Germany forward Lukas Podolski is leaving Cologne to join Arsenal, the Bundesliga club said Monday, confirming the worst-kept secret in European football.

Podolski will make the switch in the summer, one year before his contract was due to expire. Cologne said the two clubs have agreed not to release details of the deal.

Maria Sharapova said she was happy to open her clay-court season by winning Stuttgart's WTA tournament as part of her French Open preparations and to break her losing streak in finals.

With the Madrid and Rome clay-court tournaments still to come before Roland Garros begins on May 27, the world number two said she still has plenty of work ahead of her as she bids to win the one Grand Slam which eludes her.

The Los Angeles Clippers stormed back from a 27-point second-half deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-98 in the first game of their NBA Western Conference first-round series.

Chris Paul's two free throws with 23.7 seconds left gave the Clippers the one-point lead, and Rudy Gay missed a jump shot as time expired that would have salvaged the victory for the Grizzlies on their home court.

Rafael Nadal is back on top of his mental and physical game after completing a fortnight of history-making with the Spanish king of clay adding another line for the record books.

The world number two on Sunday became the first man to win two separate events seven times, as he defeated battling compatriot David Ferrer 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 to win a seventh trophy at the Barcelona Open.

Australia's defending world champion Casey Stoner won the Spanish MotoGP on Sunday for his first win in the race and said it was the greatest race he had ever ridden.

The Honda rider beat home Spain's 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha while another Spaniard Dani Pedrosa was third on a Honda in his 100th race.

Real Madrid edged closer to their first league title in four years with a 3-0 win over Sevilla on Sunday, but Barcelona ensured their celebrations were put on hold with a 7-0 mauling of Rayo Vallecano.

Karim Benzema struck a second half brace after Cristiano Ronaldo had given Real the lead to beat Sevilla as the Madrid side took their record-breaking haul of league goals for the season to 112.

Defending world champion Sebastien Loeb won his seventh successive Rally of Argentina on Sunday to extend his lead in his hunt for a ninth drivers' title.

The French driver led home a Citroen 1-2 with teammate Mikko Hirvonen taking the runner-up spot, 15 seconds behind. Ford's Mads Ostberg took third.

Tottenham Hotspur revived their bid for Champions League football by returning to the top four of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

Rafael van der Vaart struck in the 22nd minute before Kyle Walker's brilliant free-kick 15 minutes from time sealed Tottenham's victory at White Hart Lane as Harry Redknapp's men won for just the second time in 10 league games.

Juventus remained on course for their first Serie A crown in nine seasons after crushing relegation-threatened Novara 4-0 on Sunday as AC Milan stayed three points adrift with a 4-1 win at Siena.

A brace from Mirko Vucinic and goals from Marco Borriello and Arturo Vidal helped unbeaten Juventus record their eighth success in a row to reach 77 points with three matches left.

The defining plot twist of the most enthralling title race in years could be written on Monday as Manchester City attempt to seize control of their Premier League destiny against leaders Manchester United.

Three weeks ago, United already had one hand on a record 20th title after City's defeat at Arsenal left Sir Alex Ferguson's team a hefty eight points clear with only six games remaining.