The London 2012 Paralympics began Wednesday with a vibrant opening ceremony led by Stephen Hawking that paid tribute to human endeavor, enlightenment and the quest to understand the universe.

Paralympians soared through the air above the 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium while Hawking, the world's most famous living scientist, urged people to look to the stars for inspiration.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and triple women's winner Serena Williams stormed into the U.S. Open second round on a breezy and humid night at Flushing Meadows.

World number two Djokovic needed just 73 minutes to finish off an embarrassingly one-sided 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 mauling of hapless Italian Paolo Lorenzi.

Talk about having a big serve: wacky New Yorker Ashrita Furman has just built a tennis racket the size of a bus.

Furman, who holds the record for the most Guinness World Records at one time -- currently 151 -- hopes his mammoth wooden racket will soon join the list.

QPR manager Mark Hughes has revealed his Premier League club are close to completing the surprise signing of Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

Cesar helped Italian giants Inter win the Champions League in 2010, but Hughes appears to have persuaded the Brazil international to swap the San Siro for Loftus Road.

Heartbreak befell Udinese in the Champions League play-off round for the second year running after they lost on penalties to Sporting Braga in the second leg of their qualifying tie on Tuesday.

Summer signing Maicosuel was the villain of the piece, his chipped penalty comfortably saved by Braga goalkeeper Beto as the Portuguese side won the shoot-out 5-4 to reach the group phase for the second time.

Barca coach Tito Vilanova warned that archrivals Real Madrid will be dangerous in Wednesday's Spanish Super Cup final clash after a three-game famine with no wins.

Barcelona won 3-2 in the first leg at the Camp Nou, despite a blunder by goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who tried to dribble the ball out of his own penalty area and let Angel di Maria score into an empty net.

North Korea, long accused of shunting its disabled residents off to isolated detention camps, will take part for the first time this year in the Paralympics, which open Wednesday in London.

The country's sole competitor is a 16-year-old swimmer whose training only began in April. Yet his participation offers inspiration to others involved in North Korea's nascent disabled sports programs, says Li Pun Hui, a former table tennis star who has become her country's leading advocate for disabled athletes.

Lance Armstrong, branded a drug cheat and banned from cycling by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, can still count on support from the cancer community, the head of the Union for International Cancer Control said Monday.

U.S. cycling icon and cancer survivor Armstrong is set to be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after he gave up the right to fight serious doping claims by the U.S. agency at an independent hearing.

Maria Sharapova reached the U.S. Open second round on Monday before jokingly admitting that the subject of pregnancy came up during recent tests into a mystery stomach problem.

The Russian superstar eased to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Hungary's Melinda Czink in her first match since finishing with a silver medal at the Olympics.

World No. 1 Roger Federer launched his quest for an 18th career Grand Slam title by defeating American Donald Young 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round of the U.S. Open.

The 31-year-old Swiss star, seeking a record sixth title on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts, showed the form he used to win last month at Wimbledon and two weeks ago in Cincinnati by advancing in only 94 minutes.