TODAY'S SPORTS NEWS::

• Aggressive Muguruza downs Kuznetsova to reach Paris last eight

• 
• With Rafael Nadal out of the picture this year, Garbine Muguruza, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 6-4 to reach the last eight at Roland Garros on Sunday, is probably the best chance of a Spanish triumph at the French Open.

  The fourth seed moved into the quarter-finals for the third year in a row with a solid display as she looks to become the first Spanish woman to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1998.

  Hard hitter Muguruza, who has yet to make it to the last four in Paris, left little breathing space for the Russian 13th seed, the 2009 Roland Garros champion, in a style different to that of Sanchez Vicario, a pure claycourt specialist.

  "I know maybe now I'm more a favourite, but I could have lost two days ago," Muguruza told reporters.

  The Wimbledon runner-up believes she is now better equipped to go a step further.

  "I think the one thing that I have really improved is not just one type of shot. It's me, generally speaking. It's me -- it's the way I prepare matches," she said.

  "I think I have more experience. When I win I analyse why. When I lose I analyse why. And therefore, I have become a better player, generally speaking.

  "It's not that I have improved my forehand or anything specific."

  Muguruza peppered the court with winners -- which made up for numerous unforced errors -- and broke decisively on her seventh opportunity to lead 5-3 in the opening set.

  She closed it out with a booming forehand winner and broke again in the third game of the second set with a service return winner.

  Kuznetsova saw a lifeline when she broke back to 4-4 as Muguruza started to get inconsistent, only for the Spaniard to break again in the following game with a fine passing shot.

  Muguruza, however, showed signs of nerves and wasted two match points before serving a double fault. She regained her composure, though, and wrapped it up on her fifth match point when Kuznetsova's backhand sailed long.

  The Spaniard will next face either American Shelby Rogers or Romanian 25th seed Irina Camelia Begu.

• Zidane lavishes praise on 'team player' Ronaldo

• 
• MILAN: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane lavished praise on Cristiano Ronaldo after the three-times world player of the year appeared to struggle through the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

  Ronaldo was subdued for long spells but fired home the winning penalty to give Real a 5-3 success in the shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time and then performed his shirtless celebration, proudly showing off his muscular torso.

  "He wasn't injured. He gave us the win, he was fine, he fought hard and he ran a lot like everyone in the team," Zidane told reporters. "He has always helped his team mates."

  Ronaldo scored 16 times in the Champions League campaign to finish as top scorer in the competition for the fourth season in a row, albeit a goal short of the record he set two seasons ago.

  He has won the Champions League three times, twice with Real and once with Manchester United, but still one fewer than his great rival, Lionel Messi of Barcelona.

  “We’re really happy, finals are always hard," said Ronaldo. "The side was great and sacrificed a lot. It’s impressive. I knew I was going to score the winning penalty; I was confident."

  Fromre Real playmaker Zidane, who became the seventh person to win the Champions League as a player and coach, said that work, and more work, was the secret of Real's success.

  "We worked so much," said the Frenchman, the first coach from his country to win the trophy. "I believe a lot in work, work is the most important thing and everyone has done a good job."

  "We suffered a lot physically and some players had cramp, but it's normal," he added.

  "Mentally, there is a lot of pressure but you have to fight. We have worked a lot and when you get something as big as the Champions (League), it means a lot for the staff and the supporters."

• Real Madrid win Champions League in penalty shootout  

• 
• MILAN: Real Madrid were crowned European champions for an unprecedented 11th time when Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty in a 5-3 shootout victory against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

  The Champions league final had finished 1-1 following extra time with Sergio Ramos having bundled the ball home to give Real the lead in the 15th minute with replays showing he was offside.

  Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty at the start of the second half for Atletico when he fired his shot against the bar.

  Atletico, beaten in their two previous finals appearances, including the most recent against Real in 2014, suffered a series of let-offs before substitute Yannick Carrasco rifled in the equaliser in the 79th to send the game into extra time.

• Messi's pain eases, recovery time unclear: doctor  

• 
• Lionel Messi, recovering from a bad knock to his back 10 days before Argentina’s opening Copa America Centenario match, was feeling less pain on Saturday, team doctor Daniel Martinez said.

  “Messi is better, with less pain than last night,” Martinez told reporters after Messi suffered bruising to his lower back and rib cage during Friday's 1-0 friendly win over Honduras.

  But Martinez added that he could not say how long Messi’s recovery would take.

  “We’ve got to take it day-by-day... It’s an area where it hurts to move normally, (like) get up, turn and cough,” he was quoted as saying in the Buenos Aires sports daily Ole.

  Messi was kneed in the back by Honduras substitute Oliver Morazan during a warm-up game for the June 3-26 tournament in the United States played in the Argentine city of San Juan and had to be substituted, walking off in pain in the 64th minute.

  He missed a light training session on Saturday and was not in any case going to travel with the rest of the squad directly to Santa Clara in California where Argentina meet Chile in their Group D opener on June 6.

  Messi was instead due to fly to Barcelona, where he has to attend court in a tax evasion case on Thursday, before joining up again with the squad, though Martinez said if it was up to him he would advise him against travelling on Saturday.

  Argentina also face Bolivia and Panama at the tournament, which marks the centenary of the former South American Championship.

• England sense victory as Woakes and Broad strike

• 
• Potent England pace bowling after an unbeaten 155 from Moeen Ali put Alastair Cook´s side in complete control on a one-sided second day of the second test against Sri Lanka in Durham on Saturday.

  The tourists faced almost an certain follow-on after they slumped to 91 for eight at the close, still 407 behind England who had posted an imposing 498 for nine declared.

  Sri Lanka´s batsmen had no answer to an attack which moved the ball off the seam to provide a conveyor-belt of catches for keeper Jonny Bairstow, who took four, and England´s close fielders.

  Chris Woakes, who recently took nine wickets in an innings for Warwickshire, led the way in helpful conditions with a particularly unsettling spell to take 3-9, including the wickets of Kusal Mendis and Milinda Siriwadana in one over.

  Stuart Broad also took three wickets, two coming late on as Sri Lanka´s resistance broke. England´s bowlers could not have had a better platform to launch their attack than Moeen´s 207-ball innings, which was his best in tests and his second century against Sri Lanka.

  At times watchful and then belligerent, Moeen became only the fifth England number seven to reach three figures in tests after being promoted one place in the order to cover for the injured Ben Stokes.

  The Worcestershire all-rounder moved on from his overnight 28 and made the most of the three lives the tourists gave him on Saturday.

  Support came from Woakes, who shared a stand of 92, and Steven Finn, who scored just 10 of their ninth-wicket stand of 72. His wicket provided spinner Rangana Herath with momentary cause for celebration as he became only the third Sri Lankan bowler to take 300 test wickets.

  Moeen reached his 150 with a huge six before Cook declared midway through the second session. For Sri Lanka to get anywhere near such an imposing total was a huge ask and James Anderson, who had taken 10 wickets in the first test, quickly removed opener Dimuth Karunaratne with a ripper that bowled him round his legs.

  Broad followed up by having Kaushal Silva taken behind by Bairstow and the keeper took further catches to remove Dinesh Chandimal off Anderson and Angelo Mathews and Siriwadana off Woakes.

  Broad broke Herath´s late resistance via another sharp Anderson catch and removed Shaminda Eranga as England, who won the first test in the three-test series by an innings and 88 runs, stayed on course for another crushing win.

  Lahiru Thirimanne (11) and Suranga Lakmal (0) were not out at the close. 
• 
  
• FROM thenews.com.pk