Hamburg- Rafael Nadal kept a clear lead at the top of the men's tennis rankings issued on Monday by the ATP. Spain's Nadal, who won a fifth straight title at Barcelona on Sunday, leads with 14,890 points, followed by former number one Roger Federer of Switzerland on 10,060 and Serbia's Novak Djokovic on 9,160 points.

The leading six are unchanged, but Gilles Simon of France moves up two places to seventh.

Madrid - Barcelona were relieved to battle out a late 2-2 away to lively Valencia on Saturday, with an 86th minute equalizer from supersub Thierry Henry.

The hard-fought draw leaves Barca seven points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who are away to third-placed Sevilla on Sunday..

"We didn't want to lose tonight," said Henry, "and we showed a lot of courage. This is how leagues are won."

Chennai, Apr 25: Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday said the Davis Cup event is completely safe and secure.

Chidambaram's statement came after the Tennis Australia decided to pull out of the Davis Cup tie against India, which is to be held in Chennai next month.

"The Davis Cup event is completely safe and secure. Foolproof security will be provided for the three days event. It is one event, one stadium, three days no security problem," Chidambaram told reporters here.

Vancouver - A court in Canada has reserved judgement in the case of female ski jumpers who are suing to to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics. After five days of hearings, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon said Friday the issues behind the case were "very complex" and that she needed time to consider all the arguments.

Fifteen female ski jumpers took the Vancouver Organizing Committee to court for the right to compete at the Vancouver Games.

London, Apr. 25 : Chelsea mid-fielder Frank Lampard took the extraordinary step of calling a radio show to defend himself against suggestions that he had abandoned his two daughters by letting them live "in inferior circumstances" after he split with his Spanish fiancée Elen Rives.

In an emotional exchange, Lampard said he called James O''Brien''s phone-in programme on LBC to defend himself against "idiots like you" after the presenter said men who behaved in that way were "weak and scum".

Milan - Inter Milan Friday rescinded the contract of Adriano after the Brazil striker recently failed to return from international duty.

Inter said Adriano's contract with the Serie A team had been ended with effect from April 1.

"Inter's appreciation goes to Adriano for the eight years and 74 goals we lived through together," the club said on its website.

After the last international break, Adriano, 27, failed to board a scheduled flight for Italy on April 3 and did not communicate his decision to his agent and Inter.