Ljubicic to retire from tennis

Ivan Ljubicic, who won 10 ATP tournaments and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world, announced Thursday he will retire from competitive tennis this year.

Ljubicic, who turns 33 later this month, said his last ATP tournament will be the Monte Carlo Masters next month. Ljubicic lives in Monte Carlo.

He said it wasn't an easy decision to retire, but he plans to stay "involved and contribute in some ways."

Ljubicic turned professional in 1998 and reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in May 2006. That was right before his best Grand Slam tournament result, a semifinals appearance at the 2006 French Open. He is currently ranked 40th.

He won 10 tournaments, the most recent coming in March 2010 when he won at Indian Hills, Calif. He advanced to two title matches since then, including at Metz, France, last September. He was 10-14 in championship matches.

Ljubicic helped Croatia to the Davis Cup title in 2005 and won a bronze medal in doubles at the 2004 Olympics.

Brazil's Kuerten named to International Tennis Hall of Fame

Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, a three-time Grand Slam title champion and former World No. 1, has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, officials announced on Thursday.

Kuerten and others will be inducted into the sports shrine on July 14 during the ATP Hall of Fame Championships after receiving at least 75 percent support in a vote from an international media panel.

Kuerten, nicknamed "Guga", becomes the second Brazilian in the Hall of Fame after Maria Bueno, who was inducted in 1978.

Spending 43 weeks atop the world rankings, Kuerten reached his heights on the red clay at Roland Garros, winning the French Open in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

"During my career in tennis I was fortunate to have many victories, but the Hall of Fame induction is a special one," Kuerten said.

Kuerten praised the influential players upon his career, including legends Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi.

"I was inspired by lots of great tennis players, like Maria Bueno and Thomas Koch, two of the biggest Brazilian tennis players, and I have also always greatly admired Hall of Famers including Borg, McEnroe, Sampras, and Agassi.

"To be honored in the same category as those great players is amazing."

Kuerten, 35, will be joined in induction by former Spanish star Manuel Orantes, administrator and promoter Mike Davies and the late Randy Snow from wheelchair tennis.

Kuerten's 1997 triumph in Paris was the first Grand Slam title by a Brazilian since Bueno won the 1966 US Open.

He also became the year-end World No. 1 in 2000, the first South American to claim the spot since the ranking system debuted in 1973.

Man Utd youngster Pogba in Juventus link

Manchester United’s highly-rated young French midfielder Paul Pogba has agreed a summer move to Juventus, according to the Manchester Evening News, after rejecting a new contract to stay at Old Trafford.

The 19-year-old’s decision to turn down the new deal has led to him becoming an outcast at the club, the Manchester Evening News adds, with the newspaper revealing Pogba is now training on his own.

Pogba, part of the Manchester United side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2011, came to England in 2009 from Le Havre, the same French outfit that produced Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, former Milan player Ibrahim Ba and current Paris Saint-Germain striker Guillaume Hoarau. In 2009 United paid Le Havre a reported £300,000 for the services of the then-16-year-old Pogba. Pogba has yet to start a game for Manchester United, making four substitute appearances this season, only one of which came in the Premier League.

If Pogba does move to Juventus the player will according to the Manchester Evening News earn £1m per season. Pogba has yet to start a game for Manchester United, making four substitute appearances this season, only one of which came in the Premier League.

F1 team appoints female test driver

Formula One team Marussia have appointed Spaniard Maria De Villota, an experienced racer in women s autosport, as one of their test drivers. A day before International Women s Day, the Russian outfit announced Wednesday that De Villota, the daughter of former F1 driver and British Formula One Series Champion Emilio de Villota, would be joining their set-up. John Booth, Team Principal, Marussia F1 Team, commented: "We are pleased to welcome Maria to our test driver programme, which will enable her to be integrated into a Formula One team environment and gain a vast amount of experience that will be useful to her career progression. "We will also provide Maria with the opportunity to sample F1 machinery later in the year, further adding to her racing credentials." De Villota has raced in a variety of single-seater and sports car categories, including Spanish F3, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Euroseries 3000 and Superleague Formula Championship. She has also experienced a Formula One cockpit previously, having received a test drive courtesy of the team formerly known as Lotus Renault F1 Team at Paul Ricard in August of last year, where she achieved 300kms of running. De Villota said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to work closely with a Formula One team and gain important experience to help me progress my career, including the chance to drive the new car later in the year at the Abu Dhabi test. "I will be joining the team trackside so I m looking forward to working alongside them at the first race next weekend and this can only help my future ambition to step up to Formula One racing." Two women have previously raced in Formula 1: Italians Maria Teresa de Filippis, who competed in three races in 1958, coming 10th in the Belgian Grand Prix, and Lella Lombardi, who drove in the mid-1970s. She came sixth in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. Britain s Divina Galica in 1976 and 1978; South African Desire Wilson in 1980; and Giovanna Amati, of Italy, in 1992 have also driven in Formula One but failed to qualify.

Pakistan Blind Cricket team leaves for India

The matches will be played from March 10 to 17 in Chennai. Chairman Blind Cricket Council Sultan Shah while talking to media at Karachi Airport said that it seems that two key players Muhammad Idrees and Muhammad Akram were not given visas by Indian High Commission just to weaken Pakistani team. Skipper Blind Cricket Team Abdul Razzaq said that Pakistani is still capable to defeat Indian Team in the absence of these players. Indian Series would help Pakistani team to prepare for the T20 World Cup in December. Three T20 matches would be played from 11th to 13 March while one-dayers on 14th, 16th and 17th March in Chennai.

Messi takes Barca into ‘new galaxy’

Lionel Messi s record five-goal haul in the 7-1 Champions League rout of Bayer Leverkusen prompted Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to hail the Argentine master as the game s greatest talent. Guardiola was not alone in his admiration after the defending champions sailed into the quarter-finals on a 10-2 aggregate. Robin Dutt, the coach of the vanquished Germans, insisted that Messi made Barcelona look as if they came from "another galaxy" while England striker Wayne Rooney took to Twitter to anoint the superstar as "the best ever". "I am fortunate to have Messi in the team and all I can do is try and create the conditions so that he plays his best football," said Guardiola. "You won t see anyone else like him. People said that Di Stefano, Maradona and Cruyff were the best when they were playing and now it is the same for Messi. He is on the throne and it is down to him how long he stays there." Messi bettered his previous record of four against Arsenal two seasons ago and now has 12 goals from seven Champions League matches this season after a majestic attacking performance from the World Player of the Year. Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, it was always going to be a tough task for Leverkusen with Barca unbeaten in 13 European home games. Messi struck twice before the break and then hit a further three after the restart while youngster Cristian Tello also grabbed a brace. "This time Messi got five. Maybe the next time he will get six. These are only figures but he will always keep trying to get another goal because that is his personality," said Guardiola. Messi, as always, preferred the under-statement to superlatives. "I m happy, it s great to score a five, but the important thing tonight was the win and to qualify for the quarter-finals. Now, no matter who we meet, it s going to be very complicated, there are only good sides left in," he said. "We know it s hard for us in the Liga (10 points behind Real Madrid), but we want to defend our Champions League title and we are also keeping in our minds on the Spanish Cup." Dutt did not hold back in his praise for Barca and their guiding force. "There are no words to describe this performance from them, it was extraordinary, there is no doubt," said Dutt. "Without Messi, they are still the best but with him they are from another galaxy." Barca teammate Cesc Fabregas insisted no-one should be surprised by Messi s latest landmark. "You can expect anything from Leo," said Fabregas. "He is the best player in history, we have never seen anyone like him. "He didn t play at the weekend (Messi was suspended) and he wanted to do well. He enjoys being on the pitch and we are happy to have him." Rooney, whose Manchester United side failed to make the last 16, insisted he had witnessed a genius at work. "Messi is a joke. For me, the best ever," he tweeted.

Podolski to join Arsenal 13 m euros

He will join Arsenal for 13 million euros, according to reports. The German club, currently 14th in the Bundesliga, made no confirmation of the claims but daily newspaper Bild said Podolski had accepted terms with the English Premier League side. Cologne-based newspaper Express claim the only thing missing is Podolski s signature on the Arsenal contract. Both Cologne s press officer and Podolski s agent, Kon Schramm, refused to comment on the reports when approached by German agency SID, an AFP subsidiary. Bild claim Podolski has agreed terms on a four-year deal that will see him earn an annual salary of around seven million euros ($9.2 million), while British tabloid the Daily Mail ran the headline "Podolski is a Gunner". The only comment Podolski has given on the matter is to say: "I will give everything I have to the very end" after Cologne s 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim last Saturday. The 26-year-old was laying low Thursday and missed training with a gastrointestinal infection, but the club hope to have him available for Saturday s German league match against Hertha Berlin. The Gunners  injured centre-back Per Mertesacker told German Sky Sports News on Wednesday that Podolski has been getting the low-down on life at the Premier League side through an exchange of text messages with him. "He has been very interested in the last few weeks and sent me a text message or two," Mertesacker said. "I just responded to him positively, we have a good club here and everyone here has a positive opinion of  Poldi ." Podolski s contract with Bundesliga strugglers Cologne does not expire until June 2013. He has made 95 appearances for Germany, is a veteran of two World Cups and was part of the team which reached the Euro 2008 final when the Germans lost to Spain. The attacker was transferred in 2009 from Bayern Munich to Cologne, where he played at the start of his career. Bild previously said that Cologne wanted 18 million euros for Podolski, who has scored 16 goals in 20 German league games this season -- more than half of his team s total tally of 31.

Tottenham 3-1 Stevenage- Report.

Spurs see off Stevenage

Tottenham survived a scare to move one step closer to Wembley by beating minnows Stevenage in a fifth round replay at White Hart Lane.

The npower League One side started as huge underdogs but took just two minutes to take the lead through Joel Byrom, who converted a penalty after being upended by Ryan Nelsen.

Jermain Defoe levelled for Spurs and the Barclays Premier League side moved into the last eight thanks to Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty and another well-taken strike from the impressive Defoe.

Stevenage showed glimpses of creativity which showed why they have achieved back-to-back promotions, but the gulf in ability between the two sides ultimately showed in the second half, with Defoe notching two extra strikes to push his claims for a recall.

The win came at a cost for the hosts, however, as Michael Dawson was carried off on a stretcher with what looked like a serious injury, while Aaron Lennon also hobbled off.

Willed on by their 4,200 travelling fans, the visitors earned a shock early penalty when Nelsen upended Byrom with a clumsy challenge.

The winger kept his nerve to slot home to Carlo Cudicini's right and give Stevenage a surprise lead.

Tottenham's night went from bad to worse shortly after when Dawson injured himself going for a challenge with Chris Beardsley. The defender, clearly in agony, came off and Kyle Walker replaced him.

Michael Bostwick fired wide for Stevenage before Aaron Lennon sneaked inside the box at the other end after beating two defenders but his low cross could only find a Stevenage defender.

Spurs almost went 2-0 down in the 25th minute when Jon Ashton met Byrom's cross but he headed just over.

Stevenage paid the price for the miss as they conceded soon after through Defoe's first.

The England international deftly took down Gareth Bale's 60-yard pass before rifling home a sweet left-foot volley.

Danny Rose had a penalty appeal turned down and Tottenham continued to be frustrated.

Their injury woes worsened eight minutes before the break when Lennon hobbled off and was replaced by Adebayor.

Bale slipped Adebayor in in first-half injury time - but Mark Roberts put in a crucial tackle just as the former Arsenal man was about to shoot.

Defoe thought he had scored just after the break when he turned in Younes Kaboul's cross but the linesman flagged for offside.

Stevenage were still holding their own and came close to a second goal when Bostwick's shot ricocheted straight into the path of Roberts - but he shot straight at Cudicini.

Once again, the minnows were immediately made to pay for their profligacy as Spurs took the lead.

Roberts brought down Bale in the box as he attempted to pull a cross back, Michael Oliver pointed to the spot and Adebayor stroked home the spot-kick before running over to Harry Redknapp to shake his hand in celebration.

Stevenage then backed off Bale to almost deadly consequences as he fired a 30-yard shot which dipped over goalkeeper Chris Day and rattled the bar.

Boro hit back, with Bostwick firing a blistering 30-yard drive which Cudicini did well to tip around a post.

Roberts met Byrom's cross from the resulting corner but the defender's header crashed off the bar and bounced to safety.

Defoe wasted a glorious chance to kill the tie as he headed weakly at Day from Bale's pinpoint cross.

The England striker did not waste his next chance, however. He raced onto Bale's long throw, turned Ashton inside out and curled a shot into the far corner past the sprawling Day.

Stevenage looked for one more goal for their raucous support, who had not stopped chanting all night.

Lawrie Wilson found Craig Reid in the box but the striker's shot cannoned into Cudicini's arms.

Bale found space with his blistering pace on the counter but Van der Vaart somehow failed to connect with the cross.

The Welshman stung Day's palms in the final minute of injury time as both sides pushed for another goal but it did not came and Spurs marched on to set up a home quarter-final against Bolton.