Sport in Brief: Doubles pair secure victory for Spain

Spain retained the Davis Cup with a doubles victory in Barcelona to earn an unassailable 3-0 lead over the Czech Republic.

After Rafael Nadal's and David Ferrer's singles victories on Friday, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez defeated Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych 7-6 7-5 6-2. The Spaniards secured the first break four games into the first set but the Czech pair broke straight back before wasting a set point in the tie-break. In the second set Spain fought back from 40-0 down at 5-5 with five successive points, then began the third with a break. They broke again after a long fifth game, and the victory gave the hosts their fourth Davis Cup in 10 years.

Murphy's winning start

Shaun Murphy began the defence of his Pukka Pies UK Championship title with a 9-5 first-round victory over Northern Irishman Gerard Greene in Telford last night, writes David Hendon. Murphy made successive breaks of 88 in the closing two frames to advance to the second round. Stephen Maguire, the 2004 UK champion, survived a late-night battle with Michael Holt, taking the last frame on the black to win 9-6. Mark Williams, twice UK champion, was 6-2 ahead when Graeme Dott withdrew, complaining of dizziness.

Kindred shows his spirit

Britain's Sascha Kindred won his third gold at the World Short Course Championships in Rio, in the 50m butterfly. Kindred, who won the 100m and 200m individual medleys, clocked a world-record 31.38sec.