By Alexandra Willis in Indian Wells 13 March 2011 Elena Baltacha may not have been able to pull off another match point-saving miracle against the No.13 seed Flavia Pennetta in their second round encounter at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, but the British No.1 feels that her performance, which saw her come within […]

By Alexandra Willis in Indian Wells 12 March 2011 Andy Murray has called for Britain’s forthcoming Davis Cup tie against Luxembourg to be housed at a venue that “sells out in minutes” and show off the true atmosphere and excitement of the famous team competition. The British No.1, who gave the clearest indication yet that […]

By Brian Sears 10 March 2011 Six of this season’s FA Cup quarter-finalists have never made it as far as the semi-finals in the Premier League era (since 1992), which might suggest they’ll care significantly this weekend and field their strongest teams. We can but hope. Those six are Birmingham and Bolton, who meet on […]

By Nick Harris 6 March 2011 Birmingham’s financial plans for the coming year will be scrutinised by the Premier League at the end of March in the first stage of the process that will determine whether the Carling Cup winners will be allowed to play in Europe next season or not. Uefa’s licensing rules means […]

By Alexandra Willis 6 March 2011 Ivo Karlovic, the long-limbed Croatian known for being the tallest player on the men’s tennis tour, has set a new record for the fastest serve delivery in official competition. Karlovic, competing for Croatia in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in Zagreb, delivered a serve of 156 mph (251kph) […]

By Brian Sears 4 March 2011 In this, the 19th season of the Premier League, Manchester United hope to reach another 19 – league titles in English football history. That would take them one past Liverpool’s all-time 18, and that is one reason that this weekend’s game at Anfield between the two old rivals is […]

By Nick Harris 3 March 2011 Manchester City’s Kolo Toure has failed a drugs test for a ‘specified substance’ his club have announced this evening. Depending on the ratification of the finding, he could receive a sanction ranging from a caution to a two-year ban. The length of any ban will be dependent on the […]

By Brian Sears 28 February 2011 Stoke City are on their way to surviving a third consecutive season in the Premier League. They have so far finished 12th and 11th and look on course to be 10th or thereabouts, although things are tight and a mere six points separate the bottom club Wigan (27 points) […]

By Nick Harris in Budapest 23 February 2011 David Howman, the director-general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, has today called for the establishment of a global anti-corruption agency to tackle malpractice ranging from match-fixing to institutional corruption. In a statement released at the European Union Sports Forum, which concluded today in Hungary, Howman says he […]

By Brian Sears 19 February 2011 While Everton and others are relishing the romance and the glory of FA Cup victories, Wigan are possibly not too unhappy they were knocked out the other day, meaning they can focus on their Premier League survival. And goodness how they need to focus, with an unwanted record among […]