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Snooker: Mark Selby (picture) wasted little time in completing a 13-6 defeat of Xiao Guodong to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship. Selby started play 10-6 in front and claimed a clean-sweep of the frames this afternoon to secure the comfortable victory. The world champion appeared to take his game up a level yesterday as he steps up his bid to become just the fourth player to defend a Crucible title after Steve Davis, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry. The win sees Selby reach the quarter-final stage for the seventh time.

Basketball, NBA: When the Cleveland Cavaliers limped into the NBA playoffs with a four-game losing streak to finish the regular season, some wondered if the reigning champions were vulnerable. LeBron James, at least for one series, removed all doubts. James scored 33 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining, and Cleveland defeated the Indiana Pacers 106-102 on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep in the opening-round series. “Once again, we just had to weather the storm,” said James.

Golf: Kevin Chappell ended a frustrating run of near misses when he clinched his first PGA tour title with a one-stroke triumph over fellow American Brooks Koepka at the Texas Open on Sunday. Chappell let out a scream of ecstasy after sinking his winning putt, an eight-foot birdie at the final hole at TPC San Antonio. His elation was understandable, following six previous runner-up finishes on tour, including four last season.

Fed Cup: The United States and Belarus will meet in the Fed Cup final in November after winning their respective semi-finals. In Florida, the US edged the Czech Republic 3-2, winning the deciding doubles rubber before a raucous crowd on the outdoor green clay. In Minsk, Belarus won both Sunday singles to take an insurmountable 3-1 lead against Switzerland before the visitors won the dead doubles rubber. The US has not won the Fed Cup since 2000, while it will be the first final for Belarus, who will host the Nov. 11-12 decider.

Doping: Russian Olympic heptathlete Tatiana Chernova was stripped of her 2008 Beijing Games bronze medal yesterday after she tested positive to banned substances in re-tests of her sample. Chernova’s 2008 sample tested positive for anabolic steroid turinabol as did the sample from the 2012 Olympics of fellow Russian Maksim Dyldin, who was fifth with the 4x400m relay team at the Games in London. Cheronova initially finished fourth in Beijing but was upgraded to bronze after Ukraine’s Liudmyla Blonska tested positive in 2008.

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