Tennis; Murray back to his best No injury concerns for Scot during straight-sets win over Giraldo

British number one Andy Murray enjoyed an untroubled passage into the fourth round of French Open with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win against Colombia's Santiago Giraldo.

Fourth seed Murray showed no signs of the back trouble that had hampered him two days ago during his second-round victory over Jarrko Nieminen, racing through the first set in 28 minutes.

And the Scot did not look back from there, a solitary break in each of the next two sets enough for him to complete the victory in two hours and two minutes.

Murray will play either 17th seed Richard Gasquet, who beat him in Rome last week, or Tommy Haas in the last 16.

Golf; More misery for McIlroy Northern Irishman misses third straight cut in Ohio

Rory McIlroy missed the cut at a PGA Tour event for a third successive time after posting a seven-over-par second round at Muirfield Village, where Tiger Woods moved into contention.

On the opening day, McIlroy recovered from a nightmare quadruple-bogey seven on the ninth hole to finish the day in a share of 20th on one under.

But there was no halt to his steady decline on Friday, as he bogeyed twice on the front nine before doubles at the 11th and 14th, together with a further dropped shot at 13, confirmed his early exit.

Second round leaderboard

(US unless stated)
-6 R Sabbatini (SA)
-5 T Woods
-5 S Stallings
-5 S Levine

McIlroy said: "I hit some good shots, it just seems like every time I go out there I make one or two big numbers and that sort of throws me.

Golf; ISPS Handa Wales Open - Round 3 Round 3 Concluded

Leaders
Player	Score	Hole
Thongchai Jaidee	-7	18
Joost Luiten	-6	18
Ross Fisher	-6	18
Tim Sluiter	-5	18
Carlos Del Moral	-4	18
Marcel Siem	-4	18
George Coetzee	-3	18
Richard McEvoy	-3	18
Mark Foster	-3	18
David Lynn	-2	18

Selected Others
Player	Score	Hole
Thomas Bjorn	-2	18
Matteo Manassero	-1	18
Pablo Larrazabal	+ 1	18
Paul Lawrie	+ 1	18
Francesco Molinari	+ 3	18
Miguel Angel Jimenez	+ 8	18

Golf; Fisher lands two-shot lead Upturn in form for struggling former Ryder Cup star

England's Ross Fisher shot a second round 66 to move into a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor.

The former Ryder Cup star has not had a top-five finish for almost 18 months and has slumped from No. 27 to 157 in the world rankings, but after resuming on Friday with a birdie two at the 10th, he picked up five more shots to move clear of the chasing pack.

Fisher was part of Europe's victorious side at the Newport venue in 2010 and is hoping those memories can help get his career back on track this weekend.

Second round leaderboard:
GB&Ire unless stated

-6 R Fisher
-4 L Slattery
-3 F Zanotti (Par)
-3 T Jaidee (Tha)
-3 C Wood

Click here for collated scores

"Hopefully it's the start of a big summer for me," said the 31-year-old. "I guess it's the dreaded curse of the comedown from the Ryder Cup. You have such high expectations and it's been disappointing."

He is currently down in 72nd place on the Ryder Cup points table with only 12 weeks of the race to go.

"Once you've played one you don't want to miss one. It's still a goal of mine, but it's a big outside goal at the moment because I've got to play damn well to get on that team," he added.

"I made an equipment change this year - I just felt the time was right - and it's probably taken me longer to adjust than I would have liked.

"But if I can play how I've played the first two days, especially today, I feel like I'm really tough to beat.

Cricket; Australia in strike threat England tour in doubt due to pay issues

Australia's players may go on strike ahead of this summer's one-day tour of England over performance-related pay issues, The Australian newspaper has reported.

Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) chief Paul Marsh said there were contingency plans should a resolution not be agreed with Cricket Australia before July 1.

The Australian said players have examined a boycott of next month's one-day tour of England or the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in September-October.

"Relationships between players and management are heated and threatening to become as ugly as the stand-off surrounding the first player contract negotiations during Mark Taylor's captaincy (1994-1999)," the newspaper said.

"Cricket Australia is playing hardball in negotiations and has frozen all state and Big Bash (domestic T20) contract talks under the threat of a Aus$50,000 ($48,400) fine until the new agreement is in place."

The newspaper said players and state administrators have both raised the possibility of a boycott of July's tour to England.

Marsh told the newspaper his members were preparing for a potential industrial stand-off if there was no contract in place before the current one ends.

Cricket; Belfast dates for Tigers Ireland to play three-match series as part of World T20 preparations

Ireland will play a three-match Twenty20 series against Bangladesh in Belfast in July.

The series will begin Ireland's preparations for the World Twenty20, which will be staged in Sri Lanka from September.

"It's great news that we're taking on Bangladesh and the games will give us valuable preparation as we build towards the World Cup in Sri Lanka," Ireland coach Phil Simmons said.

"In Paul Stirling we have one of the most exciting players in international cricket at present and I'm sure the Belfast public will relish the opportunity to watch him on home soil.""We played an exciting brand of cricket in winning the recent qualifying tournament in Dubai and we're now eighth in the world rankings in this format of the game.

The matches, which form part of a nine-day Bangladesh tour, will be staged on July 18, 20 and 21 at Stormont.

Ireland have met Bangladesh just once before in the shortest format, when they were six-wicket winners during the 2009 World Twenty20.

Ireland have been drawn against Australia and West Indies at this year's World Twenty20.

Football; Huge interest in Norwich post Canaries deny compensation agreed over Lambert

Norwich have been 'inundated with applications' for their managerial vacancy following Paul Lambert's departure for Aston Villa.

The Canaries boss brought an end to his near three-year stay at Carrow Road with his appointment at Villa Park confirmed earlier on Saturday.

Norwich have denied reports that a compensation package for the Scot's services has been agreed and insist they are still in discussions with their Premier League rivals.

But they are now focused on the search for Lambert's successor and claim to have already received a flood of interest in the vacancy.

The Canaries also paid a glowing tribute to their former boss, who lead them from League One to the Premier League on the back of successive promotions and then retained their top-flight status against the odds.

Horse racing; Producer takes charge of Surrey Course specialist scores in a canter

Richard Hannon's Producer ran out an easy winner of the Investec Surrey Stakes at Epsom.

Richard Hughes was quick to edge his mount across from his wide draw and hold down a prominent racing position behind the front-running Balty Boys.

The first two moved comfortably throughout the early exchanges of the seven furlong contest with morning gamble Justineo held up in rear as the order barely changed.

The Dutch Art colt, who completed a hat-trick at this track as a juvenile, took a few strides to pick up the leader when asked to go about his work by Hughes.

However, once he'd got into full stride he quickly stretched clear of his rivals to put the Listed race to bed in a matter of strides.

Horse racing; Was wins Oaks for O'Brien More Classic glory for O'Brien

Was (20-1) was a surprise winner of the Investec Oaks at Epsom for trainer Aidan O'Brien and jockey Seamie Heffernan on Friday.

Well-backed from prices as big as 50-1 in the morning, Was travelled through the race in a good position under Heffernan who stuck to the rail throughout.

As Mick Channon's front-running Nayarra fell away in the straight Was took it up on the inside and stuck on gamely to hold off the late challenges of Shirocco Star (16-1) and The Fugue (11-4 favourite).

Even with Kissed having been withdrawn earlier in the day, Was featured among five O'Brien-trained fillies in the race, with 1000 Guineas third Maybe the most fancied.

Was won her only juvenile appearance at the Curragh last August, but was beaten into third in last month's Blue Wind Stakes at Naas.

In a race where it proved sensible to be prominent off a slow gallop, the three-year-old showed plenty of dash to claim a surprise victory.

Shirocco Star's run was particularly meritorious given she was fractious in the preliminaries.

The Fugue and William Buick were short of room in the early stages and ended up further back than ideal, but she finished off her race well and arguably goes down as an unlucky loser.

Vow travelled like the winner for a long way and ran a creditable race in fourth.

Maybe was another filly who was a long way back for much of the journey in the hands of the trainer's son, Joseph, before staying on for fifth.

Football; Vertonghen - Spurs move close Ajax man a fan of Premier League and expects to seal switch soon

Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen has revealed that he could complete a move to Tottenham within the next few days.

The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League for some time, having caught the eye with his performances in the Eredivisie this season.

He had previously made it clear that joining Spurs would be his first choice, but admitted he did have other options and would not rule out their North London rivals Arsenal.

It now looks as though Vertonghen's dream move to White Hart Lane will become a reality after he told a press conference a deal is close to being finalised.

Speaking ahead of Belgium's friendly against England on Saturday, he said: "I am a big fan of the Premier League.

"It is almost the only competition I watch on TV and for me it is the best competition in the world.

"I would like to play in the Premier League. I am not in contact every day but I think it could be very close now, maybe a couple of weeks or maybe days."

Football; Group work vital to Rodgers New Reds boss will not be working with a director of football

Brendan Rodgers admits he sought assurances that no director of football would be appointed alongside him before taking the reins at Liverpool.

The Reds officially unveiled their new manager on Friday, with Rodgers having been lured away from Premier League rivals Swansea.

He is the man charged with the task of returning the Merseyside outfit to the top of the domestic game and back into the UEFA Champions League elite.

A successful spell at the Liberty Stadium convinced the Anfield board that he was the right man for the job, with his philosophies matching those of a club steeped in trophy-winning history.

Rodgers has, however, made it clear to the Liverpool hierarchy that he wants to do things his own way - and the Reds have agreed that they will not be looking for a successor to Damien Comolli, who left his role as director of football in April.

"That was one of the issues that I brought up when I was speaking with the club, that I wouldn't work directly with someone in that role," said Rodgers.

Football; Hodgson couldn't risk Lampard But England boss says Parker is fit and raring to go

Roy Hodgson admits he was left with no choice but to drop Frank Lampard from his Euro 2012 plans, but has no further injury concerns to contend with.

Chelsea stalwart Lampard will miss this summer's European Championship after suffering up a thigh injury in training.

He is the second midfielder to suffer an untimely problem, with Manchester City's Gareth Barry already ruled out.

Hodgson opted to add Everton defender Phil Jagielka to his squad after seeing Barry laid low, but found himself short on options once Lampard was struck down.

He was left in no position to gamble on his fitness as a result and has been forced to call upon the services of Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, who had been placed on the standby list.

"We have got the full contingent now and everyone trained, so there are no problems there, it was just the sad news we had to deal with when Frank was injured," Hodgson told Sky Sports News HD on Friday when asked to give an injury update.

Cricket; Little-known Adil Shamasdin and Bjorn Phau took the Pak-Dutch pair to three sets, but Qureshi and Rojer were able to hold their nerve in the third-set tie-break for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) win. The two-hour-27-minute match saw a weak service game from both sides, as Qureshi-Rojer gave away 11 break points, of which two were converted by Shamasdin-Phau. The Estroril Open champions were themselves unable to capitalise on the 10 break opportunities, converting only successfully. As indicated by a similar score-line in the first two sets, there wasn’t much to choose from between the two sides. The third set was another neck and neck affair until Qureshi-Rojer came out on top with a 7-4 win in the tie-break. They now face fifth seeds Horia Tacau and Robert Lindstedt in the third round.

HAMBANTOTA: Sri Lanka put on a brilliant bowling and fielding performance to post a comfortable 37-run victory over Pakistan in their opening Twenty20 international on Friday.

Pakistan were bowled out for 95, their lowest T20 total against Sri Lanka, after restricting the hosts to 132-7 in Hambantota.

Sri Lankan pacemen Nuwan Kulasekera, Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga and debutant off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake took two wickets apiece after man-of-the-match Thisara Perera scored a crucial 32 not out.

Opener Ahmed Shehzad top-scored for Pakistan with 36 while the extras contributed 19 runs, the second-highest of the innings. Umar Akmal (12) was the other batsman to reach double-figures.

Pakistan never recovered after losing two wickets off the first two balls of the innings, with Kulasekera removing skipper Mohammad Hafeez and debutant Shakeel Ansar.

The Sri Lankan bowlers were backed by their fielders, with Perera and Kulasekera each taking a superb catch.

Left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir earlier grabbed three big wickets as Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka.

He jolted the top order when he dismissed skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara in his opening three overs to reduce the hosts to 31-3.

Tanvir finished with 3-12 off four tight overs, his best performance in Twenty20 internationals, while off-spinner Saeed Ajmal bagged two wickets for 20 runs.

Perera smashed two sixes and as many fours in his 16-ball knock to help his team make 43 runs off the last 22 balls.
Lahiru Thirimanne, making his T20 debut, was the other main scorer with a 25-ball 30.

Sri Lanka made a poor start after electing to bat, losing four wickets in the opening eight overs with just 39 on the board.

Tanvir struck with his third delivery when he had Jayawardene caught by Shoaib Malik in the covers and then had Dilshan caught by Umar Gul at fine-leg in his next over.

Sangakkara (19) hit three successive fours off paceman Mohammad Sami before he inside-edged a Tanvir delivery onto his stumps.

The second and final Twenty20 match will be played on Sunday.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Nuwan Kulasekera, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Khalid Latif, Shakeel Ansar, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva (SRI) and Ranmore Martinesz (SRI)

TV umpire: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Tennis; After two-hour battle, Qureshi-Rojer through to third round

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer faced a stiff test in their second-round match at French Open on Friday, but the pair battled through to the third round.

Little-known Adil Shamasdin and Bjorn Phau took the Pak-Dutch pair to three sets, but Qureshi and Rojer were able to hold their nerve in the third-set tie-break for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) win.

The two-hour-27-minute match saw a weak service game from both sides, as Qureshi-Rojer gave away 11 break points, of which two were converted by Shamasdin-Phau. The Estroril Open champions were themselves unable to capitalise on the 10 break opportunities, converting only successfully.

As indicated by a similar score-line in the first two sets, there wasn’t much to choose from between the two sides. The third set was another neck and neck affair until Qureshi-Rojer came out on top with a 7-4 win in the tie-break.

They now face fifth seeds Horia Tacau and Robert Lindstedt in the third round.

MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow impresses during Catalunya practice

CATALUNYA GRAND PRIX

• Venue: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
 
• Saturday 2 June: Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP qualifying live online and on the Red Button: 11:50BST - 15:05BST.
Cal Cruthlow was third during practice for Sunday's Catalunya Grand Prix as Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time.

British rider Crutchlow is seeking his first podium finish and looked sharp ahead of Saturday's qualifying round.
Spanish rider Lorenzo, who has an eight point lead in the overall standings, topped the timesheets in Barcelona ahead of compatriot Alvaro Bautista.
Crutchlow has been excellent on his Tech 3 Yamaha this season and lies fourth in the standings on 45 points.
He has consistently been the top non-factory rider this season and has finished fourth twice.
Reigning champion Casey Stoner of Australia, second in the standings, was the only rider not to go faster than in the morning session while Valentino Rossi also endured a disappointing practice.
The Italian former champion finished the session almost 1.5 seconds off the top in 12th spot after being forced to switch to his second bike shortly before the end.



MotoGP standings

• Jorge Lorenzo: 90 points
• Casey Stoner: 82 points
• Dani Pedrosa: 65 points
• Cal Crutchlow: 45 points
• Andrea Dovizioso: 44 points
• Valentino Rossi: 42 points
• Stefan Bradl: 35 points
• Alvaro Bautista: 35 points
• Nicky Hayden: 33 points
• Hector Barbera: 26 points]

Racing; Side Glance boosts Balding Frankel could be next on the agenda for Diomed winner

Side Glance gave Andrew Balding and Jimmy Fortune a timely boost in the Investec Diomed Stakes at Epsom.

The trainer and jockey wouldn't be human if they didn't have a fraction of their minds occupied by thoughts of Bonfire and Saturday's Investec Derby but they combined to good effect in the Group Three over an extended mile.

Side Glance has improved steadily over the past two seasons and was scoring for the second time at this level having got the better of Dance And Dance at Salisbury last year.

There was just a neck between the pair on that occasion but the five year old gelding stretched his advantage to three parts of a length over Ed Vaughan's charge with veteran performer Mac Love flying home for third.