Tennis

Only Russia separates Great Britain from a historic berth in the Hopman Cup final, with Andy Murray and Laura Robson the only unbeaten Group B nation in the mixed teams contest Wednesday. The British pairing of Murray and Robson beat Germany 2-1 and a victory over the Russians Igor Andreev and Elena Dementieva on Friday would ensure a place in the final on Saturday. However, should the British slip up, either the Russians or qualifier Kazakhstan, which upset Russia on Wednesday, could sneak in. It is only the fourth time Great Britain has played at the Hopman Cup and the first time since 1992, ... Read Full Story

Roger Federer, aiming to regain a title he last won four years ago, reached the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open with a performance which for the second successive day suggested he is starting the new season well rested and in fine shape. The Grand Slam record-breaker won 6-2, 6-4 against Evgeny Korolev, a young and rising Russian on the verge of the world's top 50 who hit ambitiously but looked capable of achieving more than he actually did. Federer contained him well, moved excellently, prevented his inexperienced opponent from feeling comfortable, and from time to time had moments of sublime attacking, which helped maintain ... Read Full Story

Russia's Maria Sharapova pulled off a comeback win against Zheng Jie at an exhibition match in Hong Kong on Wednesday as the 22-year-old sets her sights on the Australian Open later this month. Sharapova, recovering from a shoulder injury, got off to a strong start and pulled ahead of Zheng 3-1 in the first set. But Zheng, ranked 35 in the world, fought back to even the match at 4-4 as both players traded powerful ground strokes. The 26-year-old Chengdu native then took the first set 7-6 in a tie-breaker after Sharapova blasted a shot past the baseline. Zheng continued the pressure in the ... Read Full Story

Defending champion Marin Cilic survived a scare from Marcel Granollers before advancing to the quarter-finals of the 400,000-dollar ATP Chennai Open on Wednesday. The world number eight fought back from a set down to beat the valiant 91st-ranked Spaniard 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and 46 minutes of intense tennis. It was Croatian Cilic's fourth successive win over Granollers, including a semi-final victory in the same tournament last year. Both players held their serve in the first set to force the tie-breaker, which Granollers won after Cilic appeared to lose his composure following two disputed line calls. Granollers and Cilic traded two ... Read Full Story

DOHA (Reuters) - World number one Roger Federer made light of the chilly conditions to ease into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open with a 6-2 6-4 win over Russian Evgeny Korolev on Wednesday. "I was hitting the ball hard because the weather was quite chilly. Evgeny is a promising player, so I didn't want to take chances," said Federer. World number two Rafael Nadal also breezed into the last eight with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Italian Potito Starace. "I've been playing well lately. Today's victory underlines that I'm in very good form," said the Spaniard. "Potito has always been a tough opponent ... Read Full Story