MELBOURNE, january 18
Rafa Nadal beamed with delight after laying down an emphatic marker with a brilliant display of all-court tennis to charge into the last 16 of the Australian Open on Saturday.

The Melbourne heatwave may have broken but arch-competitor Nadal was still bathed in sweat after his two-hour 6-1 6-2 6-3 demolition of the talented but error-prone Gael Monfils.

Roger Federer earlier boasted of his fitness, Maria Sharapova felt a bit rusty and Andy Murray berated himself but all three eased into the second week. Victoria Azarenka remained on course for her third straight title but may find the next hurdle trickier after setting up a fourth round tie against Sloane Stephens, who she beat amid controversy in last year's semifinals.

While there was relief all round at the cooler temperatures after four days of stifling heat, Milos Raonic and Caroline Wozniacki both felt the stinging burn of an upset.

Nadal never looked in any danger of an early departure, barring a brief injury scare when he jarred his foot early in the second set.

Such was his dominance after he suppressed the Frenchman's early charge, the Spaniard was at a loss to pick out an element of his game that pleased him most.

"I think I have to say that I played well from everywhere, no?," he said. "Tonight I think I played a great match ... (but) just one very good day. That makes me feel confident, but I am in the fourth round. That's all."

Federer looked at his own imperious best as he dismantled Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-2 6-2 6-3 to reach the fourth round at a grand slam without giving up a set for the 27th time. The Swiss is aware that tougher tests lie ahead, starting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the next round, but was delighted to have rid himself of his back problem.

Murray's back problems are more recent and he admitted to feeling a bit of stiffness as he finds his feet again following surgery and four months on the sidelines.

Feliciano Lopez gave him a big test in the first set tiebreak but faded after conceding the second and the fourth seed claimed his 14th straight win over a left-handed opponent 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-2.

Azarenka humbled Yvonne Meusburger 6-1 6-0 in exactly an hour to set up another meeting with American Stephens, who she beat last year after taking a medical timeout as she struggled to close out their semifinal.

Good day for Indians

India enjoyed a good day as Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna won both their respective doubles and mixed doubles matches to enter the third round. However, Mahesh Bhupathi`s men`s doubles campaign came to an end after a tight defeat.

Sania first took the court with partner Cara Black and cruised to a 7-5 6-1 win against Monica Niculescu and Klara Zakopalova. Later, playing with first-time partner Horia Tecau, she won her first round tie as well.

Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek recorded a comfortable 6-1 6-4 win over Daniele Bracciali and Alexandr Dolgopolov to move to the pre-quarters.

However, Bhupathi and his American partner Rajeev Ram were ousted after a tight 4-6 6-7(7) defeat against second seeded combination of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares. — Agencies

Important Results

Third Round (Men)

Rafa Nadal (Spain) bt Gael Monfils (France) 6-1 6-2 6-3; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) bt 18-Gilles Simon (France) 7-6(5) 6-4 6-2; Andy Murray (Britain) bt 26-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 7-6(2) 6-4 6-2; Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) bt 11-Milos Raonic (Canada) 6-3 3-6 6-4 7-6(10); Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt Teymuraz Gabashvili (Russia) 6-2 6-2 6-3

(Women)

Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) bt Yvonne Meusburger (Austria) 6-1 6-0; Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) bt Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 4-6 7-5 6-3; Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) bt 29-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) 5-7 6-2 6-2; Sloane Stephens (US) bt Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 7-5 6-4; Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt Alize Cornet (Fra) 6-1 7-6(6);Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) bt Kurumi Nara (Jap) 6-4 7-5

Napier, JANUARY 18
India would look to gain some valuable experience and confidence when they clash with New Zealand in a five-match ODI series, beginning here tomorrow, as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys will begin the defence of their World Cup title on these very shores next year.

The reigning World Champions will also be looking to defend their number one ranking, in this format of the game, against the eighth-ranked hosts.

Unlike their previous tour in December, this trip imparts greater significance to India. Against South Africa, the Indian team management decided to use the three-match series as a learning exercise for the ensuing Test series. It worked up to an extent against their formidable opponents with their young Test side losing the two-match series only on the last day of the tour at Durban.

While the importance of taking that learning forward in the Tests versus New Zealand cannot be neglected, at the same time, the Men in Blue need to up the ante in ODIs. India will travel to Australia in the latter part of the 2014-15 season, which will be a final dress-rehearsal.

While this provides a good starting point, there are important questions that need to be answered. The first of them is related to the opening combination, with both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma not doing much in South Africa, ODIs and Tests combined. Sharma perhaps has more time, given that he bats in the middle order in the longer format and particularly because on away tours, the role of openers to give a solid start becomes more important.

Murali Vijay performed that bit to perfection in the Tests there, further highlighting Dhawan’s plight, who scored only 88 runs in six innings (avg. 14.66) in Africa.

Even so, the toughest question pertains to the middle order, given that a misfiring Yuvraj Singh is no longer part of this ODI squad. — PTI

We don't really change too many things anymore. We will give chances to a few players and hopefully they will rise up to the occasion and accept the challenges that they are pushed into. It's good exposure for our players who have not played in New Zealand before.
—MS Dhoni

Chandigarh, january 18
Gaganjeet Bhullar was the man to watch on Saturday as he carded a bogey-free six-under-par, 66 to move up to a tie for second place at the $2.7 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship today.

This placed the Kapurthala youngster tied alongside Phil Mickleson, who started the day at 43rd place and carded a 63 in the third round to move up to second place. They were just two strokes behind tournament leader Craig Lee who leads at 12-under 204. Rory McIlroy finished the day at 11-under-par but got a two stroke penalty for taking ‘partial relief, dropping him to tied fourth at nine-under-par, 207.

Bhullar started the third round with back-to-back birdies on the first and second hole, followed by birdies on the sixth, eighth, 11th and14th holes for an error-free 66.

“I played really well today and am happy with my round. I saw a lot of familiar faces on the back nine. There were quite a few Indian supporters walking and following me and it really motivates me and I hope to see these guys come out in a big number tomorrow,” said Bhullar, who will play in the leader group alongside Lee and Mickleson.

Meanwhile, Jeev Milkha Singh carded a two-over 74 while Shiv Kapur went round in 75 strokes. Both were tied at two-over 218.

At the Asian Tour’s Kings Cup in Hua Hin, Thailand, Anirban Lahiri carded a second consecutive 71 on Day Two. He carded a consecutive 71, a result of five birdies and four bogeys.

The Indian was tied seventh with a total of five-under 211.

Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee shot a 71 in the third round in a row to be tied tenth at three-under 213. SSP Chowrasia carded a 72 and remains at one-under 215. Jyoti Randhawa shot a 73 and dropped further down the leaderboard with his total of two-over 218.

I played really well today and am happy with my round. I saw a lot of familiar faces on the back nine. There were quite a few Indian supporters walking and following me and it really motivates me and I hope to see these guys come out in a big number tomorrow.
—Gaganjeet Bhullar

New Delhi, January 18
Hosts India blew away one- goal lead and conceded two late goals to go down 1-2 against Belgium to finish sixth in the Hockey World League Final on a chilly evening at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

It was a hard-fought match as both India and Belgium matched each other stick by stick and were in no mood to give an inch to the other in the fifth-sixth place classification game.

Vice-captain PR Sreejesh had a busy outing today as the lanky goalkeeper pulled off numerous saves in the match to keep India in the hunt till the final hooter. After a barren but competitive first half, India drew the first blood in the 59th minute through a field goal from Nikkin Thimmaiah to send the home crowd into raptures.

But India did not have the last laugh as the Red Lions made a spirited fightback, pumping in two goals in a span of two minutes at the dying stages of the match to secure the fifth position in the eight-team event.

Robbert Kemperman won the Player of the Tournament award, while Mandeep Singh was adjudged the Junior Player of the Tournament.

Results

• Germany bt Argentina 2-1
• Belgium bt India 2-1
• England bt Australia 2-1
• Netherlands bt NZ 7-2

Sharjah, january 18
Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad struck his maiden test hundred but Pakistan's hopes of a series-equalling victory looked distant on the third day of the third and final Test on Saturday.

Trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, Pakistan were 291 runs for six wickets at the close, still needing 137 runs to wipe off their first innings deficit.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq (36) was unbeaten at the crease as wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed (five) fell on the final delivery of the day to give left-arm spinner Rangana Herath his third wicket of the innings.

Resuming on their overnight score of 19 for no loss, Shehzad (147) and his opening partner Khurram Manzoor (52) made a watchful start and went unscathed in the morning session.

The pair added 114 runs for the first wicket before Manzoor was caught down the leg side off paceman Shaminda Eranga. Number three batsman Azhar Ali (eight) became debutant Dilruwan Perera's first Test wicket when he edged the off-spinner to slip.

The 22-year-old Shehzad, however, kept his calm at the other end and kept accumulating runs.

The right-handed batsman added 40 for the third wicket with Younus Khan (17) before his senior partner was smartly caught by wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene off Herath.

Shehzad drove Perera elegantly for a couple of runs to reach his maiden hundred in his third Test and celebrated the occasion in front of a sparse crowd with a leap.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 428-9 dec (Perera 95, Mathews 91, Sangakkara 52; Junaid 3-81, Talha 3-99) v Pakistan 291-6 (Shehzad 147, Manzoor 52; Herath 3-88) — Reuters

Mohali, January 18
The first day day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal between Punjab and Karnataka at PCA Stadium in Mohali was called off without a ball being bowled due to persistent rain.

The two captains could not even walk in for the toss.

London, january 18
Arsenal stayed top of the Premier League after two goals in five minutes from Spain international midfielder Santi Cazorla set them on their way to a 2-0 win over Fulham who remain mired deep in the relegation battle.

Second placed Manchester City kept the pressure on the Gunners with a 4-2 win over Cardiff City, with Edin Dzeko scoring their 100th goal of the season to give them the early lead. The defeat sent Cardiff to the bottom of the table.

Arsenal head the standings with 51 points, followed by City on 50 with third placed Chelsea (46) playing Manchester United, who are seventh, at home on Sunday.

Newcastle United closed the gap on the leading pack with a 3-1 win at West Ham United with Yohan Cabaye scoring twice.

Crystal Palace moved out of the relegation zone, above West Ham, when Jason Puncheon scored after 51 minutes to give his team a 1-0 win over Stoke City.

‘BBC’ trio lead Real Madrid to 5-0 romp at Betis

Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema took Real Betis apart to give Real Madrid a resounding 5-0 win on Saturday that put them level on 50 points with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Madrid’s dynamic performance against the bottom club laid down a marker ahead of Barca and Atletico’s games on Sunday at Levante and at home to Sevilla respectively. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

bRISBANE
Hope to open England’s ‘scars’ wider: Haddin:Australia will be looking to open England’s “scars” and close out the one-day series tomorrow, keeper Brad Haddin said after his team’s thrilling one-wicket victory over the luckless tourists in Brisbane. Alastair Cook’s men have now lost the opening two one-day internationals which follow their demoralising 5-0 loss in the Ashes, despite coming desperately close at the Gabba on Friday.“That was an extraordinary finish last night; we were in no position to win that game until James hit the ball through cover on the last ball,” Haddin said.

Johannesburg
Woman judge for Pistorius murder trial:A woman judge has been appointed to hear the case of Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, accused of murdering his girlfriend, which opens in early March, a judiciary official said. High Court judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa will preside at the trial, a spokesperson for the judiciary, Lulama Luti, said. Pistorius is set to go on trial on 3 March for the Valentine's Day murder of his lover Reeva Steenkamp. He will also answer charges for discharging a firearm on two separate occasions before Steenkamp's death.

Visakhapatnam
Our batting gives us edge over Lanka: Mithali:Confident of getting the better of Sri Lanka in the upcoming limited-overs series, Indian women's cricket captain Mithali Raj today said the home side's experienced batting line-up would be its biggest strength in the matches starting here tomorrow. India and Sri Lanka will lock horns in a three-ODI and three-Twenty20 series starting tomorrow. "Even though we lost the practice match, we are very confident of victory against the visiting team since we have a good batting line up," Raj said. "Also the strategy will differ based on our opponents. Our team is well-balanced. All the players in the squad had really done well in domestic cricket.” — Agencies