Digest

Tennis

Alexander the great conquers Wawrinka

Unheralded Alexander Zverev of Germany eliminated top seed Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 at the Miami Open on Tuesday.

Zverev's win earned him his first place in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal, where he will face the winner of Tuesday's late game between Australian Nick Kyrgios and Belgian David Goffin.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori advanced to the quarterfinals earlier this week. Wawrinka, beaten by fellow Swiss Federer in the final of Indian Wells two weeks ago, looked weary against Zverev and never threatened in the last two sets.

Sharapova says she proved point

Maria Sharapova believes she won a fight against injustice by managing to get her doping ban reduced to 15 months.

The five-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1, who plans to return to competition next month in Stuttgart, Germany, said on Tuesday she didn't believe a two-year suspension was fair after she tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

"I fought it because I didn't want to end my career on someone else's terms," she said. "I fought hard for the truth to be out."

Soccer

Thigh injury puts Lallana on shelf

Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana could be out for up to a month after sustaining a thigh injury on international duty, British media reported on Tuesday.

Lallana played 66 minutes of England's 1-0 friendly loss to Germany last week ahead of Sunday's 2-0 World Cup qualifying win at home to Lithuania, which he was unable to finish.

Liverpool is in fourth place in the EPL standings with 56 points, four ahead of archrival Manchester United, which has two games in hand in the race for Champions League qualification.

Ice Hockey

Late deal could avert boycott

USA Hockey and players on the women's national team on Tuesday agreed to a tentative four-year deal to avert a boycott of the world championship tournament that begins on Friday, but players had yet to vote on the proposal.

If approved by the players, the deal would avoid a humiliating situation for the national governing body, with the three-time defending champion Team USA sending a squad to a worlds on home ice at Plymouth, Michigan.

The players had organized a boycott when their demands for better salaries and insurance coverage was rejected by USA Hockey.

NFL

Pats boss hails ageless Brady

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft says Tom Brady is preparing to play well into his mid-40s as he chases more Super Bowl success.

Brady, 39, won a record fifth Super Bowl last month, leading the Pats to a comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons.

While that victory was viewed by many as the crowning achievement of an extraordinary career, Kraft said on Tuesday that Brady is a long way from being ready to call it a day.

"As recently as two, three days ago, he assured me he's willing to play six or seven more years," Kraft said at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix.

Kraft is confident Brady can emulate retired Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre, who played past his 40th birthday to lead the Minnesota Vikings into the playoffs in 2009-10.

Agencies