The big story: Radwanska stunned by Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in straight sets

In a major upset at the Australian Open, Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni defeated third-seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2 in a second round encounter on Thursday.

The 34-year-old Croat attacked Radwanska from the start, taking the break in the fourth game of the first set. She rode on the advantage to take the set.

World No 3 Radwanska broke in the first game of the second set to make a comeback into the match, Lucic-Baroni would not lose another game from then on. She won the next six games in a row to secure a stunning victory.

Lucic-Baroni had last progressed beyond the Australian Open first round in 1998. By contrast, this is Radwanska’s earliest exit at the Australian Open since 2009.

Other top stories

Tennis

  • Leander Paes and Andre SA crashed out of the Australian Open on Thursday. Paes and his Brazilian partner lost to Max Mirnyi and Treat Huey 6-4, 6-7, 4-6 in the first round.
  • The all-Indian pair of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan also lost their opening encounter 7-6(9), 7-6(4) to Jonathan Eysseric and Fabrice Martin.
  • Serena Williams booked her place in the third round of the Australian Open with a straight sets win over Lucie Safarova.
  • Former World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic bowed out of the Australian Open after he was beaten by unseeded Uzbek tennis player Denis Istomin in a five-set thriller. Istomin, who has a world ranking of 117, beat the six-time Australian Open champion 7-6 (8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in a pulsating match.

Cricket

  • Yuvraj Singh brought up his 14th century to lead India’s revival in the second ODI against England on Thursday. He was well supported by MS Dhoni. The duo together scored over 150 runs to rescue India, who were reeling at 25/3 after five overs.
  • Australia beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the third ODI at Perth on Thursday. Steve Smith scored an unbeaten 108.
  • Cricket Australia’s integrity unit is investigating an on-air chat between commentator Mark Howard and Adelaide skipper Brad Hodge during Wednesday night’s Big Bash League match.
  • Chief selector and former Test captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq has called on the Federation of International Cricketers Association to send a delegation to Pakistan to explore the security situation and decide if it is safe to play in the country.

Badminton

  • India’s Saina Nehwal and Ajay Jayaram advanced to the quarterfinal stage of the season-opening Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold on Thursday, PTI reported.  

Football

  • Real Madrid lost their second consecutive match for the first time since November 2015 as Celta Vigo beat them 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final encounter.  
  • Lucas Leiva scored his first goal in seven years to power Liverpool into the fourth round of the FA Cup against Plymouth.   
  • Manchester United generated the most revenue in the football world last season, according to a report published by Deloitte.
  • Manchester United have agreed to sell Memphis Depay to French club Lyon. Meanwhile, reports suggest that the Red Devils are in advanced talks to seal a possible summer transfer for Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann.
  • Bayern Munich’s Xabi Alonso is reportedly set to retire at the end of the season, when his contract ends.

Wrestling

  • In the limelight after a blockbuster biopic depicting his struggles to raise champion wrestlers Geeta and Babita Phogat, Mahavir Phogat plans to establish a sports complex in his village in Haryana to groom more youngsters, PTI reported.