Frank Lampard admits he will feel a sense of vindication if he wins his 100th cap in England's crucial World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Tuesday.

Despite being one of the most successful goalscoring midfielders English football has ever produced, Lampard, a member of a generation of players regarded as underachievers at international level, has not received universal acclaim.

World number one Serena Williams captured her fifth U.S. Open title, and second in a row, by outlasting second-ranked Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1 Sunday to claim her 17th career Grand Slam crown.

The 31-year-old American became the oldest Open Era women's winner in U.S. Open history, 293 days older than Margaret Court when she set the prior mark in 1973, and the third-oldest Grand Slam women's champion of the Open Era.

Pirelli is expected to remain Formula One's sole tire supplier next year if the teams and commercial ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone agree on staying with the Italian company.

The president of the sport's ruling body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Jean Todt made this clear on Saturday when he said the sport had no plans to initiate a bidding process.

Tokyo celebrated Sunday after winning the right to host the Olympic Games for the second time, overcoming fears about radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant to land the 2020 edition of the world's biggest sporting event.

Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Buenos Aires chose the Japanese capital, which previously hosted the Games in 1964, over Istanbul, after Madrid was dramatically eliminated following a first-round tie with the Turkish city.

The bloody Syrian civil war cost Istanbul votes over Tokyo to host the world's biggest sporting event in 2020, two influential International Olympic Committee members said.

Istanbul -- who had been trying to bring the Olympic Games for the first time to a predominantly Muslim country -- reached the final round of voting for the first time after four previous failed attempts.

Rafael Nadal will attempt to crown the year's most compelling comeback when he meets world number one Novak Djokovic for the 37th time in Monday's U.S. Open final.

Twelve months ago, the swashbuckling Spaniard, who will be playing in his 18th Grand Slam final, sat at home in Manacor, nursing his troublesome knees and fearing his career may be finished at just 26.

World number one Novak Djokovic ripped the U.S. Open for their scheduling of his matches on Saturday and made it clear that he is no fan of the new Monday final program debuting this year.

Djokovic unleashed his fury after advancing to his fourth consecutive U.S. Open championship match and 12th Grand Slam final by defeating Swiss ninth seed Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Madrid were eliminated in dramatic fashion from the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games after the first round of voting by International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

Both Madrid and Istanbul were tied after the first round -- meaning Tokyo topped that round -- and it had to be put to a second decisive vote to see who went out.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman returned to China from Pyongyang Saturday after a five-day trip when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, but without jailed American Kenneth Bae.

The flamboyant ex-Chicago Bulls player arrived at Beijing airport on a flight from North Korea, an Agence France Presse photographer witnessed, with a cigar clamped in his mouth.

Costa Rica slowed the USA's march toward the 2014 World Cup with a 3-1 win Friday, while Mexico were on even shakier ground after a 2-1 loss to Honduras.

Costa Rica moved to the top of the six-nation final qualifying group in North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) with the victory in San Jose that ended the USA's 12-match winning streak.