Weekley sets early pace in New Orleans

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US golfer Boo Weekley  Boo Weekley, seeking his first PGA Tour victory in two years, took advantage of rain-softened conditions to charge into an early one-shot lead in the opening round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Thursday. With a few family members spurring him on, the 41-year-old American birdied four of his last eight holes to card an eight-under-par 64 at the TPC Louisiana, finishing a stroke in front of Canada's David Hearn. Americans Daniel Berger, Mark Hubbard and Erik Compton, and England's Brian Davis, were a further shot back after opening with 66s while Australian world number six Jason Day was among a group of players bunched on 67. Weekley, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour who lives in nearby Florida, piled up an eagle, seven birdies and a lone bogey at a venue softened by more than nine inches of rainfall last week. "I just like the way the layout is," Weekley told Golf Channel. "We're back on Bermuda grass and it's close to home. And the temperature man, I love the heat. It's a great place to come and play. "The fans are awesome and they get behind you. With it being close to the house like this, I've got a lot of family members that come over and that kind of helps you out a little bit, gives you a little bit of a confidence boost." Weekley also benefited from a new set of irons that worked well for him in Wednesday's pro-am competition. "I played good in the pro-am, the first time in a while that I actually felt like I could hit my shots, hit my numbers and control the trajectory of the ball," he said. "It felt good to be able to come out today and play, and make some putts." Australian Day, the highest-ranked player in this week's field, relished playing in the company of world number seven Dustin Johnson and his fellow American Ben Crane, who also carded 67s. "I made a great start, birdying the first hole, and everyone kind of followed suit after that," said Day. "The course is very receptive, it's very gettable. It was good to be a part of a group with DJ and Ben Crane. We had a lot of fun out there." South Korea's Noh Seung-yul, who won last year's title by two shots, was among the late starters.

Ferrari boss hails Raikkonen's return

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Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of Scuderia Ferrari  Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene welcomed back the Kimi Raikkonen of old on Sunday after the 2007 world champion stepped back on the Formula One podium in Bahrain after a long absence. The Finnish 'Iceman' took a strong second place in the floodlit race at the desert Sakhir circuit for his first top three finish since he was second for Lotus in South Korea in October 2013. It was also his first podium finish for Ferrari since 2009, the final year of his first stint at Maranello. The Finn returned in 2014. "I'm happy for Kimi because now I can say officially that...Kimi is back and we have two strong drivers," said Arrivabene. Raikkonen is out of contract at the end of the season, although Ferrari have an option for 2016, and the 35-year-old has indicated he wants to stay on at the sport's most successful team. His form has certainly picked up, after a disappointing 2014 alongside Ferrari's Fernando Alonso when he scored only 55 points to the Spaniard's 161, but so too has the team's performance. The arrival of four-times champion Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull has already brought Ferrari their first win since 2013 and Raikkonen said on Sunday he wanted a piece of the action. His strategy on Sunday, leaving a set of soft tyres to last when others were running on slower mediums, could certainly have brought more. As it was, he still set the fastest lap of the race -- the 41st of his career and lifting him level with four-times champion Alain Prost in joint second place in the all-time lists. "You cannot feel happy. We are happy to be second but it's still disappointing. It's not what we want to do," Raikkonen told reporters. "I had a pretty hard time last year. This year in the beginning, just some bad luck in the races but the team has done a great job over the winter and everybody is pushing together in the same direction. "I'm sure we are only going to get stronger and better as a team and improve the car. So, it's a great place to be," he added.

Kwiatkowski upsets favourites to win Amstel Gold Race

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Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski of the Etixx-Quick Step team

 World champion Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland outgunned the favourites to win the Amstel Gold Race, a 258km hilly one-day classic race, on Sunday.

The Etixx-Quick Step rider ended up in a select group at the top of the Cauberg, the last of 34 climbs, to contest the win in a reduced sprint.

He beat Spain's Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), one of the specialists of the Ardennes classics, which continue on Wednesday with La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege next Sunday in Belgium.

Australian Michael Matthews (Orica Green-EDGE), widely tipped to win should the race be decided in a sprint, took third place.

"The Amstel was my objective. I managed to keep a bit of energy for the final sprint," said Kwiatkowski, whose only previous win this season came in the prologue of the Paris-Nice stage race last month.

It was sweet revenge for classics specialist team Etixx-Quick Step who failed to win in the Flanders classics earlier this month.

"Even without (injured) Tom Boonen, we are the best team in the world," said team manager Patrick Lefevere.

Hot favourite and defending champion Philippe Gilbert, who won the Amstel Gold Race in 2010, 2011 and 2014, attacked as expected in the Cauberg, a 1.2km climb at an average gradient of 5.8 percent.

But he could not drop Matthews and a dozen others made the junction at the top to contest the final sprint of an otherwise rather dull race.

Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali tried to shake things up with 28 km left from a group of five late escapees but German Tony Martin refused to collaborate.

Kwiatkowski then timed it right to become the first world champion to win the Amstel Gold Race since Frenchman Bernard Hinault in 1981.
 

Holders Czech Republic beat France to reach Fed Cup final

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Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova celebrates after winning against France's Caroline Garcia The Czech Republic reached their fourth Fed Cup final in five years when Petra Kvitova beat Caroline Garcia 6-4 6-4 to help the holders beat France 3-1 on Sunday. They will face Russia, who beat Germany 3-2 in the other semi-final, in the Nov 14-15 final. Lucie Safarova earned the first Czech point by beating Garcia 4-6 7-6(1) 6-1 on Saturday after saving five match points in front of a boisterous crowd at Ostrava's CEZ arena. Kvitova swept aside Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-4 to make it 2-0. World number four Kvitova was barely troubled on Sunday by Garcia, who threatened a second-set comeback when she bagged three games in a row after falling 5-1 down. But Kvitova was just too good and wrapped up victory with a forehand winner to give her team an unassailable lead. Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier then beat Safarova and Barbora Strycova 0-6 6-3 10-8 in a doubles with nothing at stake. "Kvitova was well above our players," France captain Amelie Mauresmo said. "Let's face it, their four players were stronger than our number one on paper."

Russia through to Fed Cup final after thrilling 3-2 win against Germany

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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (L) and Elena Vesnina (R) of Russia celebrate after winning their doubles Russia earned their chance to win a fifth Fed Cup title since 2004 when they reached the final after Elena Vesnina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova triumphed in the doubles to complete a 3-2 victory over Germany. The duo were roared on by a partisan crowd at the Adler Arena in Sochi as they subdued Sabine Lisicki and Andrea Petkovic 6-2 6-3 in the decisive fifth rubber. They set up a final showdown with holders the Czech Republic, who thumped France 3-1 in the other semi-final in Ostrava. Russia needed to win only one of Sunday's rubbers after winning both of the opening day's singles matches. But that lead vanished as the day progressed, with Petkovic overwhelming Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-1 before Angelique Kerber drew Germany level by walloping Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 6-0. Pavlyuchenkova barely had time to recover from that drubbing before she was back on court again for the doubles alongside Vesnina. She made sure she would not suffer that losing feeling again. "After I lost my second singles today... I was not really upset, so that was a positive ahead of the doubles," Pavlyuchenkova said. With Russia losing all four singles sets contested on Sunday, Vesnina and Pavlyuchenkova stopped that run by putting pressure on Lisicki's serve. Vesnina showed excellent ability from the net, while her ground strokes were equally as impressive. A fantastic lob by Vesnina set up match point and the Russians pounced on that chance to spark celebrations among the home fans. Russia, who claimed four titles between 2004 and 2008, will face the Czechs in the Nov 14-15 final. "It was an unbelievable victory and we are so excited and I am so proud of my team," said a jubilant Vesnina.

Sherwood magic allows Villa to dream of glory again

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Liverpool's Steven Gerrard looks dejected  Aston Villa will have a rare chance to revive their glory days when they meet holders Arsenal in the FA Cup final on May 30 but, win or lose, new manager Tim Sherwood has given the club back its self-belief and pride. Sherwood, who has been in charge for two months, out-thought counterpart Brendan Rodgers as Villa deservedly beat Liverpool 2-1 in Sunday's semi-final at Wembley after coming from behind to overcome a Philippe Coutinho goal after 30 minutes. He not only praised his players for their efforts but also the Villa fans, who, he said, "dragged us back into the match after we went behind. They never stopped believing in us." Goals by Christian Benteke, the Belgian's ninth in his last seven games, and skipper Fabian Delph gave Villa victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup for the first time since 1897 when they became the second English club to win the league and Cup double. They now have the chance of winning the Cup for the first time since their then-record seventh win in 1957. It will be their first final since 2000 when they lost to Chelsea in the last FA Cup final at the old Wembley. Villa's past triumphs not only include a double and seven FA Cup wins but the European Cup in 1982 and seven league titles. Although they are still in a lowly league position, current form suggests Arsenal will have to work hard to beat them. Sherwood said he thought his tactics of playing Charles N'Zogbia and Jack Grealish as twin playmakers "bamboozled Liverpool and caused them a lot of problems." Even when Liverpool went ahead they never took control of the game and Sherwood was delighted the whole club could at least dream of some overdue success. "It's a great occasion for the club. Obviously we haven't won anything yet, but not a lot of people gave us a chance against Liverpool," he said. "But we believed it and when we stepped foot on that pitch we realised our fans did as well." Villa had a poor first half of the season and were 18th and in the relegation zone when Sherwood took over in February. They had gone 10 league matches without a win, had not scored away in almost 8-1/2 hours and banners demanding the sack for former manager Paul Lambert were unfurled at Villa Park. "There is no magic wand here" said Sherwood, although some of his magic is clearly rubbing off on a famous old club devoid of glory for so long.

Djokovic sweeps his third Masters title of 2015

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Novak Djokovic (R) of Serbia and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic pose with their trophies

 Novak Djokovic became the first man to win titles
at the first three Masters 1000 events of the season as he beat Tomas
Berdych 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in a rain-interrupted final in Monte Carlo on
Sunday.
Djokovic also won his 17th straight match of 2015 as he added the
major clay trophy in the principality to his Indian Wells and Miami
titles in a match marred by a 70-minute rain delay as he led 3-2 in
the second set.
Djokovic claimed his 52nd career title and 23rd in a Masters. He now
stands a comfortable 19-2 over Berdych, the sixth seed.
"It was a tough match, a particular match," said Djokovic of an
afternoon lasting nearly two and three-quarter hours on court plus
the weather pause.
"Tomas played a great match and deserves this trophy as much as I do.
It was a good final, but bad luck today."
Djokovic now owns two Monte Carlo titles after winning his first in
2013. The loss prevented Czech Berdych from reaching a career-high
number four ranking.
Djokovic won a fourth consecutive Masters title, including his trophy
at the end of 2014 at Paris Bercy,

"What can I say," said Berdych. "Novak had another excellent week, I
tried my best but it was not good enough today.
"I'm missing that one step in my clay game but I'm gonna work to
raise my game that little bit. I'll do what I can to make that happen
and hope to come back next year and go a step further"."
The second set was the only set Djokovic dropped all week as he
improved his season record to 30-2.
In the third set, Djokovic got off to a fast start with two breaks
and a 4-0 lead before Berdych hauled one break back and then saved a
match point in the penultimate game with a powerful overhead winner.
But Djokovic closed out victory a game later on his second winning
chance as Berdych returned a serve long.