Tennis Australia said Monday it was confident players would not boycott the Australian Open over a prize money disagreement, but it was taking the threat seriously.

The Sunday Times of London reported players on the ATP Tour, which runs the men's game, were considering a boycott of January's tournament in a bid to gain a higher percentage of Grand Slam event revenues for themselves.

La Liga champions Real Madrid crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat at derby rivals Getafe on Sunday to leave them five points behind fierce rivals Barcelona after only two games of the new season.

Madrid's sluggish start has seen them held 1-1 at home to Valencia in the league followed by a 3-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup first leg, before this latest slip-up.

British Olympic star Mo Farah enjoyed himself when he returned to action in the Birmingham Grand Prix Diamond League meeting on Sunday.

Farah, who won 5,000m and 10,000m gold in London, triumphed in the rarely contested two miles race.

Promoted Sampdoria consigned AC Milan to a shock 1-0 defeat at San Siro on Sunday, Andrea Costa scoring the winner in the second half to give Milan the worst possible start after a traumatic close season.

Milan, Serie A runners-up last term, had the spine ripped out of their squad over the summer, with superstars Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sold to Paris Saint-Germain and a glut of long-serving players moving on.

Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo says he is not surprised by the immediate impact Eden Hazard has had on the Premier League.

The Belgium attacker scored his first Chelsea goal and contributed another assist in the Blues' 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday.

Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Japan playmaker Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie to carry Manchester United's attack while Wayne Rooney is out of action for the next four weeks.

Rooney was stretchered off in the closing stages of United's 3-2 win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Saturday and needed hospital treatment to stem the bleeding from a deep gash to his thigh suffered in a challenge with Hugo Rodallega.

Newcomers Argentina dispelled fears that they could be out of their depth in the Rugby Championship by holding lucky South Africa 16-16 Saturday in the second round.

Fielding virtually the same side well beaten in Cape Town last weekend, the Pumas were vastly improved and led 16-6 early in the second half at the Estadio Mundialista Malvinas Argentinas.

Reigning U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic was disappointed in the doping downfall of American cyclist Lance Armstrong, whose seven Tour de France titles have been stripped by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Armstrong, who won the world's most famous bicycle race every year from 1999 through 2005, said Thursday he would not fight charges by U.S. anti-doping officials that his success came as part of a doping conspiracy.

Roger Federer, who went two-and-a-half years without a Grand Slam title before winning the record 17th major of his career last month at Wimbledon, said he never doubted he would return to the top.

In his final session with reporters ahead of Monday's start of the U.S. Open, the 31-year-old Swiss top seed said Saturday that he always knew he had the form to bounce back and regain the World No. 1 ranking.

Juventus overcame a sluggish first-half display to kick off the defence of their Serie A crown with a 2-0 victory at home to Parma on Saturday.

A pair of quick-fire goals shortly before the hour from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Andrea Pirlo proved the difference between the sides, after Arturo Vidal had seen a first-half penalty saved.