Rugby Union: Former Wales fullback Lee Byrne has announced his retirement from rugby because of a shoulder injury. “This is a disappointing time for me but I’m looking forward to the future,” Byrne said in a statement on the Newport Gwent Dragons’ website. “I’m not sure what the next chapter holds or even what I want to do, but I am planning on taking some down time over the next few weeks to look at my opportunities – whether that’s in rugby or a new career.” Byrne, 34, won 46 caps for Wales and was part of the British and Irish Lions squad during the 2009 tour of South Africa.
Basketball: Six-time Euroleague winners CSKA Moscow reached the Final Four after a 74-55 win at Panathinaikos gave them a 3-1 win over the Greek side in their best-of-five quarter-final. CSKA joined Fenerbahce Istanbul who qualified for the May 15-17 showpiece event in Madrid after completing a 3-0 sweep of holders Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier this week. CSKA took the game by the scruff of the neck from the start and never looked back after carving out a 21-11 lead in the first quarter as Nando De Colo and 34-year old forward Andrei Kirilenko dominated.
Tennis: Rafa Nadal‘s bid to get back to top form before the French Open suffered a setback when he crashed to a 6-4 7-6 (6) defeat to 13th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini in the third round of the Barcelona Open yesterday. Nadal, the world number four and second seed, produced an erratic performance on the clay in the Catalan capital and the big-hitting Fognini punished the Spaniard’s errors to end Nadal’s bid for a ninth Barcelona title. Fognini, who beat Nadal on clay in the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro in February, his only win in five previous meetings, will play unseeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar in today’s quarter-finals. Andujar upset compatriot and fifth seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4 earlier yesterday.
Snooker: Judd Trump was in confident mood after safely moving through to the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield, yesterday. Trump led 7-2 overnight and many thought he would make light work of Stuart Carrington but he was made to battle before eventually securing a 10-6 victory. The 25-year-old closed with a century and will now face Marco Fu in the next round. “I’m just going to focus on my own game,” he told BBC Two. “If I play how I know I can, I’ll win it.”