AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani announced that Italy midfielder Riccardo Montolivo will become the squad's new captain after just one season with the club.

The move comes after Milan decided earlier this month in a surprise move not to renew the contract of previous captain Massimo Ambrosini, who took over the armband when Paolo Maldini retired in 2009.

Maria Sharapova shrugged off her public Wimbledon spat with Serena Williams to come through an equally fierce challenge out on court as she battled her way into the second round on Monday.

The 2004 Wimbledon champion was given a stern test by France's up-and-coming Kristina Mladenovic but the Russian third seed eventually triumphed in a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win on Centre Court.

The next time Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova meet, it will likely be on a tennis court, with a net separating them — maybe even at Wimbledon, in the final, on the first Saturday in July.

"I think it's great for women's tennis when we play each other," Williams said.

So many things have gone wrong for Juan Pablo Montoya this season that he's come to expect the unexpected at the most inopportune time.

It came Sunday with one lap to go at Sonoma Raceway, where Montoya was desperately hoping to bank a bunch of points.

Forward Mario Balotelli will miss Italy's semifinal against Spain in the Confederations Cup due to a strained thigh, handing the team another major injury complication before facing the World Cup holder.

The Italian Football Federation made the announcement Sunday following medical tests on Balotelli's left quadriceps.

World Cup winners Spain defeated Nigeria 3-0 with two goals from Jordi Alba and another from Fernando Torres on Sunday to set up a semifinal showdown with Italy in the Confederations Cup.

Although the final score was emphatic, it could have been much closer if Nigeria had accepted some of their many clear chances in the first half. At times Spain looked vulnerable to the African champions' fast breaks.

Maria Sharapova tore into Wimbledon rival Serena Williams on the eve of the Championships, setting the tone for a tournament likely to be dominated by their unseemly public row.

The Russian blasted the defending champion for her controversial comments over a high-profile rape case and even ripped into the American's colorful private life.

Brianna Rollins served notice she is a force to be reckoned with by matching the fourth-fastest 100m hurdles time in history at the U.S. Athletics Championships on Saturday.

Running in her first U.S. outdoor nationals, Rollins booked a berth at the World Championships by posting a dominant victory in a time of 12.26 seconds.

Andy Murray will begin his campaign to end Britain's 77 years of Wimbledon hurt Monday, buoyed by his tearful defeat in last year's final and shrugging off a minefield of a draw.

Fred Perry won Britain's most recent Wimbledon men's title in 1936, the year the Spanish Civil War started and Jesse Owens spectacularly defied Hitler and the Nazis at the Berlin Olympics.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari forecast Barcelona would get their money's worth from Neymar after the starlet again showed his mercurial talent in Saturday's win over Italy.

The 21-year-old scored his third goal in as many Confederations Cup group matches - a thumping freekick - as the Selecao saw off the four-time world champions 4-2 to win Group A with a perfect record.