Cycling: Team Sky have announced Norwegian rider Gabriel Rasch will join their technical staff as a sports director next year. Rasch, 37, said he intends to compete in the early-season road race Classics before turning his full attention to his new role with the British team. Rasch said: “I’d always hoped to become a sports director once my riding days had come to a close and this is a big chance for me to do what I’d love to do with a team that I love. It’s great that Team Sky give riders like me a chance to develop and I’d like to thank the management for all their support. I’m looking forward to repaying their trust in me.”
Golf: Long-hitting American Dustin Johnson matched the Sheshan Golf Club course record to surge into a commanding five-stroke lead after the second round of the $8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions tournament yesterday. On a day when first round leader Rory McIlroy’s season-long struggles returned to haunt him on the back nine and pushed the Northern Irishman back into a tie for second with Americans Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley, Johnson was in a class of his own. He plundered six birdies in the first seven holes en route to a nine-under-par 63 on another pleasant day at Sheshan to rocket up the leaderboard after ending the first day in a tie for eighth.
Tennis: Novak Djokovic hammered Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-4 to reach the Paris Masters semi-finals yesterday. The Serb overpowered the seventh seed to record his 13th consecutive victory over Wawrinka and seal a semi-final clash at the indoor event against Swiss Roger Federer who beat Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 4-6 6-3. Djokovic, the 2009 Paris Masters champion, had to battle five sets to prevail in his last two matches against Wawrinka.
Snooker: Joe Perry fell agonisingly short of reaching the second major final of his long career as the Cambridge-shire cueman lost 9-8 to Marco Fu at the Inter-national Championship in China yesterday. In a semi-final which he led 5-3 at the interval, Perry was pegged back and overtaken by Fu before forcing a deciding frame. A nail-biter inevitably unfolded, with Fu just edging it as midnight approached after cutting in a tough brown to leave Perry requiring snookers.
Basket, NBA: The disappointment of a season-opening loss was exorcised by Los Angeles Clippers with a 126-115 win over the Golden State Warriors at the Staples Centre yesterday. All it took were a slew of thunderous dunks by Blake Griffin, a whole lot of Chris Paul and a statement win over the Warriors, who the Clippers believe will wage a season-long battle with them in the Pacific Division.