Rugby Union: Fiji retained their Gold Coast Sevens rugby crown with a breathtaking 32-14 win over New Zealand in the opening leg of the IRB Sevens World Series. The Fijians had seven debutants in their squad but were far too strong for New Zealand, who also fielded a young side but were made to look second rate for much of the final. “I’m so proud of the boys, they did so well this afternoon,” Fiji captain Levani Botia said. “I know that we have seven new players but I trusted the boys and I knew that they could come here and make the tackles.”
Tennis: Heather Watson edged past Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen in a marathon final at the Japan Women’s Open tennis tournament yesterday, to become the first Briton in 24 years to win a WTA title. The 20-year-old, in her first WTA final, squandered one match point while leading one set and hit a double fault on 5-4. She had to save four match points in the final set before winning 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) after a match lasting three hours and 11 minutes.
Cricket: The Indian Premier League (IPL) yesterday took out newspaper advertisements inviting bids to set up a new team to play in the glitzy Twenty20 tournament that has transformed cricket in recent years. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the event, is looking to replace the cash-strapped Deccan Chargers, who were thrown out for financial violations including failing to pay players. The advertisement, placed in the Times of India, said that the new team had to be based in one of 12 named cities.
[attach id=213101 size="medium"][/attach]
Basketball: The Los Angeles Clippers used a dominant inside attack to dispatch reigning NBA champions Miami Heat 99-89 in an exhibition match yesterday in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,000 in Shanghai. With All Star point guard Chris Paul guiding the offence, Clippers big men Eddie Jordan and Blake Griffin (picture) thrilled the crowd with dunks and alley-oop baskets as Los Angeles jumped to a first-quarter double-digit lead and maintained it for much of the match.
Cycling: Cycling Australia will meet this week to discuss what action it will take after former road racer Matt White admitted involvement in the Lance Armstrong doping conspiracy, the organisation said. White, 38, said he was part of a strategy of doping when he rode on the Armstrong-led US Postal Services team from 2001 to 2003 and told CA he was standing down from his position as Professional Men’s Road Coordinator.