U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur said she was happy with her start to Stuttgart's WTA clay-court tournament on Tuesday after seeing off China's Shuai Peng in straight sets.

The 28-year-old Australian, who is the fifth seed here, needed less than an hour to see off Peng 6-2, 6-2 and was rarely tested by her Chinese opponent in her first round tie.

Lionel Messi missed a penalty as holders Barcelona were sent crashing out of the Champions League semi-finals after 10-man Chelsea battled to a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou here Tuesday.

Chelsea, leading 1-0 from the first leg, snatched a 3-2 aggregate win on a night of extraordinary drama which saw the Premier League side recover from 2-0 down and the dismissal of Captain John Terry to reach next month's Munich final.

The San Antonio Spurs claimed the top seed in the Western Conference by routing the Portland Trail Blazers 124-89 behind 18 points each from Tim Duncan and Danny Green.

Tony Parker on Monday finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Spurs who won their eighth consecutive game.

Four thousand people are taking part in the biggest test run so far for the London Olympic games.

The nationwide three-day test starting Tuesday is going to involve Games organizers, the British government, emergency services, health providers and transport operators.

The Philadelphia 76ers earned the final National Basketball Association playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and spoiled the Nets' final game in New Jersey with a 105-87 win.

Thaddeus Young on Monday recorded 15 points in the second half to help the 76ers make the playoffs for the second consecutive year and eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks from the postseason race.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola declared Lionel Messi fit to play in Tuesday's Champions League showdown with Chelsea and laughed off concerns about the Argentinian's scoring record.

Despite a remarkable year which has left Messi four goals shy of equaling Gerd Muller's all-time single-season scoring record of 67, questions have been raised about the South American's failure to find the net in recent matches.

Tennis diva Maria Sharapova says she is relishing making her Stuttgart debut here as the clay court season gets under way with the statuesque Russian up against all four grand slam winners.

The 25-year-old has added Stuttgart to her usual WTA clay-court events in Rome and Madrid as she looks to prepare for the French Open at the end of May, which is the only grand slam event she has yet to win.

Roberto Di Matteo shrugged off criticism of Chelsea's tactics here Monday on the eve of his side's daunting Champions League semifinal assignment against Barcelona.

The Premier League side upset the reigning champions 1-0 in last week's first leg at Stamford Bridge, and now stand just 90 minutes away from a huge upset in Tuesday's return fixture at the Camp Nou.

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie was rewarded for his stunning goalscoring exploits in the Premier League by being voted the player of the season by his peers on Sunday.

The Netherlands international received the Professional Footballers' Association award after grabbing 27 goals to lead the scoring charts in England's top division with three rounds of fixtures remaining.

Chelsea and Bayern Munich will hope Saturday's energy-sapping "Clasico" takes its toll on Barcelona and Real Madrid when the Spanish giants try to overturn first-leg deficits in the Champions League semifinals this week.

Both contests are delicately poised, with Barca somehow 1-0 down to Chelsea despite dominating at Stamford Bridge and Madrid grabbing a potentially crucial away goal in a 2-1 loss to Bayern.