Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Saturday, March 29

Reuters

Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Saturday: - - - - TENNIS ATP/WTA: Sony Open, Miami, U.S. (to 30) Miami left devastated by Djokovic, Nadal walkovers MIAMI - The Sony Open, one of tennis's most prestigious events, was left devastated when both men's semi-finals ended in walkovers, sending world number one Rafa Nadal and number two Novak Djokovic through to the final without hitting a ball.(TENNIS-MIAMI/WRAPUP (PIX), moved, by Steve Keating, 400 words) - - - - MOTOR RACING Formula One: Malaysian Grand Prix, Kuala Lumpur (to 30) Mercedes bid for second successive pole position SEPANG, Malaysia - Pace-setting Mercedes will bid for a second straight pole position in the new Formula One season when qualifying gets underway at the slippery Sepang circuit. (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/ (PIX), expect by 0900 GMT/5 AM ET, by Patrick Johnston, 600 words) - - - - RUGBY Super rugby round seven Blues v Highlanders, Auckland (0635) Reds v Stormers, Brisbane (0840) Bulls v Chiefs, Pretoria (1300) Sharks v Waratahs, Durban (1505) The Auckland Blues will play with a touch more emotion than usual when they host the Otago Highlanders at Eden Park after scrumhalf Piri Weepu suffered a minor stroke, while the Sharks look to consolidate top spot when they meet the high flying New South Wales Waratahs in Durban. (RUGBY-SUPER/, expect from 0835 GMT/3.35 AM ET, 200 words) - - - - CRICKET World Twenty20 New Zealand v Netherlands, Chittagong England v South Africa, Chittagong England and South Africa primed for showdown England and South Africa lock horns in Group One with the losers facing likely elimination from the tournament while New Zealand bid for their second victory when they face Netherlands, who lost their opening two games. (CRICKET-WORLD/T20, expect first lead by 1300 GMT/9 AM ET, by Amlan Chakraborty, 500 words) - - - - SOCCER Premier League (1500 unless stated) Manchester United v Aston Villa (1245) Crystal Palace v Chelsea Southampton v Newcastle United Stoke City v Hull City Swansea City v Norwich City West Bromwich Albion v Cardiff City Arsenal v Manchester City (1730) Chelsea need win at Palace, Manchester City visit Arsenal LONDON - Premier League leaders Chelsea visit struggling Crystal Palace needing a win to stay clear of third-placed Manchester City who are three points behind with two games in hand ahead of a tricky visit to a fading Arsenal side. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PIX), expect from 1445 GMT/10:45 AM ET, 600 words) - - La Liga Espanyol v Barcelona (1500) Celta Vigo v Sevilla (1700) Athletic Club v Atletico Madrid (1900) Real Madrid v Rayo Vallecano (2100) Top three in action as Real aim to avoid third straight loss MADRID - La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid face a tough trip to Athletic Bilbao, who are forth, second-placed Barcelona visit city rivals Espanyol and Real Madrid, in third, seek to avoid a third straight defeat when they welcome neighbours Rayo Vallecano. (SOCCER-SPAIN/ (PIX), expect by 1700 GMT/1 PM ET, by Iain Rogers, 500 words) - - Serie A Bologna v Atalanta Bergamo (1700) AC Milan v Chievo Verona (1945) Seedorf's improving Milan travel to lowly Chievo ROME - Mid-table AC Milan host lowly Chievo Verona in Serie A with the underperforming seven-times European champions and their inexperienced coach Clarence Seedorf buoyed by a draw with Lazio and victory over Fiorentina. (SOCCER-ITALY/ (PIX), expect by 2145 GMT/5:45 PM ET, by Terry Daley, 500 words) - - Ligue 1 (1900 unless stated) Ajaccio v Toulouse Evian Thonon Gaillard FC v Monaco Montpellier HSC v Valenciennes Nantes v Girondins Bordeaux Stade de Reims v FC Lorient Sochaux v Olympique Marseille Monaco hoping to cement Champions League spot PARIS - Second-placed Monaco, 13 points adrift of Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain but nine clear of Lille in third, visit lowly Evian Thonon Gaillard looking to strengthen their grip on the second automatic Champions League qualifying spot. (SOCCER-FRANCE/, PIX, expect by 2100 GMT/4 PM ET, 250 words) - - Bundesliga (1430 unless stated) Bayer Leverkusen v Eintracht Braunschweig Bayern Munich v Hoffenheim Mainz v FC Augsburg VfB Stuttgart v Borussia Dortmund VfL Wolfsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt Freiburg v Nuremberg (1730) Champions Bayern aim to stretch winning league run to 20 BERLIN - Bayern Munich, who clinched the title on Tuesday, look to extend their 19-game winning Bundesliga run at home to Hoffenheim while Borussia Dortmund visit Stuttgart with a one-point lead over third-placed Schalke. (SOCCER-GERMANY/ (PIX), expect from 1630 GMT/12:30 PM ET, by Brian Homewood, 500 words) - - Dutch Championship Vitesse Arnhem v Heerenveen (1745) NEC Nijmegen v Heracles Almelo (1845) PSV Eindhoven v Groningen (1945) PSV bid to close within three points of leaders Ajax AMSTERDAM - PSV Eindhoven can move within three points of Dutch league leaders Ajax Amsterdam with a home win over mid-table Groningen, although they would have played two games more, while fourth-placed Vitesse Arnhem, a point behind PSV, aim to keep pace with a win over visiting Heerenveen. (SOCCER-DUTCH (PIX), expect by 2145 GMT/5:45 PM ET, 400 words) - - - - NBA Durant inspires Thunder to victory over Kings Forward Kevin Durant scored 29 points on nine-of-11 shooting from the field to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 94-81 win over the Sacramento Kings. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), moved, by The Sports Xchange, 975 words) - - - - NHL Giroux shines for Flyers as Maple Leafs lose again Center Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), moved, by The Sports Xchange, 675 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0001 GMT/8:01 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: Texas Open, San Antonio, Texas (to 30) Australian Bowditch sets second round pace at Texas Open Australian Steven Bowditch found himself in unfamiliar territory with the second round clubhouse lead at the $6.2 million Texas Open. (GOLF-PGA/, moved, 350 words) - - - - HORSE RACING Dubai World Cup Ruler Of The World favourite to win in Dubai DUBAI - Four-year-old colt Ruler Of The World is favourite to win the $10 million Dubai World Cup, the world's richest horse race, despite returning from a five-month layoff. (HORSERACING/DUBAI (PIX), race starts at 1405 GMT/1005 AM ET, by Martin Dokoupil, 500 words) - - ATHLETICS Battle of the giants at NZ championships WELLINGTON - World indoors bronze medallist Tom Walsh will meet promising junior world record holder Jacko Gill in a Goliath v Goliath showdown in the shotput at the New Zealand championships, with the rugby-mad country's focus on athletics the highest in decades. (ATHLETICS-ZEALAND/, (PIX), expect by 0600 GMT/1 AM ET, by Greg Stutchbury, 600 words) - - - - CYCLING Criterium International (to 30) Tour of Catalunya, Spain (to 30) Copy on merit - - - - (Asia duty editor: John O'Brien)