AUCKLAND, Dec 30, (AFP) — Former world number one Venus Williams battled into the second round of the Auckland Classic on yesterday with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) win over Czech wildcard Andrea Hlavackova.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion began confidently but could not dominate Hlavackova, ranked 134 in the world, even though she never looked like losing the match.

“I knew it was going to be tough and I was really glad to close it out,” she said.

Williams, now ranked 47, is seeking to rejoin the game’s elite after two years marred by auto-immune disease and injury,

At 33, she is the oldest player at the Auckland tournament, a warm-up event for next month’s Australian Open.

Federer confident of improvement in 2014

BRISBANE, Australia, (AFP) – Swiss tennis great Roger Federer insisted yesterday he was still capable of winning a Grand Slam singles crown despite a relatively poor 2013 season which saw him slip to world number six.

The 32-year-old won only one title in an injury-hit 2013, leading many tennis fans to wonder whether he would add to his record tally of 17 Slams.

However, the former world number one said he still had the ability to win one of the big four and identified Wimbledon as his best chance.

“Let’s say I play my best, probably I always feel that Wimbledon is going to be my best chance,” he said when asked which of the four Slams he thought he could win in 2014.

“(Then) the US Open, Australian Open, and then the French Open.

“But then again, who cares? It’s up to me to show it, to prove it, and give it a try and give myself opportunities like I have in previous years.”

Federer, who is playing the Brisbane International for the first time in a change to his Australian Open preparations, recently added former Swedish great Stefan Edberg to his coaching staff.

Sharapova returns with convincing win in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Every point mattered for Maria Sharapova in her competitive return from an injury layoff, even in a first-round match in the season-opening tournament.

Sharapova beat 74th-ranked Caroline Garcia of France 6-3, 6-0 yesterday, ripping forehand winners and nullifying her rival’s biggest weapon with some aggressive service returns. She chased down balls to turn the tempo of games when she was behind, and celebrated break points with triple fist pumps even when the result was beyond doubt.

The four-time major winner played only one match following an early exit at Wimbledon last season due to a right shoulder injury. She showed no signs of soreness in advancing to the second round at the Brisbane International, her only warm-up event for the Australian Open.

Record breaking day for Peyton Manning

OAKLAND, United States, (AFP) – Peyton Manning broke one NFL passing record and stretched another on Sunday as the Denver Broncos also set a league mark for the most points in a single season.

The record-shattering effort came in the first half against the Oakland Raiders, giving the visiting Broncos a 31-point lead on the way to a 34-14 triumph.

Manning, the Broncos’ 37-year-old quarterback, threw for 266 yards and four touchdowns in the first half against the Raiders then sat out the second half as Denver improved to 13-3 to become the top seed in the American Conference playoffs and take a home-field playoff edge all the way to the Super Bowl.

Manning’s first-half yardage total was exactly what he needed to break the former one-season record of 5,476 passing yards set by Drew Brees of New Orleans in 2011.

Manning set the yardage mark on a five-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas with 13 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give him 5,477 yards on the season.

That was Manning’s fourth touchdown pass of the game, giving him 55 touchdown tosses for the season. Last week, he broke the old one-season touchdown pass record of 50 set by New England’s Tom Brady in 2007.

Thunder routs Rockets to take NBA lead

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City moved into sole possession of the NBA lead with a 117-86 rout of Houston on Sunday, with Kevin Durant having 33 points and 13 rebounds.

The Thunder again made light of the absence of the injured Russell Westbrook, taking a comfortable win that moved them out of a tie with Portland for the overall lead.

Houston’s loss and San Antonio’s win over Sacramento moved the Spurs four games clear atop the Southwest Division.

Oklahoma City made it 12 wins from 13 games, as Jeremy Lamb added a career-high 22 points and five assists, while Reggie Jackson — starting in Westbrook’s place — had 16 points and eight assists.

Aaron Brooks had 17 points for Houston, which was playing its fourth game in five days, and after winning the previous three they were convincingly beaten by the Thunder. The Rockets missed their first 12 shots and shot 36.5 percent from the field (31 of 85).

San Antonio experienced trio performed strongly in the closing stages to guide the Spurs to a 112-104 win over Sacramento.

Andy Flower to meet England bosses

MELBOURNE, Dec 30, (AFP) – Andy Flower on Monday said he will discuss his future with his new boss this week but vowed to fight on as England coach despite facing a 5-0 Ashes whitewash against Australia.

Flower admitted to self-reflection after he was repeatedly asked at a press conference about his role and the future of captain Alastair Cook.

“Certainly when I examine my role in the tour I ask myself tough questions,” he said.

“My focus at the moment is the Sydney Test match,” Flower said.

England cricket’s new managing director Paul Downton has arrived in Australia and the embattled coach said they would meet in Sydney where the final Test opens on Friday.

“We will talk about the future of the leadership of the national team as regards the coach’s position,” Flower said.

“But I’m very motivated to contribute to England cricket and that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.

He went on to defend his captain whose leadership, defensive field settings and inspirational qualities have all come under fire since the Ashes series began in November.

“Alastair Cook has captained six Test series for England and this is the first series loss that he’s had,” Flower said.

Alastair Cook makes rallying call to teammates

MELBOURNE, (AFP) – Alastair Cook is calling on his seniors to pull out something special for England to avoid the ignominy of an Ashes whitewash against Australia.

The rampant Australians strolled to a convincing eight-wicket victory over the beleaguered tourists in Sunday’s fourth Melbourne Test to lead the series 4-0 and stand on the brink of a 5-0 series rout in this week’s final Sydney Test.

Somehow the dispirited tourists, who gave up the Ashes in 14 playing days, have to find a way to stop the Australian juggernaut from repeating the 5-0 clean sweep of the 2006-07 series Down Under.

Cook, whose position as captain looks shaky after his team has been comprehensively outplayed by the Australians, has defended his players who crumbled under pressure after holding a 51-run innings lead only to be bowled out for 179 in their second innings.

“We’ve some very good players in our dressing room. We’ve some record-breaking players who will have some fantastic days left in an England shirt,” Cook said in the wake of Melbourne trouncing.

“I know that for sure. And we’ll be praising them when they do that.

“That’s what turns around a team that is struggling like we are at the moment to put in a good performance.”

Isinbayeva devastated by deadly attacks in her hometown

MOSCOW, Dec 30, (AFP) – Russia’s double Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva on yesterday said she was devastated and shocked by two deadly attacks that have rocked her hometown of Volgograd in southern Russia.

“It is hard for me to talk now,” Isinbayeva told the ITAR-TASS news agency. “None of my family or loved ones suffered. But I feel terrible, simply terrible.”

Isinbayeva, who enthralled Russia with her victory in the World Athletics Championships in Moscow this summer, is probably the most famous living resident of the city.

The athletics star was born in Volgograd in 1982 to a Russian mother and father of Dagestan origin. She still trains in the city under the guidance of her coach since childhood, Yevgeny Trofimov.

At least 14 people were killed on Monday in a bombing that destroyed a packed trolleybus in Volgograd, a day after 17 people died in a suicide strike on the city’s main train station.

Suarez at the mercy of his wild nature says Mourinho

LONDON, Dec 30, (AFP) – Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes that Luis Suarez remains at the mercy of his “wild nature” despite the Liverpool striker’s improved conduct in the Premier League season to date.

Suarez was banned for 10 games after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in a game last April, but he has since found the form of his Liverpool career to spearhead his side’s title challenge.

However, the Uruguayan was involved in a contentious incident towards the end of Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on Sunday, when he went down under a challenge from Samuel Eto’o after losing the ball to Cesar Azpilicueta.

Referee Howard Webb ignored his appeal for a penalty, enabling Chelsea to complete a victory that took them to within two points of league leaders Arsenal and left Liverpool six points off the pace in fifth.

“Suarez lost the duel with Azpilicueta, Azpilicueta has the ball, Azpilicueta is leaving the box with the ball, and now he (Suarez) is doing an acrobatic swimming pool jump to try to get a penalty,” said Mourinho.

“Because he’s so clever that he also knows that he’s in the area where he has the Liverpool supporters behind (him).

“But Webb is only 10 metres away and I think the only mistake Webb did was not to give him a yellow card.”

Mourinho added: “He (Suarez) is a very nice boy, he does everything to win and Brendan (Rodgers) is doing a fantastic job on him, because he’s changed.

“There’s no doubt that he’s changed. But when the situation is like this, and you are losing, comes the nature of the player, the wild nature of the player or the cultural nature of the player.

“Culturally, people from that area (Uruguay), they like it. But it’s not only that area — there is a corner in Europe where I belong to (Portugal) that they also like it.”