Ziggler wins ic title

MELBOURNE: Japan's Naomi Osaka beat Jennifer Brady in straight sets in the Australian Open final to win her fourth major title on Saturday (Feb 20). Osaka edged a tight first set and broke the American twice in the second to win 6-4, 6-3 in 77 minutes in front of thousands of fans at Rod Laver Arena. Third seed Osaka preserves her 100 per cent record in Grand Slam finals after winning the 2018 and 2020 US Opens and the 2019 title in Melbourne. "We played in the semis of the US Open a couple of months ago and I told everyone that you're going to be a problem," Osaka told Brady at the trophy presentation. "And I was right. It's really incredible to me to see your growth over the past few months, it's really cool for me to see." The 23-year-old, who becomes only the third player after Monica Seles and Roger Federer to win their first four major finals, will now rise to second in the world rankings. Osaka, rated as the world's top-earning female athlete, saved two … [Read more...] about Tennis: Japan’s Osaka beats Brady to win Australian Open final

MELBOURNE: Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek upset defending champions Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram to win the Australian Open men's doubles title Sunday (Feb 21) - their first as a team. The Croat-Slovak combination, seeded nine, proved too strong for the British-American fifth seeds, outlasting them 6-3, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena. "Amazing memories. This is our first Grand Slam as a team and we're having a lot of fun. I hope it continues," said Dodig. Their win deprived Salisbury and Ram from becoming the first pair to successfully defend their crown at Melbourne Park since Bob and Mike Bryan won three in a row from 2009-11. It also put an end to Ram's hopes of leaving Australia with two titles after he claimed the mixed doubles honours on Saturday alongside Barbora Krejcikova. While a breakthrough Grand Slam for Polasek, it was Dodig's second after he won Roland Garros in 2015 when teamed with Marcelo Melo. Polasek became only the second Slovak, man or woman, to win a Slam … [Read more...] about Tennis: Dodig and Polasek win Australian Open men’s doubles title

Kyle Larson is known for riding the outside wall. Austin Dillon is not. The difference showed with five laps left in the Ford EcoBoost 300 as Dillon, who had led since Lap 180, hit the wall in Turn 4. Larson took advantage of the miscue by Dillon to win his third career Xfinity Series race. “I walked up to him in victory lane, and I said, ‘Teach me how to get around the top,’ ” Dillon said. “Obviously I need to change my line around, so maybe I can talk to him and figure something out. He’s very good at finding that edge up there.” Chris Buescher finished 11th to clinch the Xfinity Series championship for his first NASCAR title. It is Roush Fenway Racing’s first Xfinity title since 2012. MORE: final points standings MORE: race results WHY KYLE LARSON WON: Larson overtook Austin Dillon after he made contact with the wall in Turn 4 with five laps to go and kept Dillon behind. WHO HAD A GOOD DAY: Chris Buescher, the 2015 Xfinity Series champion ran a steady … [Read more...] about Kyle Larson wins Xfinity finale as Chris Buescher claims series title

PARIS: Third-placed Paris St-Germain lost ground in the Ligue 1 title race when they slumped to a 2-0 home defeat against Monaco on Sunday (Feb 21) after wins for their main rivals. Five days after humbling Barcelona 4-1 in the Champions League, the French champions lacked stamina and inspiration as they fell four points behind leaders Lille who have 58 points from 26 games after beating Lorient 4-1 on Sunday. Fourth-placed Monaco, who have now won eight of their last nine league games, prevailed through goals by Sofiane Diop and Guillermo Maripan to move within two points of PSG. Olympique Lyonnais are second on 55 points following a 3-2 win at Brest on Saturday. Mauricio Pochettino's PSG were still without the injured Neymar and Angel Di Maria, while key midfielder Marco Verratti started on the bench. Kylian Mbappe, who impressed with a hat-trick at the Camp Nou on Tuesday, struggled against a compact Monaco defence, and the visitors took the lead after only six minutes … [Read more...] about Football: PSG fall behind in title race with defeat to Monaco

GLASGOW: Rangers closed to within three wins of a first Scottish Premiership title in 10 years by thrashing Dundee United 4-1 on Sunday (Feb 21) to open up an 18-point lead over Celtic. Steven Gerrard's men showed no sign of fatigue from a thrilling 4-3 win over Royal Antwerp in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie on Thursday as three goals in 13 minutes either side of half-time ensured a comfortable afternoon at Ibrox. Ianis Hagi opened the scoring when he deflected Joe Aribo's shot home 10 minutes before the break. Ryan Kent quickly killed the game as a contest as his volley took a deflection on its way in. Aribo's stunning strike made it 3-0 before Rangers were gifted a fourth when United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist's clearance rebounded in off Alfredo Morelos. Moments later, Morelos was brought down for a penalty, but Siegrist made amends to deny Borna Barisic from the spot. Rangers conceded for just the second time in 15 home league games this season … [Read more...] about Football: Rangers close to within three wins of Scottish title