Tennis: Andy Murray avoided following Novak Djokovic in making an early exit from the Monte Carlo Masters after swerving a third-round defeat to world number 21 Benoit Paire, yesterday. World number two Murray was forced to launch a late comeback against fiery local hopeful Paire. The first ever meeting between the two men finished 2-6 7-5 7-5 in Murray’s favour and will next face Milos Raonic, who beat Damir Dzumhur, in the last eight.

Doping: A doping ban handed to former world 800 metres champion Tatyana Andrianova, of Russia, was overturned yesterday because the authorities failed to re-test her sample in time. Andrianova won bronze at the 2005 world championships in Finland and her sample was deemed clean. When it was re-tested last year it showed traces of the banned steroid stanozolol and was given a two-year suspension by the Russian Federation (ARAF). Adrianova’s results from 2005-07, including her bronze medal, were also annulled. She appealed against the ban and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in her favour because the limit for re-testing samples is eight years.

Cycling: The UCI has suspended its trial on the use of disc brakes in road racing after a rider suffered a gruesome injury last weekend. Since Francisco Ventoso’s shin was sliced open at the Paris-Roubaix one-day race, debate has raged about the safety of disc brakes. And cycling’s governing body has intervened after receiving a request from the professional teams, supported by the riders’ union.