TENNIS: Holder Tim Henman and top seed Andy Roddick, their minds perhaps on next week's Masters Cup, bowed out of the Paris Masters in the third round yesterday.
Australian Second seed Lleyton Hewitt was luckier as Chilean opponent Nicolas Massu was forced out of their match after seven games with a hip injury.
Henman, beaten 7-5 6-1 by another in-form player, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, made it clear he had turned his sights towards the Masters Cup.
"To be honest, the goal was to qualify for Houston. It's been a while since I have been in the world championships if you like," said the Briton, who played in the season-ending tournament in 1997 and 1998 before it became the Masters Cup.
Roddick, who had been out of action for a month after the US Open, looked out of steam against an opponent who beat him at his own game.
The former world number one was outserved and outpaced by qualifier Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6 6-2 in just 65 minutes.
CRICKET: Australia's Jason Gillespie produced a superb spell of pace bowling to help rout India for 104 only for Anil Kumble to keep home hopes alive on the second day of the fourth Test yesterday in Bombay.
Kumble took five for 90 as Australia eked out 203 on a dusty wicket for a 99-run first-innings lead. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik took four for 44.
At stumps India, whose first-innings total was their lowest at home against Australia, were five without loss.
Damien Martyn, dropped on 11, held the Australian innings together with a 114-ball 55 as India's three frontline spinners exploited a track offering uneven bounce and sharp turn.
RALLYING: The World Rally Championship has been dealt a blow with news of plans for Citroen and Peugeot to withdraw after next season.
The series was looking strong after Ford committed for another four years this week but the unexpected announcement yesterday will see two of the sport's most successful teams of recent seasons leave.
Citroen won both drivers' and manufacturers' championships this year while Peugeot and Marcus Gronholm showed signs of a return to their title winning form at times with their new car.
But parent company PSA Peugeot Citroen announced the difficult conditions in the car market had prompted their withdrawal. The two teams have won five manufacturers' titles and three drivers' titles in the last five years.
BOXING: With Arklow's three-time national welterweight champion and world bronze medallist James Moore set to turn professional after his final appearance in the amateur ring in his home town on Sunday night, the IABA are facing challenging times, reports Pat Roche.
However, IABA president Dominick O'Rourke last night described reports that Andrew Lee, Ireland's only boxer in the Athens Olympics, was joining the paid ranks as "mere rumour". "We are hopeful Andrew will be with us for the first international of the new season against Holland on Friday week," he said.
