Halsall picks up gold in Tokyo

Swimming: Fran Halsall continued her fine form yesterday by picking up a gold and a silver on day two of the FINA Swimming World Cup event in Tokyo.

The Southport-born 24-year-old, victorious in the 50m freestyle and backstroke on Tuesday, won gold in the 100m freestyle and followed that up with silver — in a new British record of 25.29 seconds — in the 50m butterfly.

Georgia Davies secured silver in the 100m backstroke.

Murray edges closer to Tour

Tennis: Andy Murray yesterday moved within one win of qualifying for the ATP World Tour finals as he brushed aside Julien Benneteau 6-3 6-4 in the second round of the Paribas Masters.

The British number one needed just 71 minutes to reach the last 16 in Paris and should he advance to the quarter-finals his place in London will be secure.

The Tour starts next month and features the top eight ranked players.

O’Sullivan rockets to quarters

Snooker: Five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan continued his swift progress through the International Championship draw, beating Li Hang to reach the quarter-finals.

A second successive 6-1 win in Chengdu, having beaten Anthony McGill by the same scoreline, saw the “Rocket” through to a clash with Mark Williams.

Williams followed up his success against Barry Hawkins with four half-century breaks in a 6-4 win over Sam Baird.

London gridiron team worth £102m

American Football: An NFL franchise in London could be worth more than £100 million a year to the economy.

A report published yesterday by accountants Deloitte, and produced in co-operation with the NFL, said a London-hosted team could net Britain £102m every season.

Of that £102m, Deloitte’s report said £68m would come from spectator spending, £24m from teams, £5m from NFL operations, £4m from sponsors and £1m from media.