disguise after he eased into the 800m semi-finals on day one of the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow. The 25-year-old has endured a frustrating season...

World Championships - ***** and Shakes Drayton ready right wrongs in Moscow Eilidh ***** is fed up of falling at the final hurdle – and has vowed to put it right in Moscow. With the exception of her silver at the Commonwealth Games, *****’s major championship record over 400m hurdles looks a...

Stosur splits with coach Australia's Sam Stosur has split with her long-time coach David Taylor, the former US Open champion confirmed. Taylor oversaw Stosur's transformation from a doubles specialist into a formidable singles player after teaming up with the Australian during her comeback...

Williams storms into last four World number one Serena Williams was at her lethal best as she crushed Romanian Simona Halep 6-0 6-4 to romp into the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open. Williams' devastating form suggests that there is little standing in the way of the muscular American from...

World Championships - Lewis bows out early in Moscow Steven Lewis, fifth at the Olympics in London, suffered disappointment in Moscow having crashed out in pole vault qualifying. The 27-year-old was unable to record a height, failing with his three attempts at 5.40m - which was some way short...

Andy Murray capitulates in Cincinnati ahead of US defence Andy Murray’s US Open defence suffered a blow as he crashed out of the Cincinnati Masters quarter-finals in straight sets to Tomas Berdych. Murray went down 3-6 4-6 as the sixth-seeded Czech set up a semi-final against world number...

World Championships - Fans stay away as worlds get off to sweaty start The world athletics championships got off to low-key but high-humidity start in front of a few hundred hardy fans scattered around the 81,000 Luzhniki Stadium on Saturday, with star attraction Usain Bolt ready to be...

Djokovic crashes out to Isner, Nadal downs Federer American John Isner shocked Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters, while Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak against Roger Federer. In a heavyweight matchup featuring two of the game's...

World Championships - Broken nose shatters Semenova's discus hopes Natalia Semenova's hopes of reaching the discus final at the world championships were shattered when the Ukrainian suffered a bloodied and broken nose in a freak accident just before Saturday's qualifying round. The European...

Sharapova confirms split with Connors after just one match Maria Sharapova has confirmed she has severed ties with coach Jimmy Connors after one match together. The Russian world number three said in a statement emailed to Tennis.com that the pairing had not been "the right fit for this time...

World Championships - From Vanuatu to Moscow, teenager gets taste of big time While Usain Bolt enjoys a leisurely day before beginning his quest for 100 metres gold later on Saturday, teenage Vanuatu sprinter Daniel Philimon's World Athletics Championships lasted 11.53 seconds. When the...

Show courts to get 'giant umbrella' roofs The centre court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main venue for the US Open, and a rebuilt Louis Armstrong arena are to have retractable roofs installed, the United States Tennis Association has said. The move will bring the US Open into line with...

World Championships - World waits for showman Bolt to strut his stuff Usain Bolt will need to guard against complacency as he begins his bid to win the 100 metres crown while double Olympic champion Mo Farah goes for gold in the 10,000 on the first day of the world championships. Track and...

Athletics - Woman charged over attempt to defraud Boston bombing fund A New Jersey woman has been charged with submitting fraudulent injury claims to a charity set up to aid victims of the Boston Marathon terrorist bombings, prosecutors said on Friday. Union County prosecutors said Iris...

Federer sets up Nadal clash, Murray makes last eight The world's two top-ranked players, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, cruised into the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters as five-time champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were both tested. The ATP Tour's big four were joined in the...

Athletics - Kenya acknowledges growing doping problem With no means to spot cheats, Kenya sees education as the best tool to fight doping as it comes to terms with the reality that performance-enhancing ***** are threatening its reputation for producing world-class runners. Kenya has suspended...

Radwanska withdraws from Cincinnati Agnieszka Radwanska has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Masters for personal reasons, sending Li Na through to the semi-finals. Radwanska had earlier beaten Russian Elena Vesnina 6-0 6-2to advance to the quarter-finals but withdrew from the tournament to...

Players in shock but back Bartoli decision The tennis world reacted with stunned disbelief on Thursday as word of Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli's retirement spread, leaving the sport without one of its most popular champions and intriguing personalities. Following a second round loss at...

World Championships - Having a fun time key for relaxed Ohuruogu Olympic 400 metres silver medallist Christine Ohuruogu has been mixing business with pleasure this year as she gears up for the world championships, which start on Saturday. Having won the world title in 2007 and Olympic gold in...

Azarenka win cannot halt Bartoli buzz Victoria Azarenka's win over Magdalena Rybarikova paled into insignificance following the news of Marion Bartoli's retirement. A routine 6-3 6-4 third round victory by the world number two could not turn the conversation away from Bartoli, the Wimbledon...

Athletics - Japanese sprinters out to boost Tokyo's Olympic bid Japan's young sprint hopefuls Yoshihide Kiryu and Ryota Yamagata are hoping to catch the eye at Moscow's World Championships. Kiryu, 17, is the second fastest Japanese sprinter ever and his 10.01 second run in Hiroshima in April...

World Championships - French hurdler Decaux fails dope test, misses Worlds French sprint hurdler Alice Decaux is the latest athlete to fail a ***** test and will miss the World Championships after testing positive for a ****** stimulant. Decaux had been due to compete in the world...

One day on, Bartoli has 'no regrets' about retirement In the cold light of day, Marion Bartoli said she was having no second thoughts about her shock decision to retire from tennis and was looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life. Wimbledon champion Bartoli, 28, stunned the tennis...

Athletics - Olympic hero Rutherford rues contrasting fortunes Greg Rutherford admits his 2013 couldn't have been more different to his 2012 - but he still believes there could be another happy ending. In the past 12 months the coach who guided him to Olympic long jump gold has moved home, he...

Former players urge Bartoli to rethink, or face regret Former top tennis players Goran Ivanisevic and Guy Forget have urged Marion Bartoli to reconsider her shock decision to retire from the sport, saying the Wimbledon champion would regret missing out on many great moments. The world number...

Athletics - Australian Bannister ****** for missing doping tests Commonwealth javelin champion Jarrod Bannister has been ****** for 20 months for missing anti-doping tests and will not be able to defend his title in Glasgow next year. The Australian record holder, part of his country's team at...

Injured Tsonga won't play in New York World number eight Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has pulled out of the US Open after failing to recover from a knee injury. The Frenchman has not played since retiring hurt against Latvia's Ernests Gulbis during his second-round clash at Wimbledon. Tsonga, a...

Athletics - Minister tells athletes to 'relax' and 'respect' Russia's anti-gay laws Russia's anti-gay propaganda law is attracting widespread condemnation but the country's sports minister and the head of world athletics were unconcerned about its potential impact on the world championships...

Wimbledon triumph left Bartoli with nothing more to give Having realised a lifelong ***** by claiming the Wimbledon title, Marion Bartoli decided she had nothing left to give on Wednesday, shocking the world of tennis by bidding a sudden and poignant farewell to the sport. Just six weeks...

Marion Bartoli announces shock retirement Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement from the sport at the age of 28. After a second round loss to Romanian Simona Halep at the Western and Southern Open, the Frenchwoman, ranked seventh in the...

Athletics - Williams-Mills back on track after cancer fight When Jamaican Novlene Williams-Mills takes to the track at the world championships in Moscow on Saturday she will do so as a flag-bearer for breast cancer sufferers everywhere. That the 31-year-old 400 metres runner is at the global...

Fry calls on IOC to strip Russia of 2014 Games over gay rights Actor and author Stephen Fry has written an impassioned open letter to the International Olympic Committee and Prime Minister David Cameron pleading for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be stripped from Russia due to the country’s...

Athletics - No pressure on young Jamaicans after doping scandal - Weir The recent spate of Jamaican athletes failing dope tests has not left the island's world championships team feeling under pressure, Olympic 200 metres bronze medallist Warren Weir said on Thursday. Former world 100 record...

Djokovic and Nadal remain on course in Cincinnati Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal joined Andy Murray in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters with straight sets wins. Centre court at the sprawling Lindner ****** Tennis Center turned into a parade of champions as fans savoured an...

Players embrace US Open roof plans The world's top players are in almost unanimous agreement that plans to build a retractable roof over centre court at Arthur Ashe Stadium as part of major changes to the US Open venue are necessary. Bad weather has routinely played havoc with the US Open...

Athletics - Bolt in 'fairly good' form, says coach Usain Bolt shunned the media after training on Thursday, two days before he takes to the track at the world championships, but coach Glen Mills said the sprinter was motivated, healthy and that his training had improved since he struggled in...

Williams survives Cincinnati scare Serena Williams will try to fill one of the few holes in her resume this week but will need to up her game after laboring to a 4-6 6-2 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard at the Western and Southern Open. In a career that has generated 54 singles titles, including...

Athletics - IAAF approves return to four-year bans Athletics will end 18 years of frustration in 2015 by returning to four-year bans for first-time dopers, ending the situation of Olympic athletes suspended for doping turning up to compete in the following Games. Having been ****** to cut its...

Murray seeking US Open form after Cincy win Andy Murray said he is keen to play as many matches as possible ahead of the US Open after opening his Cincinnati Masters campaign with a straight-sets win against Mikhail Youzhny. Murray won 6-2 6-3 to set up a third-round clash with Julien...

Athletics - Fit-again Merritt eyes sub-13 second time at worlds Olympic champion and world record holder Aries Merritt finds it a "little strange" that no-one has dipped below 13 seconds in the 110 metres hurdles this season and plans to remedy the situation in the world championships. Merritt...

Australia throws weight behind Cookson for top UCI job Australian cycling has thrown its weight behind Briton Brian Cookson's campaign to unseat Pat McQuaid as head of the International Cycling Union at the global governing body's election next month. Cycling Australia's support is likely to...

Roof planned for US Open's Arthur Ashe stadium The United States Tennis Association (USTA) will reveal plans to build a retractable roof over the centre court Arthur Ashe Stadium as part of major changes to the Flushing Meadows venue. Bad weather has wrought havoc with the U.S. Open schedule...