PARIS: Eighth-seeded Elena Vesnina of Russia and Agnes Szavay of Hungary both reached the second round of the Open GDF Suez tournament this morning.

The 34th-ranked Agnes was leading 6-3, 1-0 against Olga Govortsova when the Belarus player retired, and the 29th-ranked Elena advanced 6-1, 6-4 against Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania.

LONDON: Arsenal winger Theo Walcott believes they need to find the killer instinct if they are to stay in the title race. The Gunners saw their championship challenge suffer a massive blow after losing 2-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last Sunday to slip nine points behind the Blues.

MADRID: It may sound desperate but Real Madrid superstar Kaka hopes that bitter city rivals Atletico Madrid can do Los Blancos a favour by beating Barcelona at Vincente Calderon on Sunday.

"It would be nice if Atletico would lend us a hand," said Kaka, who hopes to cut the Catalans' lead down to two points sooner rather than later. "The next match is an important one."

MILAN: Inter Milan midfield maestro Esteban Cambiasso reserved special praise for the Nerazzurri strikeforce after their resounding 3-0 win over Cagliari in a Serie A match last weekend that enabled the champions to maintain their eight-point cushion at the top of the table.

"My compliments go out to our strikers, they did really well," the Argentine told his club’s website. "And the team also did well in sending out a strong signal at the start of the game as that troubled our opponents."

MANCHESTER: Manager Roberto Mancini insists he is more confident than ever that Manchester City can finish fourth in the Premier League this season. The Italian watched his men go down 2-1 at Hull last Saturday to equal the number of league defeats suffered this season by his predecessor Mark Hughes.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sepaktakraw Association Malaysia (STAM) have included "tekong" Saravanan Kanesan in the 24-man national squad for the Asian Games in Guongzhou.

Saravanan, along with Azman Nasarudin, Mohd Futra Abdul Ghani and Mohd Dzulkarnain Ariff are among four "old" faces recalled after their impressive performances in the recent two-day carnival for Datuk Ahmad Ismail Trophy.

Saravanan, 33, from Bukit Selambau, Sungei Petani said: “Never in my wildest dream did I think of making it to the national squad again. Actually, I am in disbelief but delighted.

KUALA LUMPUR: If there's one man who can epitomise the saying "been there, done that", it would definitely be Malaysia's ageing shuttler Wong Choong Hann.

The city-born, who celebrates his 33rd birthday on Feb 17, has been a familiar face in the international circuit for 13 years.

LONDON: Heikki Kovalainen is confident his Lotus Formula 1 team can live up to their name — given time. The team are set to make their Formula 1 debut this season but despite carrying the “Lotus” name, this team are not the Lotus outfit of old.

Kovalainen’s team are a new outfit, starting from scratch and the only reason they are carrying the “Lotus” name is because they are backed by the Malaysian national car maker Proton, who own Lotus.

PACIFIC PALISADES (California): Steve Stricker won the Northern Trust Open this morning by two strokes after shooting a final round 70 to finish with a 16-under total of 268.

It was Stricker's eighth tour victory and his fifth since 2007. Briton Luke Donald, who shot a 66, finished second while Dustin Johnson tied with J.B. Holmes for third, three strokes further back.

Stricker had to return to the course early this morning to finish his third round which had been suspended due to bad light. He had a five-stroke lead with four holes remaining and extended it to six.

MADRID: Lowly Real Zaragoza stunned formidable Sevilla 2-1 at home this morning. And Sevilla boss Manolo Jimenez declared that it was a game to forget for them as their push for Champions League spot took another blow. The defeat means Sevilla have now won just three of their last 10 Primera Liga outings.

LONDON: Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel feels the race for Champions League qualification will be close despite the top four having a "familiar look".

For all the talk of Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa breaking into the elite, Liverpool's recent form means the summit of the table includes the four heavyweights who have not seen their dominance broken since 2005 when Everton pipped their rivals.

LIVERPOOL: Striker Dirk Kuyt is proud to have scored his 50th goal for Liverpool. He notched up the milestone with the winner in the 1-0 crucial win over Everton in a fierce Merseyside derby at Anfield on Saturday.

The Dutchman was obviously delighted to hit the landmark in such a big match and believes Liverpool are starting to turn the corner after a poor run of form.

"It's a great feeling and I'm really happy to have scored 50 goals for Liverpool — especially in a game like this," Kuyt told Liverpool's official website.

WARSAW: England boss Fabio Capello claims they were given one of the toughest Euro 2012 qualifying draws in Warsaw yesterday. England will face Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales and Montenegro and Capello was not exactly jumping for joy.

"I think the worst groups were Group A and Group G and we got Group G. It's a tough group because each game will be strong to play," Capello told Sky Sports.

KUALA LUMPUR: The frown on the face of KL Plus coach Mat Zan Mat Aris and the tone of his voice reveal something is not right with the team.

Mat Zan believes his lads, including the latest signings, have not shown their true potential on the field and this is worrying.

LONDON: Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka has refused to rule Arsenal out of the Premier League title race ahead of the London derby showdown at Stamford Bridge on Monday (12am).

The Gunners trail leaders Chelsea by six points with last weekend’s 3-1 defeat by Manchester United at Emirates appearing to bring their pursuit of the crown to a demoralising halt.

KUALA LUMPUR: First it was a new apparel lineup. Now national squash player Azlan Iskandar is taking his business skills to the next level with the introduction of the Azlan Iskandar Squash Academy (Aisa) scheduled to open soon.

Azlan would be the first playing athlete in the country to initiate such a set up, which has received the blessings from the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council (NSC).

Squash queen Nicol David and top shuttler Lee Chong Wei have expressed their interest in setting up an academy in their respective sports only after retiring.

JOHOR BARU: Their heart cries for a place in the Thomas Cup team but their wretched form on the court is a different matter for the country's second ranked men's doubles pair of Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari.

And their first-round exit in last month's Malaysia Open Super Series saw the pair coming under fire from all quarters — adding further strain to their performance.

LONDON: Aston Villa striker John Carew could return from injury for the crucial "fight for fourth spot" clash against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday (1.30am).

The Norway international has been unavailable for Villa's last four games because of a knee problem. But the former Lyon and Valencia hitman, who had lost his place in the starting lineup to Emile Heskey before the setback, is now back in training and making good progress.

LONDON: Arsenal striker Eduardo has been ruled out of their crunch London derby against Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Croatia international failed to recover from the hamstring injury he sustained in the goalless draw with Aston Villa last week. Midfielder Abou Diaby could return from the calf problem that has kept him sidelined since middle of last month as the Gunners attempt to nudge their title challenge back on track.