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WTA Kuala Lumpur - Petra Martic vs. Erika Sema (05:00 GMT)

Petra Martic gets her WTA Kuala Lumpur Open campaign underway on Monday with a first round clash against Erika Sema.

Despite making a slow start to the 2012 season, Martic enters this year’s Kuala Lumpur Open as the fifth seed.

The 21-year-old’s poor win/loss record for the season so far can largely be attributed to run-ins with quality opposition, such as Marion Batoli and Petra Cetkovska, and she should be able to find some form this week in Malaysia.

Martic will get started with a first round matchup against Japan’s Erika Sema.

Sema, the world No. 139, is likely to struggle against the Croatian. She’s yet to win a match this year, and this can’t be doing any favours for her confidence. Still, she’ll be eager to improve, because as things stand, her prize money will barely be covering her travel expenses.

This will be the first ever contest between these two players, which makes pre-match predictions a little harder to make. Still, Martic should have the upper hand here, as she aims to get back on track with her bid to crack the top fifty.

Prediction: Sema in two.

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WTA Monterrey - Alexandra Cadantu vs. Timea Babos (23:00 GMT)

Alexandra Cadantu takes on Timea Babos tonight in the final of the WTA Monterrey.

Neither Cadantu or Babos were expected to reach today's final of the Whirlpool Monterrey Open, but both have defied the odds throughout the week and are now just one win away from a maiden WTA title.

Babos, at 18 years of age, is playing like a future star of the WTA. The youngster has a big serve, and the effectiveness of this was evident in her semi-final win over second seed Sara Errani. Babos demonstrated incredible mental strength to clinch a 6-4 6-7 6-4 win and this looks like it could be the first of many WTA finals for the Hungarian.

"I have trouble playing players like Errani, not just because she's so consistent but also because she has so much experience," said Babos after her win.

"I served for the match twice in the second set but couldn't finish it, and it was tough to come back and play another set after that, but I was able to do it. I'm so happy."

Cadantu got through with a 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory over sixth seed Greta Arn.

Cadantu beat Babos last year in Kristinehamn, giving her a 1-0 match record against the world No. 107. Still, this was a close match, and was played on clay. It looks like this will be a close and exciting final.

Prediction: Babos in three.

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WTA Dubai 2013 date - when is the 2013 Dubai Open?

The 2013 WTA Dubai Open is provisionally scheduled to take place on February 18th-23rd.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships always promises to be one of the most thrilling events on the WTA calendar, and the return of the competition in 2013 will be eagerly awaited by tennis fans.

The event, which attracts a good portion of the top twenty , was won in 2012 by Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who climbed to No. 5 in the world rankings due to her success.

Radwanska managed to edge out Julia Goerges in a tight two-set final, winning 7-5 6-4.

Goerges had been playing superbly, and had racked up victories over Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Daniela Hantuchova en route to the final.

This is a tournament that all of the WTA’s best players take seriously, and if it weren’t for an ankle injury sustained in Doha, world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka would have taken part in Dubai in 2012.

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Lavezzi to Arsenal FC? Van Persie to FC Barcelona? Hazard to Tottenham...

Sunday's round up of the top transfer stories from the past 24 hours...

- Barcelona have confirmed that they have €50million to spend on transfers this summer as they continue to be linked with the likes of Robin van Persie and Neymar.

- Arsenal have joined Chelsea and Manchester City in the race to sign Napoli star Ezequiel Lavezzi, according to FootyBunker.

- Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna has told Eden Hazard to join the Gunners as a move to rivals Tottenham would be "an error" as Spurs continue to be linked with the Lille playmaker.

- Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is wanted by Inter Milan to replace Claudio Ranieri this summer, according to Marca.

- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he turned down the chance to sign Gareth Bale.

- And Wenger rejected the chance to sign striker Louis Saha before he signed for rivals Tottenham last month, according to the Daily Mirror.

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Chelsea FC striker Romelu Lukaku to join Borussia Monchengladbach?

Borussia Monchengladbach are interested in signing Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku on loan.

Lukaku moved to Stamford Bridge from Anderlecht last summer in a deal worth around £18million and has spent most of the season to date warming the bench.

A number of clubs from across Europe have shown interest in taking him on loan and according to Express, Monchengladbach could look to secure a temporary deal for next season.

The 18-year-old recently revealed he would consider a short-term move away from west London next season to boost his chances of regular first-team football.

"You have to be willing to make sacrifices if you really want to succeed at a big club, so I have to be patient," Lukaku told Sporza last month.

"However, if my situation doesn't change in the next six months, I might opt for a one-year loan spell elsewhere.

"That could be in England or in a country like France. I could have a good year at another club, and then return to Chelsea as a better player."

And he admitted: "It's frustrating that I don't get much playing time, but I also have to think about the team."

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Arsenal FC target Stephane Sessegnon also on Tottenham's radar - repor...

Arsenal reportedly face competition from Tottenham in the race to sign Sunderland striker Stephane Sessegnon.

The 27-year-old has been on Arsenal's radar for some time, but according to The Sun, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is also showing interest in the forward.

Sessegnon recently refused to rule out a move away from the Stadium of Light, where he has impressed under new manager Martin O'Neill.

Former club Paris Saint-Germain are believed to be keen on signing him at the end of the season.

And speaking last week, Sessegnon told L'Equipe: "Interest from some bigger English clubs? I don't think about that so far.

"Above all I am thinking to score and assist. We will talk about my future again at the end of the season."

And of a return to France, he added: "The club deserves to do great things and have big players.

"Even though I left a year ago now, I always love Paris, and I still have friends there like Guillaume Hoarau, I regularly talk to him."

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ATP Buenos Aires - David Ferrer vs. Nicolas Almagro (19:00 GMT)

David Ferrer takes on compatriot Nicolas Almagro later today in the final of the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires.

Ferrer vs. Almagro always seemed like the most likely final this weekend. They dominated the South American clay-court events in recent years and Ferrer in particular has seemed a class above the rest of the field all week.

The world No. 5 is yet to be really troubled this week. He easily dealt with Chilean legend Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals and eased past David Nalbandian 6-1 6-4 in Saturday's semis. As you would expect, Argentine players have enjoyed a lot of success at this tournament over the past decade, but Nalbandian had never beaten Ferrer on clay and never looked like he believed he could win.

Almagro has found things a lot tougher, but the world No. 11 has plenty of belief in his game on this surface, particularly after winning the Sao Paulo title last week, and that saw him through his semi-final clash with Stanislas Wawrinka (6-4 3-6 7-5).

Almagro won more clay-court matches than anyone last year (32 in total), but he's never beaten Ferrer before and lost three times to his nemesis on clay last year.

It looks ominous for the defending champion.

Prediction: Ferrer in two.

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Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC target Demba Ba to be offered new deal - r...

Newcastle striker Demba Ba, who is believed to be a target for several clubs including Arsenal and Liverpool, will reportedly be offered a new contract this summer.

And according to The People, the Magpies are confident that he will pledge his future to the club.

As well as Arsenal and Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, rivals Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, and Tottenham have all been linked with the former West Ham forward in recent weeks.

And a number of clubs are believed to be considering summer bids for the 26-year-old after it emerged last month that he has a release clause in his contract on Tyneside and could be available for as little as £7million.

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan last week said Ba could leave Newcastle this summer for next to nothing and told WestHamtillidie.com that: "I'm told he's got a £7million get-out at Newcastle and he gets half the money over that.

"They keep denying it, but I think you'll see in the summer he will leave Newcastle, or he'll get a monstrous rise to stay there.

"If they get about £4million, half will go to him, so if they sell him for £7m, they'll only net about three because they paid his agent £2m to get him out of here."

But according to Sunday's report, Newcastle are hopeful that Ba will agree to sign a new deal at St James' Park, which would see his release buy-out clause removed.

A Newcastle source told the newspaper: "The fact that we're putting a new deal together for Ba has nothing to do with what David Sullivan said.

"It was always our intention to sort out a new contract for him when he returned from the African Nations Cup.

"He's never given any indication he'd take advantage of this get-out clause."

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Carling Cup final - Cardiff City v Liverpool FC facts and stats

Facts and stats ahead of this afternoon's Carling Cup final at Wembley Stadium between Cardiff and Liverpool (16:00 GMT kick-off).

- This is Liverpool's first cup final appearance at Wembley since 1996.

- The last meeting between these sides was in the Carling Cup 4th round in October 2007, when the Reds won 2-1 at Anfield.

- Before the 2007 defeat, Cardiff had won their last five meetings with Liverpool, scoring 18 goals in those five games.

- Cardiff have also won nine of their last 12 meetings with Liverpool in all competitions, 11 of which came before 1960.

- And the Bluebirds are the only side who can say that they have won their last five league meetings with Liverpool.

- This is the fourth time Liverpool have faced lower-tier opposition in the League Cup final.

- Liverpool are only the second side to reach the final of the competition despite playing just one game at home (the other being Arsenal in 2006/07.

- Liverpool have won the League Cup seven times - more than any other team.

- A win today for Kenny Dalglish's side would see them equal Manchester United’s record for most the English domestic cup wins (15: seven League Cup and seven FA Cup wins prior to kick-off).

- Pepe Reina is the only player to have played in all of Liverpool’s Carling Cup games this season (6).

- Andrew Taylor is the only Cardiff player to have featured in every Carling Cup game this season (7).

See below for Cardiff v Liverpool Carling Cup final team news

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FC Barcelona contract talks a 'tiresome issue' says Pep Guardiola

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has called talk about his future a "tiresome issue" as speculation continues that he could leave Camp Nou as soon as this summer.

The 41-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and last week admitted he was not yet ready to commit to the Catalans for another year.

That has led to reports in Italy suggesting he could replace Inter Milan coach Claudio Ranieri this summer (see below), while the Spaniard has also been linked with a move to the Premier League.

But speaking ahead of Sunday night's trip to Atletico Madrid in La Liga, Guardiola insisted that he would let the media be the first to know about any developments.

He told reporters: "[My contract] is [becoming] a tiresome issue.

"When there are updates, you will know."

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