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FA Cup: De Bruyne Returns in a Big Win for Man City

Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Huddersfield Town - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 7, 2024 Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne applauds fans after the match. (Reuters)
Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Huddersfield Town - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 7, 2024 Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne applauds fans after the match. (Reuters)
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FA Cup: De Bruyne Returns in a Big Win for Man City

Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Huddersfield Town - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 7, 2024 Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne applauds fans after the match. (Reuters)
Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Huddersfield Town - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 7, 2024 Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne applauds fans after the match. (Reuters)

Kevin De Bruyne set up a goal on his return from injury after nearly five months out as Manchester City opened its FA Cup title defense with a 5-0 win over second-tier Huddersfield on Sunday.

There was also a victory in the third round for Wrexham, the fourth-tier club owned by Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and with a strong tradition in the famous cup competition, while Premier League teams West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Luton were all held to draws at home by lower-division opponents.

De Bruyne hasn’t played since sustaining a hamstring injury at Burnley on the opening day of the Premier League season on Aug. 11. The Belgium playmaker came on as a 57th-minute substitute — when City was 2-0 ahead — and provided the cross that fellow replacement Jeremy Doku converted for the final goal in a one-sided match at Etihad Stadium.

Phil Foden scored twice, Julian Alvarez added another and there was an own-goal for City, which saw defender Manuel Akanji go off injured in the first half.

Erling Haaland was still deemed not fit enough to feature for City, but should be back soon to complement the returning De Bruyne and Doku as Pep Guardiola's team go for an unlikely repeat of its treble of major trophies won last season.

Wrexham won 1-0 at Shrewsbury, a local rival from a division higher in English soccer's pyramid, thanks to Tom O'Connor's second-half goal.

The buzz around Wrexham and its celebrity owners — Reynolds and fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney — reached new levels during a cup run around this time last year when the team beat one second-tier Championship team in Coventry and then took another, Premier League-bound Sheffield United, to a replay. But promotion is the big goal this season for Wrexham, which is in third place in League Two.

In more surprising results, West Ham failed to hold onto a lead and drew 1-1 with second-tier Bristol City, Forest had to come from 2-0 down to draw with third-tier Blackpool 2-2 and another third-tier team, Bolton, held Luton 0-0.

Arsenal hosts Liverpool in the standout third-round match later Sunday.

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Sinner Does Not Expect Easy Road on Return from Doping Ban

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning his fourth round match against Russia's Karen Khachanov. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning his fourth round match against Russia's Karen Khachanov. (Reuters)
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Sinner Does Not Expect Easy Road on Return from Doping Ban

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning his fourth round match against Russia's Karen Khachanov. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning his fourth round match against Russia's Karen Khachanov. (Reuters)

Jannik Sinner held onto his world number one ranking ahead of his return from a three-month doping ban, but the Italian does not expect his comeback to be as smooth when he takes to the court again at the Rome Masters next month.

Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open at the start of the season and accepted a ban in February following a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal's decision to clear him after two positive tests.

The 23-year-old was allowed to return to training on April 13, and his suspension will end on May 4, before his competitive return at the Italian Open, which gets underway three days later.

Sinner, who spent time building fitness mindful of the French Open starting on May 25, was assured of retaining the top ranking for his home tournament after his closest challenger Alexander Zverev crashed to an early defeat in Monte Carlo.

"We're training very hard. Hopefully we'll get some momentum going again ahead of the clay season. It certainly won't be easy for me," Sinner told broadcaster ORF Sudtirol.

"The first games will be really difficult. But hopefully I'll be able to get back into the rhythm and then we'll see how it goes."

Sinner, who trained with Britain's world number six Jack Draper at the Tennis Club de Beaulieu in France recently, said there were plenty of positives from his enforced absence from the tour.

"I think at the beginning of the three months, it was quite nice," Sinner added.

"A bit of time away from all the grind, I spent time with family, with friends. I was doing new things and getting to know myself better, finding out where I stand.

"I think it helped me a lot."