Sharapova to return after ban in Stuttgart

BERLIN - Maria Sharapova will make her return to competitive tennis following her 15-month ban at the WTA clay-court tournament in Stuttgart in April, it was announced on Tuesday. The 29-year-old five-time Grand Slam winner tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. Her two-year ban, by the International Tennis Federation, was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and she will play her first match in Stuttgart on April 26 -- the day her ban expires. "I could not be happier to have my first match back on tour at one of my favourite tournaments," said Sharapova, a former world number one, in a press release. "I can't wait to see all my great fans and to be back doing what I love." Sharapova has been given a wildcard to appear in Stuttgart.–AFP

Baghdatis battles through in Auckland

AUCKLAND - Marcos Baghdatis shrugged off injury concerns to reach the second round of the ATP Auckland Classic with a tough straight sets win over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday. The eighth-seeded Cypriot showed no sign of an ankle injury that forced him to retire from last week's Qatar Open, moving freely in his 6-4, 6-4 win at the Australian Open warm-up tournament in New Zealand. But the world number 36, a former Australian Open finalist, struggled with a misfiring serve, going down a break to Mannarino early in the first set. He immediately broke back and the pair went toe-to-toe, with Mannarino fending off one set point during a 41-shot rally but eventually succumbing. Baghdatis said it was good preparation for the season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne.–AFP

Ivo tunes up for Open with Kooyong win

MELBOURNE- Croat pair Ivo Karlovic and Borna Coric both posted victories on Tuesday as the Kooyong Classic began with injured Frenchman Richard Gasquet, one of the top drawcards, pulling out. The pre-Australian Open tune-up was forced into a last-minute schedule change when Gasquet withdrew citing an abdominal injury. Karlovic was originally set to face German veteran Tommy Haas, 38, but was switched to play France's Gilles Simon, who had been due to take on Gasquet. The 37-year-old Croatian beat Simon 6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 10-7 in a tournament using the match tiebreak system in testing summer conditions. Fellow Croat Coric, 20, coming off a four-month injury break, beat Australian Andrew Whittington 6-3, 6-4. Polish substitute Jerzy Janowicz beat Haas 5-7, 6-4, 10-4.–AFP

Kyrgios suffers knee injury

SYDNEY - Nick Kyrgios Tuesday pulled out of a World Tennis Challenge exhibition in Adelaide with a knee injury in a setback to his Australian Open preparations. "Unfortunately I am unable to play @WTCAdelaide this year. I have to rest & do all I can to be ready for #AO17 but I will be back next year," the Australian world number 14 said on Twitter. The 21-year-old is receiving treatment on a left knee he reportedly damaged playing basketball, and will rest in the lead-up to the opening Grand Slam of the year starting on Monday in Melbourne. He struggled with the issue during a 6-2, 6-2 defeat in less than an hour to American Jack Sock at last week's Hopman Cup. Kyrgios appeared less hampered on Monday night when he beat Rafael Nadal at an exhibition in Sydney under the Fast4 format.–AFP

109 Kenyan athletes under doping scrutiny

NAIROBI - Kenya is to put 109 elite athletes under the watch of a team of selected doctors in a bid to stop doping, a practice that has tarnished the image of its famed sportsmen and women. Athletics Kenya chief Jackson Tuwei said that in conjunction with the IAAF, five trusted doctors had been selected to work with the country's top athletes. This is an effort to limit bad medical practices by some Kenyan doctors who have been accused of supplying athletes with performance-enhancing drugs. Kenya was placed on the IAAF doping watchlist in 2016 after being ruled non-compliant by the WADA following a string of drug scandals. "It is in this regard that we have worked on (this) action plan with the IAAF ... in order to confine the actual doping epidemic in the country," Tuwei said.–AFP