Dakar Rally: Former Alpine skiing champion Luc Alphand of France, driving a Mitsubishi, took the lead in the Dakar rally after finishing second in yesterday's seventh stage.
Compatriot and team-mate Stephane Peterhansel won the 499-km timed section between Zouerat and Atar in Mauritania despite losing time with a puncture. Peterhansel, chasing his third Dakar win in a row, was still four minutes, 23 seconds faster than Alphand with Germany's Jutta Kleinschmidt finishing third in a Volkswagen almost 12 minutes off the pace. Alphand leads Peterhansel in the overall standings by three minutes and 12 seconds.
In the motorcycle section, Chile's Carlo De Gavardo won his second stage in a row when he beat Spanish team-mate Marc Coma by one minute, 27 seconds. Coma retained the overall lead.
Skippers up the pace
Sailing: The fleet of the Volvo Ocean Race all entered the perilous Southern Ocean yesterday, with ABN AMRO One skippered by New Zealander Mike Sanderson still holding a slender lead.
Sailing downwind and riding on the face of big swell the entrants have picked up the pace in the last 24 hours although the risks have also multiplied.
ABN AMRO One, winner of the first leg from Spain to South Africa, is a mere 16 miles in front of Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean.
The threat of icebergs has increased since the last race four years ago with many large chunks of ice being been seen further north.
The boats are sailing in an easterly direction between 42 and 43 degrees south but in a quest for speed some might decide to head further south where the winds are stronger.
Hingis runs out of steam
Women's Tennis: Former world number one Martina Hingis was defeated in the semi-finals of her comeback tournament yesterday when she lost 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 to Italian Flavia Pennetta at the Australian Hardcourt Championships.
Hingis, who retired in 2002 with foot and ankle injuries, showed glimpses of the skills that took her to five grand slam titles but faded after romping through the first set.
The 25-year-old Swiss said she had strained a hip-flexor muscle towards the end of the second set, forcing her withdrawal from a doubles semi-final later yesterday. "If I was to evaluate this tournament right away, I'm very happy and very positive about what I've achieved this week," she said.
Pennetta will meet Lucie Safarova in the final today after the Czech teenager beat third-seeded Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 in the earlier semi-final.
Federer in 43rd final
Men's Tennis: Roger Federer stormed into the Qatar Open final with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Germany's Tommy Haas yesterday. The Swiss will contest his 43rd career final against French seventh seed Gael Monfils, who beat Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-3, 6-4 in the other semi-final. Haas was unable to handle Federer's vicious forehands and the Swiss wrapped up the match in 80 minutes.
Meanwhile, defending champion Dominik Hrbaty moved into the semi-finals of the Australian Hardcourt Championships in Adelaide with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Dane Kenneth Carlsen. Hrbaty will meet France's Florent Serra after the 24-year-old beat Jarkko Nieminen.
Tomas Berdych beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1, 6-4 to reach the other semi-final against Belgian Xavier Malisse, who beat Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-1.
US lift their fourth title
Hopman Cup: The US beat the Netherlands 2-1 to claim their third (fourth in total) Hopman Cup title in four years yesterday.The American mixed doubles pairing of Taylor Dent and Lisa Raymond came through a tight battle against Michaella Krajicek and Peter Wessels, winning 4-6 6-2 10-8 to clinch the tie after the singles rubbers were split. The final set of the mixed doubles was decided by a first-to-10 super tie-break.
Earlier, 16-year-old Krajicek gave the Netherlands a promising start when she edged veteran Raymond 6-4 7-6 before Dent took just 46 minutes to defeat Wessels 6-1 6-4.
The US, playing in their eighth final, added to their titles in 1997, 2003 and 2004. Krajicek struggled to dominate a player double her age, converting just two of 11 break points and making 49 unforced errors compared to 30 winners.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Cricket: Zimbabwe's government has taken over the running of cricket in the southern African country, the website of the game's ruling body (ICC) said yesterday. The national team announced last month it would go on indefinite strike in protest at the way the national governing body was running the game in Zimbabwe, the latest in a series of rows between top players and officials.
The ICC website said the government had installed a new board to run the game and Zimbabwean officials said they were prepared for any repercussions, including the possibility of the country losing its Test status.
"The Zimbabwe government has finally taken over Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) in a shattering move that will almost certainly usher the ultimate demise of the game in the country," said the ICC website.
