singles

sai, Sameer progress in Aus Open

sydney: Indian shuttlers started on a positive note at the Australian Open with second seed B Sai Praneeth and fourth seed Sameer Verma progressing to the second round of the men's singles event here on Wednesday. While Praneeth beat Israel's Misha Zilberman in straight games 21-17, 21-14, Sameer had to toil hard to get the better of New Zealand's Abhinav Manota 13-21, 21-17, 21-12 in the opening round of the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 event. Sameer's brother, Sourabh Verma, however, suffered a hard-fought 19-21, 21-17, 21-12 defeat at the hands of Japan's Takuma Ueda. It was curtains for unseeded Ajay Jayram too despite offering a valiant fight before going down 20-22, 22-20, 21-17 to Japan's Riichi Takeshita in a pulsating contest that lasted for one hour and 12 minutes.

Serena opts out of Italian Open

rome: Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week's Italian Open, saying she needs more time to be "100 percent ready to compete." The tournament made the announcement via Twitter. Williams returned to the tour briefly this year after a 14-month absence to give birth to her daughter. The 23-time Grand Slam champion also withdrew from this week's Madrid Open and sitting out Rome puts her status for the French Open, which starts May 27, in doubt. Williams, a four-time Italian Open champion, has not played since her a first-round loss to Naomi Osaka in March at the Miami Open.

Neuer doubts over World Cup

berlin: Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes on Wednesday said that Manuel Neuer will not play again for the club this season while the goalkeeper has poured serious doubt on his World Cup chances. "I do not think it's imaginable that I go into such a tournament without match practice," Neuer said at an event on Tuesday night. Neuer, 32, has been sidelined by a fractured foot since September and is running out of time to be fit in time for Germany's opening World Cup match against Mexico in Moscow on June 17. Heynckes said there was no chance Neuer would play in Bayern's last two games this season - the final Bundesliga game at home to Stuttgart on Saturday and the German Cup final on May 19 against Eintracht Frankfurt in Berlin. "Manuel won't play against Stuttgart - and also not in the German Cup final," Heynckes said.

Tiger to roar at British Open

london: Three time British Open winner Tiger Woods is set to play in this year's championship for the 20th time but first since 2015, tournament organisers announced on Wednesday. The 42-year-old American - a 14 time Major winner - returned to competitive golf this season after missing most of the previous two years through injury and finished tied for 32nd at last month's Masters. "Three-time Champion Golfer Tiger Woods plans to tee it up at Carnoustie for The 147th Open after confirming his entry into golf's original Championship," read the statement from the organisers. "The confirmation of the entry from one of the greatest golfers ever to grace the sport will delight fans around the world." Woods, who is playing at the "fifth major" The Players Championship in his first competitive outing since The Masters, has played two Opens at Carnoustie, finishing seventh in 1999 and 12th in 2007.