TENNIS: Defending champion Li Na, third seed Victoria Azarenka and eighth seed Marion Bartoli are all safely through to the second round of the Sydney International. Li needed barely an hour to sweep past Ekaterina Makarova 6-0, 6-3 after winning the first nine games of the match. But US Open champion Sam Stosur was bundled out in the first round in a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Francesca Schiavone in another setback to her preparations for next week's Australian Open. No6-ranked Stosur won only one match in Brisbane last week.
Rally loses sponsor
MOTORSPORT: The 2012 world rally championship, which starts in Monte Carlo in 10 days, suffered a major blow yesterday when the event lost its cash-strapped promoter. The FIA, motorsport's international governing body, confirmed that its deal with North One Sport had been terminated.
Malaysian wins series
SQUASH: World No1 Nicol David captured the World Series Finals title yesterday when the Malaysian star defeated Ireland's Madeline Perry 11-9 11-9 11-9 in the Queen's Club final. In the men's event, four-time world champion Amr Shabana of Egypt defeated France's Gregory Gaultier 6-11 12-10 11-7 7-11 11-8.
Wright blasts record
CRICKET: Melbourne Stars opener Luke Wright has blasted the highest-ever score in Australian Twenty20 cricket to lead his side to a record Big Bash League 203-3 against the Hobart Hurricanes at Bellerive last night. Wright made 117 off just 60 balls, smashing nine sixes and eight fours to eclipse the previous best of 111 set by Michael Dighton in 2007.
Oosthuizen retains tile
GOLF: Louis Oosthuizen holed a 10.7m birdie putt on the 17th to finally shake off the challenge of fellow South African Tjaart van der Walt and retain his title at the Africa Open yesterday. The former British Open champion beat Van der Walt by two shots after closing with a 6-under 67 for a 27-under total of 265.
Thunder runs hot
BASKETBALL: Oklahoma City Thunder became the first NBA team to win three games on consecutive nights this season by beating the San Antonio Spurs 108-96 yesterday. In Phoenix, Steve Nash had 17 assists and 10 points in 27 minutes as Phoenix routed weary Milwaukee 109-93.
Marsh to pad up
CRICKET: Australian batsman Shaun Marsh has been declared a certain starter for the third test against India in Perth, despite being struck down by a bug yesterday. Marsh has struggled since returning from a back injury, posting scores of just 0, 3 and 0 over the first two tests.
