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MELBOURNE — Men's title favourite Daniil Medvedev fought back from the brink of a shock exit on Wednesday to reach the Australian Open semifinal and keep his dream of a second Grand Slam crown alive.

Medvedev, the World No. 2, looked down and out as he lost the opening two sets to Canadian 21-year-old sensation Felix Auger-Aliassime before mounting a remarkable turnaround.

The Russian saved a match point at 4-5, 30-40 in the fourth set before completing an astonishing revival to beat the ninth seed 6-7 (4/7), 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-5, 6-4 in a marathon 4hr 42min quarter-final that finished well after midnight on Rod Laver Arena.

Asked how he managed to win, the US Open champions Medvedev admitted: "I have no idea.

"I just fought to the last point and manage to raise my level."

It sets up a repeat of last year's semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, which Medvedev won in straight sets before going on to lose to Novak Djokovic in the championship match.

The Greek fourth seed Tsitsipas was earlier in rampant form as he destroyed Italian World No. 10 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

By contrast to Medvedev's struggles, Tsitsipas made serene progress in a two-hour afternoon romp halted only by rain, which caused a brief delay for the Rod Laver Arena roof to be shut and the court to be mopped dry.

The change in conditions made no difference to a dominant, flawless performance from the World No. 4 who grasped control of the quarter-final with a break in Sinner's opening service game and did not relinquish his firm grip.

"My humility helped a lot today, I knew I was going out on the court to face a very good player," Tsitsipas said.

"I just focused on my very best shots and it paid off better than I thought.

Colins and Swiatek through

The women's semifinal line-up was completed by Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek who enjoyed vastly contrasting wins in the last eight on Wednesday. 

Collins swept past unseeded Alize Cornet in just 88 minutes to match her run to the last four in 2019 and shatter the French veteran's dream of making a first Grand Slam semi-final. 

But seventh seed Swiatek had to fight back from a set and a break down against unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi.

The 20-year-old Swiatek proved too dogged as she outlasted Kanepi, who is 16 years her senior, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 after a marathon 3hr 1min encounter in energy-sapping heat.

"I had so many break points [nine] in the first set that I felt like I missed my chances," said Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion. 

"I was pretty annoyed and I should have been focused on the next point. And that's what I did in the second set."

As temperatures nudged 35 degrees Celsius, the American 27th seed Collins came through against the tenacious Cornet 7-5, 6-1 to continue her resurgence after serious medical problems last year.

"It feels incredible, especially after some of the health challenges that I have had," said Collins, 28, who had "scary" surgery for endometriosis in April last year and then tore her abdomen at the French Open.

"To be able to get back to this level and be able to compete the way I have and be as physical as I have has been so rewarding."

Collins won her maiden WTA titles at San Jose and Palermo after recuperating and has now matched her 2019 run at Melbourne Park to reach her second Slam semi-final.

Top seed Ashleigh Barty will face unseeded American Madison Keys in the other last-four clash on Thursday for a place in Saturday's final.

MELBOURNE — Rafael Nadal dug deep into his immense reserves of resilience for the second match running to keep his dream of a 21st Grand Slam title alive at the Australian Open on Tuesday, as women’s top seed Ashleigh Barty powered into a semifinal against Madison Keys.

The ruthless World No. 1 Barty dismantled Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-0 in 63 minutes to reach the last four at Melbourne Park for only the second time.

“That was solid tonight. I had a lot of fun out here,” said Barty, who is edging closer to becoming the first Australian woman to win her home Grand Slam since Chris O’Neill in 1978.

She will face the unseeded Keys for a place in Saturday’s final after the American, ranked 51, upset French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-2.

Wimbledon champion Barty is yet to drop a set and has only given up 17 games in her five matches at Melbourne Park.

Nadal raced to a two-set quarter-final lead against Denis Shapovalov but then began to feel unwell, needing medical attention for a stomach complaint before surviving a four-hour thriller 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.

The Spanish sixth seed previously had to show all his experience and tenacity just to reach the quarter-final in an epic 28-minute tiebreak, and he somehow found the willpower again to cross the finish line, despite being badly hampered.

“I started to feel not very well in my stomach so I just asked if they could do something,” said Nadal of calling for medical assistance.

“They just checked everything was all right and then I took some tablets to try to improve the situation. It was lucky that I was serving great in the fifth.”

Nadal won a warm-up tournament and continues to amaze even himself after being out for most of 2021 with a chronic foot injury. He then caught COVID-19 in December.

“I’m not 21 any more!” he said.

“The real truth is that two months ago we didn’t know if we will be able to be back on tour at all,” Nadal admitted.

“It’s just a present of life that I am here playing tennis again.”

A frustrated Shapovalov smashed his racquet after losing and had a running battle with the chair umpire over the time Nadal was taking to serve, at one point calling the official “corrupt”.

Earlier, Keys continued her impeccable start to the 2022 season with a straight-sets destruction of fourth seed Krejcikova, who needed medical attention after being affected by the heat as the mercury topped 30 degrees Celsius during the first set, with temperatures soaring even higher in the sun on centre court.

Keys was a semi-finalist in 2015 but endured a terrible 2021 where she tumbled down the rankings.

“It means a lot,” she said. “Last year was really hard.”

Keys said she had to reset completely for the new campaign — and it clearly worked. 

She won an Adelaide warm-up event this month and has now amassed 11 straight match wins in Australia — equalling her tally for the whole of 2021.

“Wow, that’s gone well so far,” she said. “I am really proud of myself.”

In the other men’s quarter-final, veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils lost to big-serving Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2 in a hardfought match.

AMMAN — Wihdat are eager to start their 2022 football agenda, however, some of their league matches need to be rescheduled as they will be the sole Jordanian team to play the continent’s leading tournament — the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

The powerhouse in Jordanian football, Wihdat lost their Jordan Professional Football League (Pro League) title to Ramtha last season, however, fans are now upbeat on regional performances after the draw for the AFC was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this week.

The draw placed Wihdat in Group E playing from April 7 — 27 alongside Qatar’s Al Sadd, Saudi Arabia’s Faisali and the winner of the UAE’s Bani Yas versus Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf play-off West match.

A total of 40 teams will play in 10 groups, with 33 playing directly in the group stages and seven advancing through preliminary round matches. 

In 2021, Wihdat became the first of the Kingdom’s clubs to play in the round robin group stages of the AFC Champions League. They were eliminated after an impressive performance against Saudi Arabia’s Nassr, Iran’s Foolad and Qatar’s Al Sadd to finish 3rd in Group D. Group leaders and top three second place finishers moved on to the knockout stage.

None of the Kingdom’s clubs have ever made it past the AFC Champions League preliminary round where Faisali played in 2018 and 2020, Wihdat in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019, and Shabab Urdun in 2014.

On the other hand, Pro League champ Ramtha and Jordan Cup champs Faisali will not be playing the second-tier Asian club competition — the AFC Cup — after Jordanian teams did not qualify to play due to financial and technical constraints. It will be the first time Jordanian teams don’t play since 2005.

In 2021, Jordan’s Salt played their inaugural AFC Cup and were eliminated by three-time former champs Kuwait FC in the semifinals of the West Asia Zone. Jordan’s Faisali were knocked out of the event in the first round. In the 2020 edition, Faisali played alongside Jazira before the tournament was stopped with the COVID-19 pandemic halting regional and international sporting agendas. 

Kuwait Club and the Iraqi Air Force Club are AFC Cup record winners having been crowned champs three times each. Faisali won the AFC Cup title in 2005 and 2006 and Shabab Urdun won in 2007. Other Jordanian teams participating in previous editions include Wihdat, Ramtha, Jazira, Hussein, That Ras and Ahli. 

In the 2021 football season’s local competitions, Ramtha won the Pro League title for the third time in their history ending a 39-year drought. They edged out titleholders Wihdat who settled for second place, as Salt remained third, followed by Faisali. Newcomers to the Pro League, relatively unknown Jalil, overcame Wihdat to win the 34th Jordan Football Association Shield. Wihdat beat one-time winners Jazira in the 38th Jordan Super Cup, while Faisali beat Salt to win the Jordan Cup.

LOS ANGELES — Jayson Tatum busted out of a shooting slump by nailing nine three pointers en route to a season-high 51 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 116-87 blowout win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

Tatum drained nine-of-14 threes on Sunday at Capital One Arena after missing his previous 20 this season from beyond the arc.

He made his first four three-point attempts and finished six-of-seven in the first half on Sunday.

This marked his fifth career 50-point game and he also had 10 rebounds and seven assists in front of the crowd of 16,300 in Washington.

“To Tatum’s credit, he had a night,” said Wizards coach Wes Unseld. “Obviously, 51 points, it’s a real number. I think he was six-for-eight on pull-up threes, which are tough shots. No excuse. He’s been struggling, but he found his rhythm tonight.”

Teammate Jaylen Brown tallied four threes as the Celtics went 19-of-39 overall from three-point range and combined that with a stout defensive effort for the victory. 

Marcus Smart (11 points) and Grant Williams (10 points) each made two baskets from beyond the arc. Smart also had six assists and four steals.

It was the Celtics’ best defensive performance since holding the New York Knicks to just 75 points on January 8.

The Wizards shot just eight-of-34 from three-point range as Spencer Dinwiddie missed all seven of his three attempts.

Bradley Beal led Washington with 19 points and seven assists. Deni Avdija scored 13 points and Thomas Bryant came off the bench to score 11 for the Wizards. Kyle Kuzma finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler finished with a triple-double of 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as the Miami Heat held on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 113-107.

Butler posted his 10th triple-double with Miami breaking the team record for triple doubles which was held by LeBron James, who led the Lakers with 33 points on Sunday.

Duncan Robinson scored 25 points, Caleb Martin tallied 15, Bam Adebayo scored 14 and Gabe Vincent chipped in 11 in the win.

“I think those are important experiences to go through together,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

James recorded his 17th consecutive game with at least 26 points. Russell Westbrook scored 24 for the Lakers, former Heat guard Avery Bradley added 15 and Carmelo Anthony scored 11.

James says he’s playing some of the best basketball of his career although the Lakers have lost five of their last seven games.

“I’m in one of the best zones offensively I’ve been in in my career,” James said.

In San Antonio, Joel Embiid scored 38 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists as the Philadelphia 76ers rolled over the San Antonio Spurs 115-109.

Embiid has scored at least 30 points in 12 straight road games.

Also, CJ McCollum, Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little each scored 19 points and the Portland Trail Blazers held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 114-105. 

Pascal Siakam scored 28 points for Toronto and Fred VanVleet added 19 points in the loss.

MELBOURNE — Rafael Nadal survived an epic 28-minute tiebreak to seal his spot in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and top seed Ashleigh Barty joined him with victory over giant-killer Amanda Anisimova on Sunday.

Nadal will now face Canada’s 14th seed Denis Shapovalov after he stunned third seed and Olympic champion Alexander Zverev — who said “everything” went wrong.

Nadal, who is chasing a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title, was pushed all the way by Adrian Mannarino in an 81-minute first set before breaking the Frenchman’s resolve in a 7-6 (16/14), 6-2, 6-2 victory.

“First set was very emotional,” said the 35-year-old Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champion, who pumped his fists after emerging victorious from a marathon first-set tiebreak on a steamy day in Melbourne. 

“That crazy first set was so important.”

The Spaniard, who dropped a set for the first time in the tournament before powering past Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the previous round, will now face Shapovalov in the last eight.

The 22-year-old Shapovalov — who caught Covid before the Slam and was not even sure he would play in Melbourne — left Zverev still searching for a first major title after convincingly beating him 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

The German smashed his racquet and afterwards failed to find any positives.

“Today, in my opinion, was just awful from my side,” he said.

Asked what went wrong by reporters, he replied: “Everything.”

Flashy French 17th seed Gael Monfils warned that “I’m not quite finished yet” after he surged past Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia to set up an encounter with Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini.

The 35-year-old Monfils is, yet, to drop a set in Melbourne.

Big-serving Berrettini sent down 28 aces to blow away Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in three sets.

“He’s feeling good, I’m feeling good,” he said of his clash with Monfils.

“It’s going to be a fight.”

Barty powers on

In the women’s draw, home hope and World No. 1 Barty thrilled the crowd by defeating 60th-ranked Anisimova 6-4, 6-3. The Australian faces another American, Jessica Pegula, in the last eight.

The 20-year-old Anisimova beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and was fresh from knocking out defending champion Naomi Osaka.

But she came up against a Barty who looks in irresistible form as she chases her first Australian Open crown.

Reminded that last year’s Australian Open went behind closed doors mid-tournament because of Covid, Barty told an adoring Rod Laver Arena crowd that playing in front of them was “a lot more fun”.

“Last two years have been extraordinarily tough for many people around the world,” said the down-to-earth 25-year-old, the reigning Wimbledon champion and a former Roland Garros winner.

The 21st-seeded Pegula, who revealed earlier this week she has been relaxing by spending every night at the casino, was a surprise winner over fifth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece.

Also into the last eight is French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who looks in ominous touch.

She blew away former two-time Melbourne champion Victoria Azarenka, who had a neck problem, to set up a meeting with unseeded American Madison Keys.

Fourth seed Krejcikova of the Czech Republic powered through 6-2, 6-2 against the Belarusian, who won the title in 2012 and 2013.

“It was really amazing today because she is a champion here and she likes this court, she’s very experienced on this court,” said Krejcikova of Azarenka.

Keys raced past Spain’s Paula Badosa, seeded eight, 6-3, 6-1.

Keys, who beat 2020 champion Sofia Kenin in the first round, said she had brought a fresh perspective into 2022 after struggling with the Covid-enforced bubble life on tour last year.

“I don’t really thrive when my entire life becomes about tennis,” she said.

MELBOURNE — World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev was stepping up his march towards the Australian Open men’s title as former finalist Simona Halep swept into the second week in Melbourne and Aryna Sabalenka overcame the serving yips on Saturday.

Halep swatted aside Danka Kovinic, the conqueror of US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 6-2, 6-1 in just 64 minutes and will face French veteran Alize Cornet on Monday for a place in the quarter-final.

The fit-again Halep came into the tournament full of confidence after her first title in 16 months earlier this month at a Melbourne warm-up event and was always in charge.

“I feel great that I can play the fourth round again. I always love to play in Australia so that’s why maybe I play good matches,” said Halep.

Seeded 14, Halep has been in insatiable form, dropping just nine games in her opening two matches, and she carried it into her clash against the 27-year-old.

Cornet slugged it out with Slovenia’s 29th seed Tamara Zidansek for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory and said she was just glad to get through on a hot day.

“It was mostly about survival,” said Cornet, who produced a stunning upset of World No. 3 Garbine Muguruza in round two.

World No. 2 Sabalenka overcame the serving problems that have been plaguing her early season, but still needed three sets to get past 31st seed Marketa Vondrousova.

The Belarusian had served 70 double faults in her previous four matches in 2022, but only tallied 10 as she beat the Czech 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

She now meets unseeded Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi who overpowered Australian wildcard Madison Inglis 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.

“I’m really happy right now and mostly happy that I made only 10 double faults,” said Sabalenka, a semifinalist last year at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

American World No. 30 Danielle Collins, who seems to raise her game in Melbourne where she was a semifinalist three years ago, is also through to the last 16 after battling past tenacious Danish teenager Carla Tauson 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

‘Long battle’

Collins, the 27th seed, was a set and 1-3 down against the emerging star before fighting back.

“It was a long battle and super happy to be able to pull it out,” said Collins.

She now has a last-16 clash against the 2018 semifinalist Elise Mertens, after the Belgian 19th-seed cruised past China’s Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-2.

In the men’s draw, US Open champion Medvedev cemented his status as tournament favourite by overcoming the mercurial Nick Kyrgios in four sets in a raucous second-round encounter.

Medvedev, the de facto top seed after Novak Djokovic was deported on the eve of the tournament, faces a more conventional opponent in Dutch World No. 57 Botic van de Zandschulp for a place in the last 16.

But he will not take his opponent lightly. “Grand Slams are tough, there are going to be tough opponents,” said Medvedev.

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is a potential semifinal opponent for Medvedev, but first he needs to get past seasoned French World No. 56 Benoit Paire on Rod Laver Arena.

The weight of British expectation falls entirely on the shoulders of 24th seed Dan Evans after Andy Murray and Raducanu made early exits.

The last Brit standing had an unexpected day off on Thursday when his French opponent Arthur Rinderknech pulled out with injury giving him a walkover into the third round.

Evans faces in-form ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was part of Canada’s ATP Cup-winning team in Sydney earlier this month.

There is an intriguing clash between fifth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia and 2018 Melbourne Park finalist Marin Cilic of Croatia that has the potential to be a late-night classic on Margaret Court Arena.

Cilic pushed Roger Federer to five sets in the final four years ago and the big-serving 27th seed is capable of upsetting anyone.

MELBOURNE — Daniil Medvedev tamed Nick Kyrgios to surge into the Australian Open third round on Thursday and avoid joining Garbine Muguruza and Emma Raducanu on the list of high-profile casualties.

Also out on a day of shocks was former World No. 1 Andy Murray, losing to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel in straight sets, as the Grand Slam roared into life on day four.

Second seed Medvedev is the highest seed left in the men's draw and the favourite after the deportation of reigning champion Novak Djokovic on the eve of the tournament.

But the 25-year-old Russian faced a stern test of his title credentials — and temperament — in the face of an unpredictable but talented Kyrgios, who revved up the home crowd in their prime-time evening showdown.

The 26-year-old Australian beat Medvedev, the reigning US Open champion and last year's losing finalist in Melbourne, in their only two previous clashes.

It was a madhouse inside Rod Laver Arena with showman Kyrgios dealing out all his assortment of unplayable serves and tweeners before a partisan home crowd, while embroiled in a running battle with the chair umpire.

But calculating Medvedev dealt with it all to ease through 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 and will now face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round.

Medvedev was not happy with some of the antics of the crowd.

"I came to win this match and I am happy that I was able to do so," he said.

"It's not your choice when you get booed between first and second serves, it's not easy, I just had to stay calm."

Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, chasing a maiden major, also fought his way through 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 over former World No. 1 junior Sebastian Baez of Argentina.

"I'm glad I overcame that obstacle today. Lots of fighting, a little bit of swearing, but I'm glad to be in the third round," said Tsitsipas, who is next up against the talented but moody Frenchman Benoit Paire.

There was to be no fairytale run for Britain's three-time major champion Murray, going down 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to 120th-ranked Daniel, who moves into the third round of a Slam for the first time.

The 34-year-old Murray, who had career-saving hip surgery in 2019 and thought that he may never return to the Australian Open, appeared weary after emerging from a five-set epic in the first round.

Safely through round two was fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who will now face Marin Cilic, the 27th seed from Croatia who lost the 2018 Australian Open final to Roger Federer.

Australian wildcard Chris O'Connell pulled off an upset with a straight-sets win over 13th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.

Suffering Raducanu out

There were more shocks in the women's draw, with third seed Muguruza, US Open champion Raducanu and sixth seed Anett Kontaveit all suffering upsets.

The 19-year-old Raducanu, the 17th seed but making her debut in Melbourne, struggled with blisters on her serving hand as Montenegro's Danka Kovinic defeated the Briton 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

WTA Finals winner Muguruza is also out, losing 6-3, 6-3 to 61st-ranked veteran Alize Cornet.

"I am a bit of a dinosaur on the tour," said Cornet, who turns 32 on Saturday.

Kontaveit, seen by many as a serious title contender after a breakout 2021, committed 27 unforced errors as she was stunned 6-2, 6-4 by fast-rising Danish teenager Clara Tauson.

But second seed Aryna Sabalenka lives to fight another day, just, after coming from a set down for the second successive match to beat China's World No. 100 Wang Xinyu.

The Belarusian has struggled with her serve since arriving in Australia and totted up 19 double faults — six in the opening game alone — before managing to drag herself through 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Russia's Daniil Medvedev hits a return against Australia's Nick Kyrgios during their men's singles match at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday

LONDON — Emma Raducanu will reach the top level of women’s tennis but first must absorb the lessons from her dizzying rise, says the director of a charity that helped fund her eye-catching journey.

The British player stunned the sport by winning last year’s US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier without dropping a set, beating fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

She returned to the Grand Slam arena at the Australian Open on Tuesday, beating former US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 despite testing positive for coronavirus a few weeks ago.

The victory in Melbourne was a much-needed confidence boost after a disappointing set of results since her triumph in New York.

Raducanu benefited from funding from Tennis First, an organisation set up in 1999 to help young players on the pathway to professional tennis.

Ken Weatherley, the charity’s director, is in no doubt that 18th-ranked Raducanu has the tools to be one of the world’s top players but says she faces challenges adjusting to life on tour.

“She will be a top player in my opinion because she has all the attributes, but who knows?” he told AFP.

“She may get injured. But my expectation is that her ranking will fall to perhaps below 50 while she absorbs all the lessons she needs to absorb on the professional tour.”

He added: “Emma is 19 now and one of the things that she will have to deal with is being on the road and she will live I expect a different existence because she has been at school until recently.”

Weatherley describes Raducanu’s astonishing run in New York last year as “mega-exceptional” but points out that she had a relatively kind draw at Flushing Meadows.

“It would be foolhardy of anybody to think she could maintain that kind of level right away because she hardly played tennis before Wimbledon last year because of Covid and she’s not the finished article by any means,” he said.

Tennis First

The aim of Tennis First is to help young players in Britain who have the attributes and mindset required to reach a world ranking of 250 and higher.

Weatherley said talent can stand out but it is more difficult to assess whether a player has all the other key ingredients to make it to the top.

“In the first instance, it’s not difficult sometimes to see that someone like Jack Draper [a British player ranked 213 on the men’s ATP Tour] or Emma Raducanu have got ability, exceptional hand-eye coordination for instance,” he said.

“What is more difficult is to get behind what the player is like and what their mental and physical attributes are and what happens on their journey. Lots of people have injuries which stop them fulfilling their potential.

“It’s much more difficult to see what’s in their head and at the highest level you have to have a very good tennis brain.”

Weatherley says the expectations of the British public are higher than they ought to be, buoyed by the success of three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray.

He points out the relatively small number of players, the lack of facilities and competition from other sports such as cricket.

“France produces maybe 10 times as many good players, top-100 players, or something like that, and it’s a reflection of how many people play the game at grassroots’ level,” he said.

Weatherley said it was difficult to assess the impact of Raducanu’s success on British tennis yet but pointed to an uptick in the number of players who took up the sport during the coronavirus lockdown.

“One of the things that happened because of lockdown and Covid was there was a rush of new people to play tennis and that was because it was one of the only forms of exercise you could take because it was outdoors,” he said.

“I’m sure there are a lot of children who watched that [Raducanu’s US Open win] and having seen what’s happened to her will be persuaded to play tennis. Whether they stay or not is a much longer-term question.”

AMMAN — The national football team has restarted its agenda and leaves to the UAE on Thursday to hold a training camp and play 110th ranked New Zealand in a friendly in Abu Dhabi on January 28.

Jordan recently went up one spot to 90th in the latest FIFA Rankings, holding 13th spot in Asia, and still lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams compared with their best ranking of 37th in 2004.  Iran leads Asian standings followed by Japan, Korea, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, Iraq, Oman, Uzbekistan and Syria.

As the line-up for the upcoming match and its preceding camp was announced, coach Adnan Hamad enlisted seven new players including Ramtha’s ace Mohammad Abu Zureiq, who led his club to their first league title in 39 years, while Baha’ Faisal was dropped after he sustained an ACL injury in the Arab Cup.

In the team’s latest friendlies, Jordan beat world 113th ranked Kosovo 2-0, 84th ranked Uzbekistan 3-0, 154th ranked Malaysia 4-0 and 90th ranked Bahrain 2-1. The team lost to 95th ranked Belarus 1-0 and to 87th ranked Haiti 2-0.

After an early exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the national team needs to go through another stage of qualifying to get to the 2023 Asian Cup. The draw will be held in Kuala Lumpur on February 24 while the qualifiers will be held from June 8-14.

The squad ended 2021 on a good note after an impressive showing in the FIFA Arab Cup — Qatar 2021 which was organised by FIFA and included 16 teams from Africa and the Middle East returning to the competition after a nine year break. 

Jordan finished second in Group C after it beat Saudi Arabia 1-0, losing, 4-0 to titleholders Morocco before beating Palestine 5-1 in the group stages. The top two teams of the four competing groups move to the quarters where Jordan put up a strong performance before losing to Egypt 3-1 in extra time. 

The Kingdom had taken part in the past nine of 10 editions of the Arab Cup and hosted the 1988 edition, with it best showing fourth in 1988 and semifinalists in 2002. 

Looking back at the Jordan’s best performance, the team was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie. The World Cup qualifying Round 3 was the furthest Jordan reached in the past 7 times since taking part the 1986 qualifiers. 

In the Asian Cup, Jordan has reached the tournament four times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972: the highlight was at the 13th Asian Cup in 2004, when Jordan lost to Japan in the quarterfinals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011, 2015 and 2019.

U-23 team eyes 

Asian draw

Meanwhile, Jordan’s national U-23 team will also regroup to hold a training camp as they prepare for the 5th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in Uzbekistan in June 2022.

 The team is waiting for the February 17 draw after they booked a qualifying spot from Group F in Asian U-23 qualifiers as 39 teams played for 15 spots to join hosts Uzbekistan in the final championship which will be held in Central Asia for the first time.

It will be the 5th time for Jordan in the Asian U-23 championship. In 2014, Jordan finished third; in 2016, it reached the quarter-finals; in 2018, Jordan was knocked out of Round 1; and in 2020, it reached the quarter-finals.

On the regional scene, Jordan won the title of the 2021 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship in which they beat hosts Saudi Arabia in the final. 

 In 2015, Jordan was eliminated in the group stages of the first edition of the WAFF U-23 Championship won by Iran, before they moved to the Central Asian Football Association.

LOS ANGELES — Darius Garland scored 22 points and delivered 12 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers stretched their winning streak to five games with a 114-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

The Cavaliers dominated on offence and defense down the stretch, holding the Nets to just two points during the final 3:43 of the fourth quarter.

Issac Okoro scored 15 points and Lauri Markkanen, Kevin Love and Jarrett Allen each added 14 points for the Cavs, who avenged two losses to the Nets back in November.

“It’s a signature win for us against a high-level team,” Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff said. “Obviously with reasons why and excuses coming back off that long road trip and all those things, playing against two of the most elite players in our league, and our guys figuring out a way.

“To me, the most impressive thing is you hold a team like that to 19 points in the fourth quarter.”

The Cavaliers win comes on a day the NBA honoured the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. with special ceremonies and video tributes throughout the 14 games on Monday.

Rookie Evan Mobley tallied 12 points for Cleveland in front of a crowd of 18,100 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Arena in Cleveland.

The Nets were playing their first full game without NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant, who is sidelined with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Part-time Nets player Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 27 points but made just two baskets in the fourth quarter when it mattered the most. Irving, who is unvaccinated, is barred from playing all but the Nets’ away games because of New York’s COVID-19 health and safety rules.

“You can’t replace Kev,” said Irving. “It’s impossible. We just faced that reality right now.”

Irving said he has no regrets about missing games because of his COVID-19 beliefs.

“I’m not going to ever try to convince anyone of anything or any of that, I’m just standing rooted in what I believe in... I’m protected by all the doctors I’ve talked to. And I just stand rooted,” Irving said.

Cleveland never trailed in the contest after Markkanen hit an uncontested three point shot with just over three minutes remaining. 

The Nets missed five consecutive shots until Irving made a layup with 53 seconds left to up the score to 110-107.

In Florida, CJ McCollum scored 16 points in his first game back from a collapsed lung as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Orlando Magic 98-88.

McCollum missed 17 games over six weeks after being injured December 4. He started but saw limited action on Monday as the Trail Blazers try to ease him back into the line-up.

Worked hard

“I worked extremely hard over the last two weeks to recondition, build my body back and getting up shots. And I think you can tell,” McCollum said.

In Washington, Kyle Kuzma tallied 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Montrezl Harrell finished with 18 points as the Wizards defeated the under-manned Philadelphia 76ers 117-98.

Thomas Bryant added 15 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 14 and Bradley Beal had 13 for the Wizards. Rui Hachimura and Corey Kispert had 11 apiece.

The short-handed Sixers played without several key injured players, including Matisse Thybulle, Danny Green and Shake Milton.

Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 32 points and eight rebounds as the Sixers had their two-game win streak halted. It was the 11th consecutive road game that Embiid produced at least 30 points.

“Dog days of the NBA, but you’ve got to fight through that,” said Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, who scored 18 points. “We started out slow, and it’s hard to come back once you start out slow.”