London, Apr 13 : Former World No. 1 tennis star Monica Seles has said that food became her best friend to overcome loneliness after her father's death in 1998.

Seles spoke for the first time about her nine-year battle with an eating disorder, The Sun reported.

Seles, 35, said she started binge eating after being knifed in the shoulder by a Steffi Graf fan during a 1993 match and turned to food to cope with her father's death in 1998.

London, Apr 13 : England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has insisted that his lucrative involvement in the Indian Premier League can do him a power of good - on and off the field.

Flintoff, signed for 1.5 million dollars by the IPL's Chennai Super Kings franchise, has been dogged by injuries.

The England all-rounder believes the competition that gets underway in South Africa will boost his fitness for this summer's Ashes. He also admits that the cash point will put a smile on his face as his bank balance rockets.

Islamabad, Apr. 13: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has managed to bag a sponsorship of over a million dollars for the UAE one-day international series.

"At the time when everyone thought we would not be able to finalise a sponsorship deal worth 200,000 dollars, the PCB has succeeded to strike a deal of over one million dollars. That does not include the money we would get from the TV rights," PCB's chief financial advisor, Mohammad Naeem, said.

Karachi, Apr. 13 : Pakistan cricket team coach Intikhab Alam is banking upon captain Younus Khan to succeed against Australia in the forthcoming UAE series.

"For me, Younus will be our key man. He is such a positive man, a true leader who has injected a much-needed team spirit among the boys," Alam said referring to Khan's forecast of a five-nil Australian white wash in the series.

Lahore, Apr. 13 : Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has raised questions over the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) players' commitment to national duty.

"I am a strong believer that a cricketer should be permitted to play anywhere, but in this case, I think, somewhere there is a doubt," Younis said.

He charged the ICL players of putting the country's reputation on a back seat while joining an unauthorized league.

Hamburg - Rafael Nadal remained comfortably top of an unchanged men's tennis rankings issued on Monday by the ATP. Spain's Nadal leads with 14,470 points, far ahead of former number one Roger Federer of Switzerland (11,020), Serbia's Novak Djokovic (9,010) and Scotland's Andy Murray.