Tennis: Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska (picture, right) made light work of Olympic gold medallist Monica Puig, beating the Puerto Rican 6-2 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo yesterday. The 27-year-old Pole served up eight aces, hit 16 winners and made just 10 unforced errors during the one hour and 16 minute encounter. World number four Radwanska will take on former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, who also put in a strong performance to beat Magda Linette 6-4 6-3.

Rugby Union: Jack Clifford will miss England’s autumn campaign after being told he needs ankle surgery that will rule him out for 10 weeks. Clifford, a replacement back row throughout England’s Grand Slam march earlier this year, suffered the injury during Harlequins’ Aviva Premiership defeat at Exeter last weekend and will not return to action until early December. Clifford has been involved in all but one of England’s nine matches under head coach Eddie Jones but just one of his eight caps was won as a starter, against Wales in May.

MotoGP: Ducati rider Andrea Iannone pulled out of the Aragon MotoGP race after a fractured vertebra caused him lingering pain in practice yesterday. The Italian missed the previous San Marino Grand Prix after falling in practice for that race but had been cleared for a return in Spain. “It’s a very hard decision,” he told reporters after setting the sixth fastest time of the opening session at the MotorLand Aragon circuit. “I’m not how I would like to be.” Ducati said Italian test rider Michele Pirro, who finished seventh at Misano as a stand-in, will also replace him for tomorrow’s race.

Athletics: Briton Katarina Johnson-Thompson has split with coach Mike Holmes after she failed to turn her potential into a heptathlon medal at last month’s Rio Olympics. Widely expected to challenge for gold in Brazil, Johnson-Thompson cleared a British high jump record of 1.98 metres to lead after two events but appalling throws in the shot put and javelin left her down in sixth after two days of action. After the Olympics, senior figures at British Athletics were keen for the 23-year-old to make a change, media reports said.

Snooker: Mark Selby beat Ryan Day 5-3 to set up a semi-final clash against Stuart Bingham in the Shanghai Masters. Selby took an early lead and remained ahead of Day throughout in yesterday’s quarter-final, despite the Welsh potter having a chance to level the game in frame eight. Bingham, 2014 Shanghai Masters champion and current world no.2, had an easier day in dispatching Ali Carter 5-1, which included a break of 91. Home favourite Ding Junhui beat Michael Holt 5-3 and will face Stephen Maguire in the other last-four encounter after the Scot eased past Michael White 5-1.