James Blake walked off the court at the U.S. Open for the last time as a singles player early Thursday morning after blowing a two-set lead and losing in a fifth-set tiebreaker.

The 33-year-old American fell 6-7 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) in the first round to Ivo Karlovic.

After her latest early Grand Slam exit, Venus Williams was asked what the future holds for her at the U.S. Open.

In one breath, Williams brushed aside the unspoken reference to retirement, saying, "I definitely want to come back for the atmosphere."

Lionel Messi missed a late penalty attempt before Barcelona clinched the Spanish Super Cup despite being held to a 0-0 draw by 10-man Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Messi had a chance to put the result beyond doubt in 89th but fired his penalty kick off the crossbar to finish a forgettable night for the Argentina star. Barcelona eventually claimed the trophy on away goals following the 1-1 draw in the opening leg last week.

England's cricketers have apologized after team members were seen urinating on the pitch at The Oval as they celebrated the Ashes series victory over Australia on Sunday.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the team responded to criticism by accepting "we got carried away (in) the euphoria of winning such a prestigious series and accept that some of our behavior was inappropriate."

A player from a third-division Argentine club has died of a heart attack during a match.

Club Deportivo Laferrere announced that Hector Sanabria collapsed in the 29th minute of a game against General Lamadrid on Tuesday — a day before his 28th birthday.

Roger Federer recognizes the importance of a little extra work at this stage of his career.

That's why the winner of a record 17 Grand Slam titles, and the man who spent more weeks ranked No. 1 than any other, was out there on a U.S. Open practice court late Tuesday afternoon, putting in some training time shortly after finishing off a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory over 62nd-ranked Grega Zemlja of Slovenia in the first round.

Two Lebanese match officials jailed in Singapore for accepting free sex from an alleged match-fixer have refused to return to the city-state to testify at his trial, a court heard Tuesday.

Assistant referees Ali Eid, 33, and Abdallah Taleb, 37, were deported in June after serving three-month prison sentences for accepting the services of a prostitute as a bribe from Singaporean nightclub owner Eric Ding Si Yang.

Alisa Kleybanova of Russia won her first Grand Slam match since being treated for cancer, beating 44th-ranked Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 Monday at the U.S. Open.

The 24-year-old Kleybanova was ranked as high as 20th, but after missing much of the last two seasons because of her illness is now 363rd. She entered the main draw at Flushing Meadows thanks to the WTA's special ranking rule.

Wayne Rooney's headline-grabbing presence couldn't inspire Manchester United to victory over Chelsea on Monday as the title rivals played out a dull 0-0 draw in the Premier League's first blockbuster match of the season.

David Moyes marked his first home game in charge of United with the bold selection of Rooney against a club that has twice lodged unsuccessful offers to sign the England striker this summer.

Karim Benzema scored to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Granada in the Spanish league Monday amid growing speculation the club is close to a blockbuster deal to sign Wales winger Gareth Bale.

Madrid started brightly thanks to the playmaking of Angel Di Maria which led to Benzema's goal in the 10th minute, but left Granada with the chance to snatch the draw late.