Russia's Vera Zvonareva left the Australian Open in tears Saturday after a shock loss to 56th-ranked Ekaterina Makerova -- as China's Zheng Jie also sent French number one Marion Bartoli crashing.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Russia's Maria Sharapova, the 2008 Australian champion, sailed through, and there were also wins for Serbia's Ana Ivanovic and Italian Sara Errani.

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes admitted his side were found wanting as the German league leaders suffered a shock 3-1 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.

'Gladbach's victory blew the Bundesliga title race wide open as both defending champions Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 can draw level with Bayern if they win their games against Hamburg and Stuttgart respectively this weekend.

Brazilian legend Pele insisted on Friday that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, a Champions League winner with Barcelona and three-time Ballon D'Or king, cannot yet be considered as one of the world's greatest players.

Pele called on his own record of three World Cup triumphs as well as a career tally of 1,283 goals to reserve judgment on the little Argentine wizard.

Arsenal's players could hardly ask for stronger motivation when they face Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

The match at Emirates Stadium represents a chance for the Gunners to bounce back from consecutive defeats, boost their chances of getting back into the Champions League qualifying spots and dent their opponents' chances of retaining the title.

Kim Clijsters and Li Na won their matches in contrasting circumstances on Friday to set up a repeat of last year's Australian Open final in the fourth round.

Defending champion Clijsters beat Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets. Li went through after Anabel Medina Garrigues twisted her ankle and tearfully retired while trailing 3-0.

Former Real Madrid greats Alfredo di Stefano and Zinedine Zidane have come out in defense of coach Jose Mourinho following another disappointing loss to Barcelona.

Mourinho was widely criticized for his defensive tactics in Wednesday's 2-1 cup loss, which was exacerbated by Pepe's stamp on Lionel Messi's hand.

Tottenham will look to take advantage of a Manchester City team going through its most vulnerable period of the season when the two new pretenders to the Premier League trophy meet Sunday in a pivotal match in the title race.

After moving to the top of the standings with a freescoring start to the season, City surrendered its unbeaten league record with a 2-1 loss at Chelsea on Dec. 12 and then stuttered over the holiday period.

Ailing LeBron James scored 31 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 98-87 NBA victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hours after he was sent home from the morning shoot-around because of flu-like symptoms, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player James rose to the occasion in the clash with the Lakers and their superstar.

Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka has advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open, winning a matchup between champions of two warm-up tournaments when she beat Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-4 on Friday.

Azarenka, who beat four seeded players including French Open champion Li Na to win the Sydney International last week, has only lost eight games at Melbourne Park en route to the Round of 16.

Roger Federer made the most of his rare opportunities Friday against the fastest serve in tennis, cashing in with some classic returns in a 7-6 (6), 7-5, 6-3 win over Ivo Karlovic to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.

The four-time Australian Open champion fended off Karlovic's set point in the tiebreaker with a return that brought the 6-foot-10 Croatian to the net, then lobbed just over him.