Olympic bids are down to the wire

The battle for the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics entered the final stages on Tuesday with the Istanbul bid delegation saying its city would need to spend less than the other two finalists on "dedicated Olympic projects".

Red Sox stymie Scherzer

The Detroit Tigers have the best pitcher in the American League and the best hitter in baseball.

Li roars into showdown with Serena

Li Na became China's first player to reach the US Open semifinals, another breakthrough on the court for the woman who delivered Asia's first Grand Slam singles title at the 2011 French Open.

Ruthless Williams takes just 52 minutes to crush Navarro 6-0, 6-0 in quarterfinals

Defending champion Serena Williams walloped Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-0 to race into the semifinals of the US Open on Tuesday.

Head-to-head

Flawless Djokovic firing on all cylinders

Just when the US Open is getting down to the crucial matches, world No 1 Novak Djokovic found himself in a flawless zone that even he rarely reaches to put himself in the quarterfinals.

Wawrinka has Roger on his mind

Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka spared a thought for an absent countryman after he powered through a high-quality match against Czech Tomas Berdych on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Thrown match casts shadow on rugby

The ugly side of sports reared its head at China's National Games and tarnished the emerging appeal of rugby sevens in the country, experts said.

Beijing rugby team faces penalty for match-throwing

The Beijing women's rugby sevens team could be stripped of the silver medals they won at the National Games for match-throwing pending an investigation.

Weightlifting world record surpassed in National Games

Li Yajun surpassed a weightliting world record at the Chinese National Games on Tuesday.

Stenson wins Deutsche Bank Championship

Sweden's Henrik Stenson won the Deutsche Bank Championship by two shots with a five-under-par round of 66, leaving him with a tournament record-tying total of 22-under 262 at the TPC Boston on Monday.

National Games plagued by scandal

Just a few days after the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event in the country, the China's 12th National Games has been plagued by scandal. The athlete's performance is just one of the smears to hit the games, troubled by problems for months.