Nico Rosberg takes landmark first pole in China for Mercedes

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took his first pole position as he beat Lewis Hamilton in Chinese Grand Prix qualifying.

The German was a blistering half a second faster than Hamilton, who will start seventh following a grid penalty.

Irish number one Conor Niland retires because of injury

Irish number one Conor Niland has been forced to retire from tennis because of a persistent hip injury.

Last year Niland, 30, became the first Irishman to qualify for the main singles draw at Wimbledon since 1984.

The Limerick man lost a thrilling five-set match against France's Adrian Mannarino in his first-round clash.

Niland went on to qualify for the first round of the US Open but he had to retire after only two sets against Novak Djokovic because of illness.

The Irishman achieved his highest world ranking of 129 in December 2010 and won 17 of his 29 Davis Cup matches for his country.

Niland won three events on the ATP Challenger Tour, with his most recent title coming at the Salzburg Indoor tournament in 2010.

He was also an occasional practice partner of British star Andy Murray.

"I am today sadly announcing my retirement from professional tennis," said Niland in a statement on Thursday.

"I have been suffering from labral tears in both hip cartilages and this has resulted in pain and restricted movement for the past nine months.

"Despite several cortisone injections and intensive physiotherapy during this time, the condition has progressively worsened and has prevented me from training and competing at the levels 
required for professional tennis.

Italy footballer Morosini dies after collapse on pitch

Ex-Italy under-21 footballer Piermario Morosini has died following a suspected heart attack on the pitch, football officials say.

The midfielder was playing for Livorno in the Serie B match at Pescara when he fell to the ground in the 31st minute.

A defibrillator was used and Morosini, 25, was taken to hospital. The game was halted with other players in tears.

All league games in Italy this weekend have been called off following Morosini's death.

Morosini had been on loan to Livorno from the Serie A club Udinese.

He collapsed face down and appeared to be in convulsion. The referee's assistant drew the referee's attention and he stopped the game.

The footballer was taken to Pescara's Santo Spirito hospital by ambulance, but he could not be revived.

? Can Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo eclipse Guus Hiddink

If Chelsea boss Roberto di Matteo needed any inspiration heading into a crucial run of games over 

the coming 10 days, then he could do worse than cast his mind back to 2009.

Three years ago, Guus Hiddink took over from Luiz Felipe Scolari at Stamford Bridge deep into the season, and found a north London team standing between Chelsea and the FA Cup final, while having the spectre of a Champions League semi-final against Barcelona looming.

The Dutch coach guided the Blues to victory over Arsenal, beating Everton in the final, and guided them to third in the Premier League. But in a tempestuous second leg during the tie against Barcelona, they were beaten by a stoppage-time Andres Iniesta goal.

Di Matteo will have his own thoughts on whether matching that will be good enough, but a trophy and a top four-place would give him and Chelsea a tangible reward during another season of unrest.

Can Di Matteo do better than Hiddink?

Robin not rockin' Arsenal boat

Wenger's relationship with Gunners supporters reached an all-time low at the weekend when they railed against his substitution of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Andrey Arshavin.

Captain van Persie also appeared to react to Wenger's decision with the word "no".

And the move backfired badly as Arshavin failed to prevent Antonio Valencia from setting up Danny Welbeck's winning goal in a 2-1 victory for Manchester United.