she said she hopes will not bother her when she faces either American Jennifer Brady or Monica Niculescu of Romania in the fourth round. She was also undone by the tall Czech’s biggest weapon – her powerful serve. Bharadwaj had to work hard to outmanoeuvre George 21-16, 20-22, 24-22 in a match that lasted an hour and three minutes here. On that occasion the deal fell through at the last minute with United, who had agreed to his departure, claiming Real failed to get their paperwork in order on deadline day. The contest was 25-year-old Zhang’s best showing against the tournament’s top seed but she is now winless in five matches against Pliskova. eliver better results than Roelant Oltmans as interim coach after the Dutchman was sacked as chief coach of the men’s national team following a string of unimpressive showings. No one quite knows for sure it’s him, but his fans presume it is and wave to the departing vehicle. IPL media rights auction expected to generate ‘historic’ revenue, says BCCI CEO Rahul Johri. The transfer-that-never-was has evoked echoes of two years ago when Manchester United and Real Madrid fell out over the sale of David De Gea to the Spanish club. SLAMS FOR SMASHES Badminton is keen on getting its circuit jazzed up, and though everything’s going quite smooth if you ask us, the sport wants to create tennis like Grand Slams.