Nadal claims fifth Madrid crown, second for Halep
Spanish No. 1 Rafael Nadal claimed his fifth Mutua Madrid Open title with a 7-6 (10), 6-4 win over eighth seeded Dominic Thiem. The Spaniard, who snapped a seven-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic to win their semifinal on Saturday, was given a much sterner test by Thiem than in last month's final of the Barcelona Open. Nadal had easily beaten Thiem 6-4 6-1 in Barcelona. Meanwhile, Romania's Simona Halep successfully defended her Madrid Open title by downing France's Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-7 (5-7) and 6-2, in a hard-fought final. In her third final (finalist in 2014, champion in 2016), Halep took her first title this year and the 15th in her career while becoming the second player to win the Madrid Open two years in a row. America's Serena Williams achieved that feat in 2012 and 2013.
It's Mohun Bagan versus Bengaluru FC
Defending champions Mohun Bagan and strong contenders Bengaluru FC (BFC) won their respective semifinals to set up a title clash in the Federation Cup football tournament. Mohun Bagan, who have won the Federation Cup for a record 14 times, kept their title defence on track by defeating arch-rivals East Bengal 2-0 at the Barabati Stadium. Darryl Duffy (35th minute) gave Mohun Bagan the lead before half-time before his fellow striker Balwant Singh (84th minute) produced an acrobatic finish to make the issue safe in the final minutes. BFC got the better of Aizawl FC 1-0 in a hard-fought encounter in the other semifinal. Cameron Watson converted a penalty to score the only goal of the semifinal in the eighth minute. Aizawl were awarded a penalty in the final seconds but Lalram Chullova failed to score. The final will be played on May 21 while the play-off for third place is scheduled for May 18.
Hamilton wins Spanish Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the Spanish Grand Prix following a titanic battle against Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari who finished in second place. Hamilton was able to make good use of the pole position he assured in Saturday's qualification in the Montmelo race circuit. Daniel Ricciardo finished in third place after Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas retired with an engine problem, while Force India's Sergio Perez was fourth, a lap behind the three leaders. The win took him to within six points of Vettel in the drivers' championship.
Sumit takes silver on final day
Sumit Kumar produced the only bright spot for India on the final day of the Asian Wrestling Championships as he settled for silver in the men's Freestyle 125kg category. Sumit was outclassed 2-6 by Yadollah Mohammadkazem Mohebi of Iran in the final. India thus ended the tournament with a total of 10 medals—one gold, five silver and four bronze. Bajrang Punia won the first gold medal for India at the championship by defeating Lee Seungchul of South Korea in the final of the men's 65kg Freestyle division.
Harikrishna loses in Moscow chess meet
Indian Grand Master P. Harikrishna went down fighting to Russian GM Peter Svidler in third round to suffer his first loss in the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix chess tournament. The World No. 16 Indian, playing in white pieces, started off aggressively and maintained pressure on his higher rated opponent during the initial stage of the game. However, one miscalculated move mid-way into the tie saw Svidler seize the momentum and turned the tides on Harikrisha. With two draws and one loss, Harikrishna now has one point from three rounds in the 9-round Swiss tournament which offers prize money of 130,000 euros ($1,42,761.45) as well as chance to qualify for the prestigious candidates tournament. He will now take on Ernesto Inarkiev of Russia in the fourth round.
Ashes strike warning over Australia pay row
Australia's cricketers union urged a swift resolution to a damaging pay dispute to avoid any strike disruption to this year's Ashes series. Cricket Australia last week threatened not to pay contracted players beyond the June 30 expiry of their current financial deal if they didn't accept a new offer. The robust statement prompted warnings of a strike. Alistair Nicholson, chief executive of the Australian Cricketers' Association, said players wanted the dispute resolved rather than risk damaging the showpiece Ashes series against England, starting in November. The dispute centres on Cricket Australia's desire to scrap the fixed percentage players have earned since the first memorandum of understanding was agreed 20 years ago.
Pakistan clinch a thriller
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq will retire on a winning note after Pakistan clinched their first ever series win in the Caribbean when they beat West Indies in a thrilling finish to the third test in Dominica on Sunday. A valiant unbeaten century by Roston Chase almost staved off defeat for West Indies, who were all out for 202 in their second innings with only one over remaining at Windsor Park in Roseau. Chase and the West Indies tail made the Pakistan bowlers sweat, after the visitors took the new ball with 17 overs remaining. But number 11 Shannon Gabriel was bowled by leg-spinner Yasir Shah on the final ball of the penultimate over. Had Gabriel survived that ball, Chase would have had strike for the final over. He ended on 101 not out. Pakistan won the match by 101 runs to win the series 2-1.
