 | Glorious day for Qatari athletes DOHA IT was a rare day for host Qatar in the Asian Shooting Championship on Tuesday.
Nasser bin Saleh al Attiyah inspired a tuft of successes for the local shooters while sealing his place in the London Olympic Games...
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| | Djokovic, Williams dazzle, Stosur crashes out | | MELBOURNE NOVAK Djokovic made a dazzling start to his Australian Open defence on Tuesday but his close rival Andy Murray was slower off the blocks and home hope Samantha Stosur became the first big name to fall.
World number one Djokovic powered past Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-2, 6- 0, 6-0, in a comprehensive victory in which he even won a point with an audacious trick shot between his legs.
By contrast Murray, runnerup to the Serb last year, was embarrassed by a near-identical party-piece from Ryan Harrison before subduing the American 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Injury-plagued Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt ground out a trademark late-night, four-hour marathon 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win against 83rdranked German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe to set up a second-round match with Andy Roddick.
Five-time women's champion Serena Williams dispatched Austria's Tamira Paszek in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 but was not off the court until nearly 1:00 am, as the match only began at 11:30 pm following Hewitt's win.
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| | Ronaldo working like an animal: Mourinho | | MADRID UNDER-FIRE Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo may not be enjoying his best period of form but he is still "working like an animal" for the team, coach Jose Mourinho said ahead of Wednesday's King's Cup showdown with Barcelona.
Ronaldo has been whistled by some home supporters at Real's Bernabeu stadium since a poor performance in last month's La Liga 'Clasico' against arch rivals Barca.
The former Manchester United player reacted by refusing to celebrate his goal in a 5-1 win against Granada and makes his first appearance in front of Real fans since then in Wednesday's quarter-final first leg.
At a news conference on Tuesday, a cantankerous Mourinho said Ronaldo's performance in Saturday's 2-1 win at Real Mallorca had been his best of the campaign despite the fact that he had not added to his 21 league goals.
"He worked like an animal and did exactly what the team needed," Mourinho said.
"He doesn't need to score or be man of the match every time. I told him nobody can touch him after the way he worked in the second half.
"When the team wins everyone is responsible and when they lose everyone is responsible for that too. Simple." Mourinho has managed only one win over Barca in
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| | Man City beats Wigan, gains 3-points lead at top | | WIGAN EDIN Dzeko's first-half header lifted Manchester City three points clear at the top of the Premier League as the leaders swapped flair for functionality in a gritty 1-0 win at bottom club Wigan Athletic on Monday.
It was not pretty and did not produce the sackfuls of goals City have often managed this season but three points from a scrappy game at a cold and sparse DW Stadium are exactly what teams eke out on their way to championships.
"This evening it was important to take three points, I think that we played well in the first half an hour and after (that) so-so," City manager Roberto Mancini told a news conference.
"We had three or four incredible chances to score the second goal but we didn't score ... in this moment it is important to get three points, this month it is important to do the maximum points we can get." City, who had been suffering a blip since the start of the new year with one win and three defeats in all competitions, knew they could not afford a slip-up after Manchester United pulled level with them on points on Saturday.
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