Sports Shorts

New Zealand produced a brilliant display to beat Australia 49-28 and take a stranglehold on the Tri-Nations yesterday. The Wallabies took an early lead when Drew Mitchell capitalized on his own charge down to run over only for New Zealand to run riot with four tries to lead 32-14 at the break. Dan Carter, Mils Muliaina, Richie McCaw and Cory Jane were the first-half scorers. The All Blacks, who have now won all three of their Tri-Nation games, added further tries through Muliaina, Joe Rokocoko and Corey Flynn after Mitchell was red-carded. With three matches to go New Zealand is now the strong favorite to win the Tri-Nations. (Reuters )

Israel's Dudi Sela was eliminated in the second round of the LA Open on Friday, losing to fourth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. In the first match of the day, Lopez booked his place in the last eight by beating the Israeli 7-6, 6-4. Lopez, who clinched his second ATP career title in Johannesburg in February, blasted 12 aces on the hardcourt surface to seal the win in one hour, 37 minutes. (Reuters )

Germany's Sebastian Vettel roared to his fourth successive pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday in a Red Bull front-row sweep with Australian Mark Webber. Vettel's seventh pole of the season was also Red Bull's 11th in 12 races and they looked utterly dominant at the Hungaroring. Ferrari filled the second row, with Fernando Alonso lining up alongside Brazilian Felipe Massa. Alonso was a hefty 1.2 seconds slower than Vettel. McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified in fifth place while world-champion teammate Jenson Button, second overall and 14 points behind his fellow-Briton, qualified 11th. (Reuters )

Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez won the San Sebastian Classic one-day race yesterday. Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov was second behind the 26-year-old Caisse D'Epargne rider, while Spain's Carlos Sastre finished third. The three attacked on the second ascent of the tough Jaizkebel climb then stayed in front in Spain's biggest one-day Classic. Victorious in the Paris-Nice stage race in 2009, Sanchez gave Spain a sixth win in seven years at the San Sebastian Classic. (Reuters )

The surging Tampa Bay Rays moved to within one game of New York in the American League East with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Yankees on Friday. Matt Joyce belted a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to erase a 2-0 Yankees lead and the Rays held on for their seventh successive win, tying a season high. The Yankees jumped to an early 2-0 lead when the second batter of the game, Nick Swisher, smacked a two-run homer into the right-field seats. Rays rookie starter Wade Davis pitched brilliantly through seven innings, allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out six to earn his ninth win of the season. (Reuters )

Host nation Germany got off to a perfect start in the Champions Trophy yesterday with a 4-2 victory over England in Moenchengladbach while Australia hammered New Zealand and the Netherlands defeated Spain. In a repeat of the 2009 European hockey championship final, which England won 5-3, Germany prevailed even without striker Christopher Zeller who picked up an injury in the warm-up. Defending champions Australia began their push for a third consecutive Champions Trophy title with a 9-1 demolition of New Zealand. (DPA )

AC Milan coach Massimo Allegri says David Beckham will not return for a third spell at the Italian club. Beckham watched Milan draw 1-1 at Arsenal in a preseason friendly yesterday but Allegri says this does not mean the one-time England captain will rejoin his former teammates on the field. Beckham is contracted to the Los Angeles Galaxy but has twice gone on loan to Milan to stay fit during Major League Soccer's offseason. The 35-year-old Beckham is recovering from the ruptured Achilles' tendon that prevented him from appearing at a fourth World Cup this year. (AP )