At your service: Rory McIlroy tries tennis

GOLF’S new world number one, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, tried his hand at a different sport yesterday, winning a rally against Maria Sharapova during his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki’s tennis exhibition.

Wozniacki summoned McIlroy from his courtside seat at Madison Square Garden in New York and handed him the racket in a lighthearted moment before the final game of her match, which she lost 6-3, 6-4. McIlroy placed the tennis ball on the ground, addressed it as if hitting a golf chip shot, then picked it up and started a friendly rally with the number two-ranked Sharapova.