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PARIS — World champions France booked its place at next year’s World Cup in Qatar in style as Kylian Mbappe fired in four goals in an 8-0 thrashing of Kazakhstan at the Parc des Princes on Saturday. 

Karim Benzema scored twice and there were further goals for Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann whose penalty marked his 42nd goal for France, taking him ahead of Michel Platini.

Only Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (46) have scored more for France. 

The French will be joined at the finals by neighbours Belgium as the world’s top-ranked team saw off Estonia 3-1 in Brussels to ensure top spot in Group E ahead of Gareth Bale’s Wales who beat Belarus 5-1 in Cardiff. 

The Netherlands, which missed out on the 2018 World Cup, looked on course to join them as they led Montenegro 2-0 going into the last 10 minutes of their encounter in Podgorica. 

However, the Dutch conceded two goals in the last 10 minutes to draw 2-2. They still top Group G but are just two points ahead of Turkey and Norway. 

On the sixth anniversary of the 2015 attacks in Paris which claimed the lives of 130 people, France put on a spectacular show for their supporters.

Mbappe set the ball rolling when he put the world champions ahead after just six minutes. 

The Paris Saint-Germain star, playing on his home ground, added a second six minutes later and completed his first hat-trick for France with a thundering header just after the half-hour.

Leading 3-0 at the break, France turned up the heat even more in the second half as Benzema struck twice before Rabiot and Griezmann had their moments in the spotlight. 

It was fitting that Mbappe had the final say, stroking home his fourth to complete the rout three minutes from time.

France top Group D, leaving Finland and Ukraine to scrap over second place. 

“A World Cup is a dream, an aim, it’s everything and it’s a unique chance to play in a team that can win it. We’re going over there to win it,” Mbappe said.

The Finns have a two-point advantage going into the final round of matches after seeing off Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1.

The Finns had Jukka Raitala sent off before half-time, but goals from Brentford forward Marcus Forss, Robin Lod and Daniel O’Shaughnessy sealed the win.

Belgium comfortable

Belgium had dropped just a single point in qualifying up to this point and knew that victory over Estonia would guarantee them top spot in Group E. 

Manager Roberto Martinez, however, was without furst-choice strikers Romelu Lukaku, Mitchy Batshuayi and Touri Tielemans who were all injured. 

That meant a call-up for Christian Benteke and the Crystal Palace forward did not disappoint, taking his chance to press his claims by netting the opener after just 11 minutes. 

“I know I’m only the third choice in the hierarchy of the forwards but I’m not giving up,” said Benteke. 

“The place in the squad for Qatar will be earned on the pitch.”

Yannick Carrasco doubled the lead eight minutes into the second half and although Erik Sorga pulled one back for the visitors, Thorgan Hazard put the game to bed shortly after. 

That win meant that Wales, which had already secured a place in the play-offs, would not be able to catch them.

The Welsh, however, boosted by the presence of Bale making his 100th appearance, produced their own impressive show with Aaron Ramsay scoring twice on a noisy night in Cardiff.

The Dutch, meanwhile, who would have qualified with a win over Montenegro, will rue careless defending after Memphis Depay had scored twice to give them a 2-0 lead.

Ilija Vukotic marked his international debut with a goal in the 82nd minute to give the home side some hope and four minutes later Nikola Vujnovic looped in a header to halt the orange march to Qatar.

“The way we played in the second half was just outrageous,” Dutch captain Virgil Van Dijk told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

“Our organisation was just awful. We should have qualified here.” 

The Dutch are just two points ahead of Turkey, who put six past Gibraltar, and Norway who proved toothless without the injured Erling Braut Haaland as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Latvia in Oslo. 

The Dutch host Norway in Rotterdam on Tuesday in the final round of matches while Turkey travel to Montenegro.

France and Belgium join Denmark and Germany as confirmed qualifiers from Europe with the other six automatic places to be settled over the course of the final matchday.

AMMAN — Jordan took on Lebanon in the final of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2021 (Division B) Saturday evening, in a tournament that will go down in memory for the hosts regardless of final results.

Lebanon beat Jordan 80-40 in the final match of the tournament, and took first place in Division B. They were thus promoted to Division A for the 2023 tournament, replacing India which finished last in Division A.

In the third place match, Indonesia beat Kazakhstan 79-55. In an earlier game, Syria beat Iran 63-58 to take fifth place as the latter finished last.

The fact that Jordan made it to the final, after the national team was absent from Asian competitions since 1995, was an achievement in itself.

The team’s performance in the first round recharged the game for fans and former players. Jordan beat Indonesia and Kazakhstan to top Group B on their way to the semis and beat Kazakhstan 61-56 in a hard fought semifinal. They thus advanced to play the final against Lebanon which also had to put up a big effort in their win over agile Indonesia 76-62 in the other semifinal.

Jordan’s coach Faisal Nsour commended his squad’s efforts, who regrouped around 6 weeks ago and were boosted with the pro player who perfectly fit the team. Nsour described the WNBA’s Natasha Emily Cloud’s performance as “a team player who knows what needs to be done, to score, defend and win.” And that was a perfect description of Cloud’s performance, especially in the semifinal when she carried the team, as key teammates were held down by the Kazakh squad scoring 25 points and had 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

“I am a player that even when I am home and I am playing for the Washington Mystics, my job is to be a facilitator first, but also knowing I can score if I need to. That is my job here with Jordan too, “ Cloud was quoted on fiba.com as saying.

Most observers initially thought Jordan would finish in 5-6th positions. Advancing to the final and meeting Lebanon, playing in their 5th Women’s Asia Cup, was not contemplated.

However, Jordan, scored three consecutive wins on its way to the final led by Washington Mystics player Cloud and Maria Al Hinn, combining with Rasha Abdo and Zara Najjar, to give fans a memorable tournament. 

In the first stage, the top team from each group automatically moved to the semis: Jordan topped Group B after the two wins 76-64 over Indonesia and 72-51 over Kazakhstan while Lebanon, topped Group A after overcoming Iran 66-64 and Syria 83-63. 

The second and third in each group played a knockout round: Kazakhstan beat Syria 87-69 while Indonesia beat Iran 76-68. The winners advanced to play the group leaders in the semis, The losers played for last two spots.

Missing the event were Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Singapore.

Jordan was back to the competition after an absence of 26 years when the squad first took part in Shizuoka, Japan in 1995. That historic participation was the Kingdom’s first ever Asian appearance for a women’s sports team. Jordan then won one match, beating Indonesia 58-55, and lost to Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia to finish 11th.

The FIBA Women’s Asia Cup is an international basketball tournament which takes place every two years for national teams from FIBA Asia region, with teams classified to two divisions: FIBA Women’s Asia Cup (Division A) was recently held in Amman with the top four teams qualifying to the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Australia. A major tournament with leading teams from the continent participating, the tournament marked the first time the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2021 Division A is held in an Arab country.

Reigning titleholders Japan made it past China in the final of the 29th edition of the tournament. Australia scored a major upset over South Korea in the battle for third place. New Zealand took 5th spot after beating Chinese Taipei and the Philippines secured 7th spot after narrowly overcoming India. The latter was relegated to Division B of the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup after putting up a big fight for their spot in Division A.

The same eight teams from the last Division A edition had qualified to this years’ tournament, listed by their final position. Division B was not held in 2019.

In addition to the Women’s Asia Cup Divisions A & B, Jordan will again host the FIBA Asia U-18 Championship for Women in 2022, which qualifies the winners to the FIBA U-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.

AMMAN — It’s down to the final four, and Jordan has a shot at the top spot.

On Friday, the hosts will play the semis of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2021 (Division B) — and are one win away from the final match.

The team's performance has recharged the game for fans and former players. Now, all hope is that the squad, who beat Indonesia and Kazakhstan to top Group B on their way to the semis can repeat their win over Kazakhstan in Friday's semifinal and advance to play the winner of the Lebanon versus Indonesia semifinal in the tournament's title match on Saturday. 

"I'm very proud of our squad. We not only got lucky with our pro player who perfectly fits the team, but the players are very determined and worked on resolving all gaps during our training camp," Jordan's coach Faisal Nsour told The Jordan Times.

Most observers initially thought Jordan would finish in 5-6th position. Now the team is favoured to win their rematch against Kazakhstan in the semifinal and advance to meet Lebanon, playing in their 5th Women's Asia Cup.

Jordan, led by Maria Al Hinn, Zara Najjar, Rasha Abdo and Dana Fadda have combined with the WNBA Washington Mystics player Natasha Emily Cloud to give fans a memorable tournament. Nsour noted Cloud's performance as "a team player who knows what needs to be done, to score, defend and win."

"Lebanon have the history and competitive experience, but we have the zeal and home advantage. We hope to go further and be a constant competitor in the FIBA Women's Asia Cup," he added.

In the first stage, the top team from each group automatically moved to the semis : Jordan topped Group B after the two wins 76-64 over Indonesia and 72-51 over Kazakhstan and while Lebanon, topped Group A after overcoming Iran 66-64 and Syria 83-63. 

The second and third in each group played a knockout round: Kazakhstan beat Syria 87-69 while Indonesia beat Iran 76-68. The winners advanced to play the group leaders in the semis (Indonesia take on Lebanon at 4pm and Jordan versus Kazakhstan at 7pm). The losers, Iran and Syria, will play for 5-6 spots at 1pm on Friday.

The top team in the tournament will be promoted to Division A. Missing the event are Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Singapore.

Jordan is back at the competition after an absence of 26 years when the squad took part in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1995, in circumstances that are very different from this day. The players then actually fundraised themselves with team managers to cover the trip's expenses and that historic participation was the Kingdom's first ever Asian appearance for a women's sports team. Jordan then won one match beating Indonesia 58-55, and lost to Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia to finish 11th.

Asian basketball teams are classified to two divisions: FIBA Women's Asia Cup (Division A) was recently held in Amman with the top four teams qualifying to the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Australia. A major tournament with leading teams from the continent participating, the tournament marked the first time the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2021 Division A is held in an Arab country.

Reigning titleholders Japan made it past China in the final of the 29th edition of the tournament. Australia scored a major upset over South Korea in the battle for third place. New Zealand took 5th spot after beating Chinese Taipei and the Philippines secured 7th spot after narrowly overcoming India. The latter was relegated to Division B of the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup after putting up a big fight for their spot in Division A.

The same eight teams from the last Division A edition had qualified to this years' tournament, listed by their final position. Division B was not held in 2019. 

The FIBA Women's Asia Cup is an international basketball tournament which takes place every two years for national teams from FIBA Asia region. It was known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Championship until 2001, and the FIBA Asia Women's Championship until 2015. Japan are Division A titleholders and five-time winners, South Korea 12 time winners, China 11 time winners.

Among Arab teams, Division B saw Syria play in 1986 (finishing 9th), Jordan in 1995 (finishing 11th) and Lebanon playing three times in Division B: 2001 (finishing 13th), 2009 (finishing 8th), 2017 (finishing 11th) and once in Division A in 2011 (finishing 5th out of six teams competing).

In addition to the Women’s Asia Cup Divisions A & B, Jordan will again host the FIBA Asia U-18 Championship for Women in 2022, which qualifies the winners to the FIBA U-19 Women's Basketball World Cup. Jordan took part in FIBA Asia U-18 in 1996 and finished 8th, and hosted the event in 2014 and finished 11th. In the FIBA Asia U-16 Championship for Women, Jordan played in 2013 and finished 11th.

In men's events, Jordan qualified to the FIBA Asia Cup after an unbeaten streak in qualifiers. The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 will be played in Jakarta, Indonesia, in July 2022, right after the window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asia qualifiers.

Jordan's best showing at the FIBA Asia Cup (previously named FIBA Asia Championship) was third in 2009 and runner-up in 2011 when they reached the final for the first time in the country's history, but lost the chance of qualifying to the 2012 Olympic Games after losing the final 70-69 to China. Jordan then played the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but lost to Puerto Rico and Greece and was eliminated. 

On the world scene, Jordan previously reached the FIBA Basketball World Cup — the world's premier basketball competition twice — in 2010 and 2019. The basketball squad was the first and only Jordanian team to actually reach a World Cup in a team sport alongside the junior men's team in 1995.

SAO PAULO — Max Verstappen is hoping to avoid any 'sprint weekend heartache' and move within sight, if not reach, of claiming the Formula One world championship at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

After winning last Sunday's Mexican race, Red Bull's series leader has a 19-point advantage ahead of defending seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, but he knows that lead can be overturned if he fails to finish.

He knows, too, that at the last two events where a Saturday sprint race was included, the embattled pair collided in the main contest and he was unable to continue, or score any points.

At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July, their high-speed opening lap collision resulted in Verstappen crashing out and being taken to hospital for observation while Hamilton claimed victory for Mercedes.

In Italy, two months later, they tangled again with Verstappen's car climbing across the trapped Hamilton's cockpit. Both were eliminated and the bad feelings between the teams following the first crash were revived in more acrimonious exchanges.

"It's difficult to say how competitive we are going to be in Brazil," said the Dutchman. 

"We won in 2019, but it was a close battle all the way and I expect something similar this time.

"It's also a sprint race weekend.... I tend to do well in the sprint, but then I get bad race results so this time let's try and turn it around."

The sprawling Interlagos circuit, with its undulating track and dipping and bucking corners, has a history of incident-filled and dramatic races and is often run in very warm, humid and demanding conditions that test cars, drivers and their tempers to their limits.

Verstappen won last time the race was run in 2019 and Hamilton in 2016 and 2018, but for the Briton it has not been a particularly happy hunting ground over the years although he claimed an emotional maiden title triumph by securing a last-gasp fifth place in 2008.

'Down to the wire'

Following last weekend's resounding defeat, Hamilton needs a dose of the youthful vim he demonstrated then to halt Verstappen's run of four consecutive wins to re-boot his fading title defence.

He will need 'silver arrows' teammate Valtteri Bottas to deliver something special too after taking pole last weekend, but failing to exploit it when he allowed Verstappen to sweep around him at turn one and go from third to first. 

That led to Red Bull's first-and-third result to move them within a point of Mercedes in the constructors' championship, a title the champion team has held for seven years.

For team boss Toto Wolff, it is his first major challenge after a run of unbroken success.

"We'll be throwing everything we've got at the Brazilian Grand Prix and the races beyond," he declared.

"We're privileged to still be in the fight so late in the season and expect these titles to go right down to the wire with both teams fighting hard to the very last lap.

"We've got some catching up to do and know it'll be an intense battle, but we'll continue to push hard and keep our eyes firmly set on the end goal."

His and Hamilton's experience could yet be a telling factor, but as the F1 circus prepares for the second of three consecutive races in an exhausting triple-header it may be the hunger and youth of Red Bull and Verstappen, 12 years the junior, that prevails.

"The best thing about a triple-header is you don't have to wait long for a new opportunity to get the positive momentum back," said Wolff.

"We're excited to be returning to Brazil, the fans are so passionate and Interlagos is such an iconic circuit.

"It's not been our strongest track in recent seasons and has tended to suit Red Bull, but this year has proved anything can happen."

Hamilton also issued a rallying cry after charging Bottas for "leaving the door open" in Mexico. "We are a team — and we win and we lose as a team," he said. "On to the next one Valtteri. Let's keep pushing bro'."

JOHANNESBURG — Liverpool marksman Mo Salah leads Egypt against Angola this weekend with the clear objective of ending his scoring drought to help lift his nation into the final stage of Africa World Cup qualifying.

Qualifying for the 2022 tournament in Qatar intensifies on the continent with the last two group rounds, with victory in Luanda moving Egypt into the next stage as Group F winners. 

Victory will take Salah and his team into the final qualifying phase to decide which five countries represent Africa in Qatar.

AFP Sport highlights matchdays 5 and 6, which run from Thursday through Tuesday, with 21 nations chasing eight final-round places, 17 out of contention and Senegal and Morocco already through.

Group A: Riyad Mahrez-captained African champions Algeria and Burkina Faso are heading for a final round showdown on a Blida pitch publicly criticised by both teams as unsuitable for international football.

While Algeria can pick nine starters from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal, Burkina Faso will lack leading scorer Abdou Traore and Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore due to injuries.

Group B: Victory for Tunisia away to closest challengers Equatorial Guinea will clinch first place with a match to spare, and Wahbi Khazri is a potential match-winner for the Carthage Eagles.

He scored a 68-metre goal recently in the French Ligue 1 and has notched three in four World Cup qualifiers, including the last in a 3-0 home win over the Equatoguineans.

Group C: Nigeria recovered swiftly from a stunning home defeat by the Central African Republic and will take an unassailable lead if they defeat Liberia in matchday 5 and Cape Verde fail to secure maximum points.

The Super Eagles have recalled former Manchester United forward Odion Ighalo and Premier League midfielders Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi have overcome injuries that sidelined them last month. 

Group D: Matchday 5 wins for leaders the Ivory Coast at home to Mozambique and Cameroon away to Malawi will leave one point separating them heading into a final round showdown in Yaounde.

Ivory Coast will miss unavailable Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha while Cameroon have called up Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper Andre Onana, who has completed a lengthy ban for a doping violation.

Group E: Mali appear the strongest of the African challengers who have never qualified for the World Cup and hold a two-point advantage over Uganda in a section where Kenya have fared dismally. 

A Malian Eagles squad including Southampton winger Moussa Djenepo will seal top spot with a match to spare if they win in Rwanda and Uganda fail to secure maximum points when they host Kenya. 

Group F: Former Real Madrid manager and twice Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz has had an immediate impact on Egypt since replacing sacked Hossam El Badry after matchday 2.

Home and away victories over Libya gave the record seven-time African champions a four-point advantage and even if they lose in Angola, a win over Gabon in Alexandria will ensure progress.

Group G: A groin injury could prevent Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey playing for Ghana against Ethiopia, but he is a likely starter in a probable group decider at home to leaders South Africa.

South Africa forward Victor Letsoalo, who has impressed for newcomers Royal AM in the domestic league, misses the home match against Zimbabwe through suspension. 

Group H: Only pride is at stake in a group where Senegal boast a perfect four-match record and clinched first place last month by winning away to Namibia through a Famara Diedhiou hat-trick.

Senegal has a powerful “spine” of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, midfielder Idrissa Gueye and forward Sadio Mane and are expected to qualify for Qatar.

Group I: Morocco has also secured a final-round place, helped by playing away matches against Guinea and Guinea-Bissau at home because of a Conakry coup and a Bissau stadium not up to international standards.

Bottom team Sudan is another country without a suitable venue for World Cup qualifying so they must tackle the Vahid Halilhodzic-coached Moroccans in Rabat. 

Group J: The most intriguing section with co-leaders Benin and Tanzania, top seeds the Democratic Republic of Congo and surprise 2019 Cup of Nations quarter-finalists Madagascar all capable of finishing first.

Madagascar may be four points behind the pacesetters, but will snatch top spot if they defeat Benin and Tanzania and DR Congo draw their two fixtures.

AMMAN — The Jordan national football team faces world 113th ranked Kosovo in a friendly in Pristina on Wednesday in the first match of their European training camp as they prepare for the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar in December.

The team is later set to leave for Minsk to play 95th ranked Belarus on November 16 in their second friendly — the last before the Arab Cup kicks off with the Kingdom playing in Group C alongside, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Palestine. 

Jordan advanced in the preliminary round qualifier, overcoming South Sudan on a technicality after the latter was forced to forfeit the match with over six members of the squad contracting the Corona virus. 

The Kingdom has taken part in past eight Arab Cups and hosted the 1988 edition. Iraq are record Arab Cup titleholders in 1964, 1966 1985 and 1988, Saudi Arabia in 1998 and 2002, Tunisia in 1963, Egypt in 1992 and Morocco in 2012.

As the line-up was announced observers were surprised by coach Adnan Hamad’s decision not to include Ramtha’s Mus’ab Lahham, who led his team to their first league title in 39 years, as well as U-23 national squad leader Mohammad Abdul Mutalleb, who led the team to their 2021 West Asian Football Federation U-23 Championship title, on the roaster.

The national team recently went up three spots to 90th when the latest FIFA Rankings were released. Jordan is now 13th in Asia, still lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams compared to its best ranking of 37th in 2004.  Iran leads Asian standings followed by Japan, Australia, Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, China, Oman, Uzbekistan and Syria.

Last month, Jordan hosted a three nation tournament in Amman, in which they beat 84th ranked Uzbekistan 3-0 and 154th ranked Malaysia 4-0. The two wins made up for the squad’s dismal performance after Jordan lost to little known Haiti 2-0 and managed a 2-1 win over Bahrain which beat Haiti lost 6-1 in the first friendly tourney since coach Hamad took over after the removal of Belgian Vital Borkelmans following the early exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Jordan now needs to go through another stage of qualifying to get to the 2023 Asian Cup. 

Looking back at the Jordan’s top showing, 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 seven times since 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 they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th. They also reached the Asian Cup finals in 2011, 2015 and 2019.

PARIS — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won a sixth Paris title and record 37th Masters crown on Sunday, beating 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

The 34-year-old Serbian gained a measure of revenge over his Russian opponent who dashed his dreams of a Grand Slam sweep in the US Open final in September.

The Masters title secured Djokovic’s second record in as many days after he was confirmed as season-ending World No. 1 for a seventh time.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner said he approached the final in a relaxed frame of mind after wrapping up the World No. 1 landmark.

Djokovic had not been too concerned when he went a set down against a man he considers “the complete player” and who he expects to be World No. 1 in the future.

“It was a very close match decided by small margins based on a few points here and there,” he said.

“I was very pleased how I held my nerves at the end and took the match point.

“I wanted to finish the end of season with a trophy and did not want to lock myself mentally and physically in stressful mode.

“I knew things would come together and I would work my way into the match.”

Djokovic said he had felt no hangover from the US Open defeat.

“I mean, I already closed that chapter,” he said.

“I am not regretting it or spending days suffering because I did not take the calendar slam this year.

“I have moved on from that and focussed on Masters event and came here and achieved what I wanted to do.” 

Medvedev said Djokovic — who he calls his “friend” — was stronger on the crucial points.

“I don’t like losing, so I cannot say I am happy, I don’t even like losing at Play Station!” said Medvedev at his press conference.

“But I gave everything and maybe I could have done a winner here or there or served one or two more aces.

“When you lose a match you always have the feelings that you can do a bit better. Trouble was Novak won the crucial points and apart form the first set I did not.

“However, I take consolation in having given everything against the best player in the world of all time. It was a good battle.”

 ‘Serbian spectator’ 

In an entertaining contest, befitting a duel between the top two in the world, Djokovic again had to come back from a set down after needing three sets to beat Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals.

It was only the second time the top two in the ATP rankings had clashed in the Paris final.

Sunday’s crowd got better value than French fans on the previous occasion in 1990 when Boris Becker retired injured at 3-3 in the first set against then No. 1 Stefan Edberg.

The pivotal game on Sunday came as Djokovic served to level the match, saving two break points before securing the second set on his third set point after 11 minutes.

Djokovic pressed home the advantage, breaking Medvedev twice in the deciding set to move to 5-2 with the Russian showing his frustration by firing a ball into the crowd and having words with the umpire as he sat down.

“Just before I hit the serve, so you cannot really stop the motion, somebody scream something,” Medvedev said.

“So, yeah, I got mad because crucial, crucial moment, 5-2 for him, double break, even if I manage to get the break back, we all know that against Novak it’s tough to actually come back from this score.” said Medvedev.

“I got mad because it was not nice, and it was done on purpose.

“It was done by Serbian spectator,” Medvedev said.

“I hope he doesn’t watch tennis anymore.”

That appeared to briefly fire Medvedev up as he got a break back in the next game but his serve once again let him down and it was Djokovic who raised his arms in celebration.

LAS VEGAS — Saul “Canelo” Alvarez made history Saturday, knocking out Caleb Plant in the 11th round to become the first undisputed world super middleweight champion, unifying all four major belts in less than 12 months. 

The 31-year-old added the IBF belt to his WBC, WBA and WBO straps in a winner-takes-all showdown at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas to join an exclusive club.

Mexico’s Alvarez knocked Plant down twice in the 11th; the first time with a stinging left hook, followed up by a thundering right uppercut.

Plant got up but the American was still wobbly and in a fog as Alvarez chased him around the ring. 

Alvarez pummelled Plant with rights and lefts to drop him for good at 1:05 of the round.

The Mexican had seized the WBA and WBC titles by defeating Callum Smith in December 2020.

He defended them successfully by overpowering Avni Yildirim in February and then clobbered Billy Joe Saunders six months ago to grab the WBO belt.

Alvarez came into the bout as a heavy favourite to become the first Mexican four-belt champion.

With a complete collection of 168-pound titles, he becomes just the sixth fighter since the WBO began sanctioning world title fights in 1988 to hold all four belts from the separate governing bodies at the same time. 

Only five other boxers — Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight), Bernard Hopkins (middleweight), Jermain Taylor (middleweight), Terence Crawford (super-lightweight) and Josh Taylor (super-lightweight) — have held all four belts.

“It hasn’t been easy to get to this point,” Alvarez said. “With my team I have gone really far. 

“This is for everybody, especially for Mexico. We did it tonight. We are only six. It keeps me happy and motivated to be one of the six undisputed fighters in the world.”

Alvarez improved to 57-1-2 with 39 knockouts in handing Plant the first defeat of his career. Plant is now 21-1 with 12 KOs.

Even though Plant was fighting in his home country, he was booed during the introductions as the majority of the Las Vegas crowd was cheering for Alvarez throughout the fight.

Alvarez won just about every round leading up to the 11th, but still Plant proved to be an awkward opponent. Alvarez needed a spectacular KO to put a stamp on what up until then had been a mediocre performance.

Both fighters used the first round to feel each other out. They stuck to their game plans in the second round with Alvarez landing left hooks to the head and Plant sneaking in a few jabs.

Plant lost all but one round in the first half of the fight but he did a good job of staying out of trouble, slipping punches and weathering the coming storm. By the sixth round Plant’s jab had lost some of its snap as his lack of power started to show.

Alvarez was warned for a low blow in the fifth but he also landed one of his best left hooks in the round right on the button that hurt Plant. He grew more confident as he started to realise that Plant couldn’t hurt him with his now pawing punches.

In the 10th round, Plant got more careless and his jab completely disappeared. He tried to fight in close but couldn’t get through Alvarez’s stingy defence.

Halfway through the 11th Alvarez caught Plant with a vicious left hook and then followed it up right away with a right uppercut as Plant was going down.

Plant rose but it was clear the end was near. After a brief conversation with the referee the fight continued and Alvarez could smell blood. He went on the attack, charging forward and swarming Plant with a flurry of rights and lefts, finally putting on the finishing touches with a straight right to the head.

Alvarez said Plant, 29, wanted to keep going but he told him he should stop.

“He wanted to continue. I told him there is no shame. Of course I came out on top,” said Alvarez.