Tennis: Heather Watson had a smile on her face and butterflies back in her stomach as she booked her place in the main draw of the Australian Open, yesterday. The 21-year-old from Guernsey b Irina Falconi, of the US, 6-4 7-6 and will meet 31st seed Daniela Hantuchova in the first round tomorrow. Watson had a nightmare season in 2013, battling glandular fever and winning only a handful of matches as she plummeted from 39 in the rankings to well outside the top 100. Watson had to go through qualifying at a grand slam for the first time since the French Open in 2012.
Winter Games: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he will attend next month’s Winter Olympics in Sochi with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, even though relations between the two countries are severely strained. For Russia and the Netherlands, 2013 was supposed to be the year when they celebrated 400 years of diplomatic ties with a string of high-level visits by politicians and business leaders, and various cultural exchanges. Instead, relations turned sour over human rights as well as Russia’s detention of Greenpeace activists, two of whom were Dutch, and the impounding of their vessel.
[attach id=304515 size="medium"][/attach]
Boxing: Former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield (picture) has been knocked out of the UK Celebrity Big Brother and became the first contestant of the series to be evicted from the house. The US sports star, who was warned by show bosses last week after claiming being gay “ain’t normal”, was left in the bottom two with The Apprentice runner-up Luisa Zissman after receiving the fewest votes from the public. Holyfield, 51, looked dejected as he was chosen to leave by fellow housemates. The boxer, who famously lost part of his ear after he was bitten by Mike Tyson during a title bout in 1997, was greeted by cheers as he left but admitted afterwards he thought he would be more popular with viewers.
Basketball: Holders Olympiakos Piraeus suffered their first Euroleague defeat this season, crushed 81-51 at Emporio Armani Milan, while Real Madrid made it 12 straight wins with an 89-84 triumph over Galatasaray on Friday. Olym-piakos were strong favourites at inconsistent Milan in Group E but were torn apart as the home team’s US guard Keith Langford scored 29 points including five three-pointers from six attempts. “It was a very bad night for us, showing the Euroleague Top 16 is a tough stage where you can lose to anybody,” Olympiakos coach Georgios Bartzokas said.
Motor Racing: Briton Max Chilton will stay with Marussia next season and drive alongside Jules Bianchi, the Formula One team said yesterday. The 22-year-old made his Formula one debut in last year’s Australian Grand Prix and became the first driver to complete every race in his rookie season. “I am really happy to be continuing with the Marussia F1 Team into a second season,” Chilton said. “Continuity is important for the Team but also for me as a driver. You learn such a lot in your debut season, but the second year is when you can really pull all of those new experiences together and show your true potential.”