June 24, 2017

Halle (Germany), June 24: Swiss tennis player and first seed Roger Federer on Saturday defeated Russian Karen Khachanov, advancing to the final round of the Halle grass court tournament here.Federer, who is a step away from his ninth title at the tournament, took an hour and 25 minutes to win 6-4, 7-6 (5), reports Efe. In the final, the Swiss is set to play the winner of the upcoming match between Spaniard Feliciano Lopez and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

Changhwa (Taiwan), June 24: Pannakorn Uthaipas of Thailand continued his red-hot form by carding a second straight five-under-par 67 to stay ahead of the chasing pack following the penultimate round of the US$160,000 Taifong Open here on Saturday.Chasing a maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) win, the 26-year-old Pannakorn fired five birdies against two bogeys before pulling off a birdie-eagle finish to lead by two shots with a three-day total of 10-under-par 206 at the Taifong Golf Course. Asian Tour stalwart Lin Wen-tang…

Baku, June 24: Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was the fastest to finish the third free practice for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix here on Saturday.Bottas made his best lap by covering the Baku City Circuit in a minute and 42.742 seconds, ahead of his countryman Kimi Raikkonen, who drives Ferrari, by just 0.095 seconds, reports Efe. Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton, three-time champion, came third. Renault's Jolyon Palmer had barely started when his car ground to a sudden halt on the second turn…

Sydney, June 24: Star Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth defeated fourth seed Shi Yuqi of China to reach the final of the Australia Open Superseries badminton tournament here on Saturday.The Guntur player took only 37 minutes to outplay his Chinese opponent 21-10, 21-14. The 24-year-old Indian shuttler dominated the proceedings right from the start and finished off in straight games to reach the summit clash. Srikanth has now reached his third consecutive final. He finished runner-up at the Singapore Open before winning…

Derby, June 24: A brilliant batting display helped India post 281/3 against England in the opening match of the ICC Women's cricket World Cup here on Saturday.Put in to bat, the Indian eves started off with openers Punam Raut (86) and Smriti Mandhana (90) putting up a 144-run stand in 27 overs. But just when the going seemed good, Mandhana was sent packing by off-spinner Heather Knight. Mandhana, who slammed 11 boundaries and two sixes, was caught at midwicket by Danielle Hazell. Unperturbed by the fall of her…