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PARIS — The truncated 2020 tennis season came to an end on Sunday when Daniil Medvedev defeated Dominic Thiem in the championship match of the ATP Finals in London.

AFP Sport looks at five things to remember from the coronavirus-impacted year:

Djokovic’s rollercoaster

Novak Djokovic started the year with an eighth Australian Open and 17th Grand Slam title and finished it by equalling Pete Sampras’s record as a year-end World No. 1 for a sixth time.

In between, however, the darker side of the 33-year-old emerged.

While the sport went into coronavirus lockdown, the Serb launched his ill-fated Adria Tour in June.

With no social distancing and with players pictured dancing shirtless at a packed nightclub, Djokovic became one of a number of players to test positive for coronavirus.

Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki also became ill and the project was abandoned.

“You can’t be dancing on tables, money-grabbing your way around Europe or trying to make a quick buck hosting the next exhibition. That’s just so selfish,” said Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios.

Djokovic then saw his hopes of an 18th Slam end with a disqualification from the US Open after inadvertently hitting a line judge with a ball.

His hopes of becoming the first man in half a century to win all four Slams twice ended in a straight sets defeat to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final.

Nadal’s 13th 

Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal had skipped the US Open, where he was defending champion, due to fears over the escalating health crisis in New York.

The decision paid off as he swept to a 13th Roland Garros and 20th career Grand Slam title in Paris in October.

The French Open had been pushed back four months due to the pandemic and Nadal had entered the tournament fearing the heavier balls and autumn conditions would conspire against him.

He need not have worried as he reached the 100-win mark at the tournament without dropping a set, making light of the 1,000 fans a day limit.

The absent Roger Federer, also a 20-time major winner, hailed it as “one of sport’s greatest achievements”.

Game, set, match

The global pandemic closed down tennis from March until August.

Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II while Roland Garros was moved from its traditional May/June slot to September/October.

The Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals were binned as were the ATP and WTA end-of-season Asian swings.

Most events were played behind closed doors. Players racquet-tapped instead of shaking hands and were told to fetch their own towels.

Kenin and Swiatek give Slams new look

Serena Williams’ quest for a record-equalling 24th Slam goes on after another season of frustration at the Slams.

The 39-year-old lost in the third round in Australia, semifinals of the US Open and pulled out injured after the first round of the French Open.

With No. 1 Ashleigh Barty not playing at all after the resumption, something of a power vacuum emerged.

Sofia Kenin had already claimed a maiden Slam at the Australian Open while Naomi Osaka claimed a second US Open and third career major in New York.

Kenin’s hopes of a second Slam in 2020 were undone by charismatic Iga Swiatek of Poland who won a shock French Open.

The 19-year-old, at 54, was the lowest-ranked woman to capture the Roland Garros title in the modern era and was Poland’s first ever major champion.

Freeze — you’re No. 1

The chaos caused to tennis by the pandemic saw the governing bodies freeze world rankings from March, allowing points to extend beyond the traditional 52-week window.

Barty remained World No. 1 despite playing just three events — winning the Adelaide tournament followed by semifinal runs at the Australian Open and Qatar Open.

Former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu didn’t play a single match in 2020 after injuring her knee at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen in October last year.

The Canadian will still finish at seven in the rankings.

Roger Federer will end 2020 ranked at five following a season where he only played the Australian Open before undergoing knee surgery.

LONDON — Manchester United’s inability to turn huge financial resources into a fully functioning team is personified by Paul Pogba’s struggle to justify a place in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s far from outstanding side.

Not for the first time, Pogba spoke of his frustrations at club level on international duty for France last week, where he again shone as the World Cup winners booked their place in the final four of the Nations League.

Brought back to United for a then world record £89 million ($118 million) fee in 2016, Pogba’s second spell at Old Trafford has been one of fits and starts, without ever living up to expectations for long spells.

Repeatedly leaving Pogba out was one of the factors that led to Jose Mourinho’s dismissal as United boss in December 2018. 

But nearly two years on, another manager, Solskjaer, has reached the same conclusion.

Pogba has started just one of United’s last five Premier League games, in which he gave away the match-winning penalty in a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

In three of the four league games Solskjaer has picked Pogba from the start, United have lost at Old Trafford, including a 6-1 humiliation by Tottenham in which the 27-year-old was guilty of conceding another spot-kick.

Where Pogba once had the star power and price tag to justify his place, he is no longer even United’s most influential midfielder.

Bruno Fernandes took his tally to 19 goals in 34 appearances since joining in January from Sporting Lisbon with the winner in an uninspiring 1-0 victory over West Brom on Saturday.

Pogba missed that clash due to a slight injury, but Solskjaer expects him to be fit for Tuesday’s visit of Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League.

Other than a handful of promising performances when the Premier League returned from a three-month shutdown due to coronavirus in June, Solskjaer has yet to find a way to match Fernandes and Pogba in the same midfield without being overrun.

The two started the first three league games of this season together when they conceded 11 goals to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Spurs.

Tellingly, Pogba’s one outstanding club display of the season so far came in a 5-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig in the Champions League, when Fernandes was left on the bench.

‘He cannot be happy’

Much more often, it is Pogba who has been sacrificed with Solskjaer trusting to the industry of Fred and Scott McTominay or Nemanja Matic to balance the midfield.

“He is in a situation with his club where he cannot be happy, neither with his playing time, nor with his positioning,” said France boss Didier Deschamps.

Just last month, United triggered a club option to extend Pogba’s contract by a year to 2022, but that says more about wanting to protect his value in the transfer market than guaranteeing his long-term future at Old Trafford.

Pogba has repeatedly stressed his desire to one day play for Real Madrid, particularly if that means playing under the orders of Zinedine Zidane.

Now blessed with an abundance of midfield options with £40 million signing Donny van de Beek also struggling for game time, United would be open to a sale come the end of the season.

But they would have to accept a huge loss on the fee they paid four years ago unless Pogba can finally start proving his worth.

Solskjaer insisted this week Pogba remains “a very important player”. However, the Norwegian has not been willing to risk his job by keeping him in the team.

Defeat to Basaksehir three weeks ago put the pressure back on Solskjaer after a fine start to United’s Champions League campaign in which they beat two of last season’s semi-finalists, Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain.

The Red Devils cannot risk a repeat when the Turkish champions visit on Tuesday. 

That Solskjaer now tends to leave Pogba on the sidelines when he most needs a win reflects how little return on investment United are getting from their most expensive ever player.

PORTIMAO, Portugal — Miguel Oliveira made the most of home advantage to win the last MotoGP race of the season in Portugal on Sunday.

Jack Miller’s second place ensured that Ducati sealed the constructors’ title.

Oliveira followed up his maiden victory in Styria in August by taking the title at Portimao in what was his first race in the premier class in his home country. 

The KTM Tech 3 rider’s triumph means there was no record-breaking 10th race winner, with Fabio Quartararo, Brad Binder, Andrea Dovizioso, Franco Morbidelli, Maverick Vinales, Danilo Petrucci, Alex Rins and Mir making it nine victors at the end of a highly unpredictable World Championship. 

Morbidelli came out on top of a six-way battle for the runners-up spot, despite being pipped to second place on the last lap by Australian Miller. 

Italian Morbidelli finishes in the overall standings 13 points behind Mir, who had confirmed his first world title in Valencia last weekend. 

Miller’s strong finish meanwhile ensured Ducati claimed the constructors’ title for the first time since 2007 at the expense of Suzuki, whose hopes were dashed after a disappointing weekend for Mir. 

Mir started the race in 20th and had to retire due to electronic problems but the Spaniard will not worry too much, having already become the first Suzuki rider to be crowned champion since 2000. 

Alex Rins took third place overall and Maverick Vinales fourth, meaning Spain boasted three of the championship’s top four. Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who won the first two races of the season, ended up fifth. 

Portimao was hosting the country’s first race in the championship since 2012, with Oliveira already posting a record time in qualifying on Saturday. 

He started in pole position and led all the way through to complete a fairytale victory, the only shame being that there were no fans in the Algarve to see it. 

Oliveira still celebrated by carrying a Portuguese flag around his lap of honour.

Nine-time champion Valentino Rossi, meanwhile, continued a disappointing end to the season for Yamaha by finishing 12th, in what was Rossi’s final appearance before he switches to the satellite team in 2021.

Britain’s Cal Crutchlow was also bidding farewell to his full-time MotoGP career. He enjoyed a bright start but faded, dropping back to 13th.

Australian Remy Gardner secured his first Moto2 victory in Portimao with Italian Eenea Bastianini crowned 2020 world champion.

Spaniard Raul Fernandez won the Moto3 race with compatriot Albert Arenas taking the title after finished 12th after a thrilling finale to the season.

BERLIN — Erling Braut Haaland netted four goals and Youssoufa Moukoko became the youngest player in Bundesliga history on Saturday as Borussia Dortmund routed Hertha Berlin 5-2 to trim Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the table to just a point.

It was the first time the 20-year-old Haaland had scored four goals in a game for Dortmund since his January debut, with all of them coming in the second half.

“I drank a Red Bull at half time, I got some wings and everything was good,” said Haaland.

The Norwegian now has 10 goals in seven Bundesliga matches this season to give him a total of 31 goals in 30 games in all competitions for Dortmund.

After Matheus Cunha gave Hertha a first-half lead at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, Dortmund roared back.

Haaland equalised when he tapped home an Emre Can pass on 47 minutes.

He grabbed his second two minutes later with perfect timing to slip his marker and fire in a Julian Brandt pass.

Haaland wrapped up his hat-trick on 62 minutes, just before Raphael Guerreiro stabbed the ball home from close range to make it 4-1.

Cunha converted a late penalty, but the night belonged to Haaland who finished a move he started with 10 minutes to play.

There was still time for history to be made as Moukoko made a late cameo off the Dortmund bench to replace Haaland.

One day after his 16th birthday, Moukoko is the youngest player in Bundesliga history.

“He’s only just turned 16 — that is amazing,” Haaland said of Moukoko. “He has a big career ahead of him.”

Dortmund’s romp in Berlin moved them second in the standings, behind defending champions Bayern who stayed top despite a 1-1 home draw with Werder Bremen.

Bayern held

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer produced great stops to twice deny US forward Josh Sargent as Bremen earned their first point at Bayern for a decade.

“We had to invest a lot,” Neuer told Sky.

The 34-year-old bounced back after conceding six goals in Germany’s crushing defeat by Spain in midweek with two brilliant first-half saves in quick succession.

He used a boot to block a Sargent shot, then lunged across goal to save from Ludwig Augustinsson.

In the dying stages, Neuer then stood tall to block a shot by Sargent, who had broken clear.

Bayern coach Hansi Flick was far from pleased that Bremen took the lead in his 50th game in charge, saying his team “have to defend better”.

Bremen deservedly went ahead just before half-time when midfielder Maximilian Eggestein finished off a superb attack.

“We conceded a very cheap goal, that’s how Bremen’s plan worked and they defended very well,” said Bayern forward Thomas Mueller.

Kingsley Coman equalised in the 62nd minute at the Allianz Arena by meeting a Leon Goretzka cross at the far post.

Bayern forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting fired over with the goal at his mercy five minutes from time.

However, Neuer’s heroics at the other end preserved the draw.

Hradecky’s howler

Bayer Leverkusen are third after their 2-1 win at strugglers Arminia Bielefeld thanks to Aleksandar Dragovic’s late winner.

The victory was a relief for Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who scored a embarrassing own goal early in the second half.

Leverkusen were 1-0 up thanks to a Leon Bailey goal when Hradecky sliced a clearance, which rolled into the empty net behind him.

Dragovic stabbed home from close range two minutes from time to spare Hradecky’s blushes.

RB Leipzig sit fourth after Yussuf Poulsen came off the bench and produced a deft second-half volley in their 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt after winger Aymen Barkok gave the hosts an early lead.

Despite having seven players quarantined with the coronavirus, a depleted Hoffenheim drew 3-3 at home with Stuttgart.

Schalke’s winless run stretched to 24 league games, dating back to January, after losing 2-0 at home to Wolfsburg.

A Daniel Caligiuri equaliser two minutes from time gave 10-man Augsburg a 1-1 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

PORTIMAO, Portugal — Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi says it will be a “special moment” when he brings the curtain down on his 15-year factory Yamaha MotoGP career in the final race of the season in Portugal on Sunday.

Joan Mir’s World Championship may already be secured but second place and the constructors’ title will also be on the line in Portimao. 

Rossi, who has won seven of his world titles in the elite class, is among a number of riders bidding farewell, with Andrea Dovizioso heading off for a planned sabbatical and Cal Crutchlow exiting the series to become a Yamaha test rider next year. 

Rossi will join Yamaha’s satellite Petronas team, leaving the factory to go ahead with Fabio Quartararo alongside Maverick Vinales in 2021. 

“Sunday will be a special moment because it was a long journey together,” said Rossi, who had two spells with Yamaha, on Thursday.

“Our story is divided into two parts and I have to say thank you to everybody at Yamaha for giving me another chance after the two years with Ducati. Because I was quite desperate, so for me was crucial to come back into the factory team.

“Also the second part was very long. We won a little bit less but anyway it was a great experience with a lot of unforgettable moments. For sure I will miss the team a lot.”

Pol Espargaro, Jack Miller, Johann Zarco and Danilo Petrucci are also among those departing for pastures new. 

Espargaro and Miller could also break an all-time record by finishing top of the podium and becoming the tenth different race winner in a season that had Mir on course to clinch the championship without a single race victory less than a month ago. 

Mir managed to shake off that tag by winning the European Grand Prix but the Spanish Suzuki rider would like nothing more than to add a final flourish to his decisive performance last week, when seventh place in Valencia was enough to become the first new MotoGP champion since Marc Marquez in 2013. 

“It is something I have been fighting for all my life, since I was 10 years old,” Mir said. 

“I had this dream in my mind and I didn’t stop until I had this title.”

Fellow Spaniard Alex Rins is in the hunt for the runners-up spot but with work to do, sitting four points behind Franco Morbidelli of Petronas Yamaha SRT in the overall standings. 

Morbidelli will also have a spring in his step after the Italian finished first at last week’s Valencia Grand Prix, where he crossed the line 0.093seconds ahead of Miller to claim his third win of the season. 

Rins was not far behind in fourth and his Suzuki team will be hoping to add a constructors’ championship to their rider and team titles. 

It is all to play for with Ducati, given the two are level on points. Yamaha is mathematically in contention too, 13 points behind. 

“We’re hoping to complete the triple crown, that would be absolutely incredible,” said Suzuki manager Davide Brivio this week. 

Crutchlow brings an end this weekend to his career as a full-time rider, which has included 168 races in the premier class, his first coming in 2011.

He achieved 19 podium finishes in total and three race victories.

Dovizioso will ride for the final time before taking a break in 2021 while Espargaro is heading to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing next term.

Miller will switch to Ducati Team from Pramac, with Zarco of Esponsorama Racing replacing him. Petrucci will swap Ducati for Red Bull KTM Tech 3.

BERLIN — Teen prodigy Youssoufa Moukoko could become the youngest debutant in Bundesliga history this weekend as Borussia Dortmund hint that the German goal-scoring sensation may make his senior debut the day after his 16th birthday.

If he plays at Hertha Berlin on Saturday evening, Moukoko will set a new Bundesliga record having already sent goal records tumbling in German youth football.

“I read what the media write, but I don’t put any pressure on myself,” Moukoko told Dortmund’s website in a rare interview during which the club hinted he could feature in Berlin.

Even if his league debut comes only in the following weeks, the confident teen is “not worried — I know I will make my debut at some point”.

Nuri Sahin, whose record is under threat by Moukoko, wants to see the teen make his Bundesliga debut, because “the U-19s is too easy for him”.

Sahin, now 32, was 16 years, 335 days when he made his Dortmund debut in 2005, giving Moukoko ample time to break the record.

Moukoko could also make his Champions League debut this autumn to break the record of Celestine Babayaro, who was 16 years, 87 days when he played for Anderlecht in the 1994/95 group stages.

Moukoko has already trained with Dortmund’s first team on the back of his goal-scoring feats for the youth team.

Despite often facing opponents four years his senior, the robust 15-year-old is captain of Dortmund’s U-19 team and has scored 13 goals in just four games so far this season.

His stats are part of a mind-blowing total of 47 goals with 10 assists in just 25 matches for Dortmund U-19s over two seasons.

Dortmund are doing their best to shield the Cameroon-born teen from the hype — all interview requests are denied — but his name is already well known at the top of German football.

“Youssoufa Moukoko has a talent that you don’t come across that often,” commented Germany coach Joachim Loew.

Moukoko already has more than 700,000 followers on Instagram and a sponsorship deal with Nike.

He was born in Yaounde, Cameroon, and moved to Hamburg, his father’s home city, in 2014 where he first started playing for St Pauli’s junior side.

In 2016, he switched to Dortmund’s youth academy, where he started breaking goal-scoring records, sparking unfounded doubts over his age.

As a 13-year-old at the start of 2017/18, he banged in 40 goals in 28 games for Dortmund U-17s including the winning goal in the play-off final against Bayern Munich.

He topped that with 50 goals in 28 games in 2018/19, including 46 in the league to set a new youth record at Under-17 level.

Last season he moved up to Dortmund’s U-19s just before his 15th birthday and dismissed doubts about his ability at the higher level with six goals on his stunning debut in a 9-2 demolition of Wuppertal.

He finished 2019/20 with 38 goals in 28 games and talk of a Bundesliga debut soon started.

“We would all do well to watch Youssoufa’s development in a relaxed fashion with a bit of patience,” said German FA sports director Joti Chatzialexiou optimistically.

Yet, the teen, who has already played for the Germany U-20s, is already showing maturity beyond his years.

Last month, Moukoko scored a hat-trick as Dortmund’s Under-19 side beat Schalke 3-2, but his brilliant display was overshadowed by racist abuse from home supporters in Gelsenkirchen.

Schalke apologised to Dortmund and Moukoko, who responded by taking a knee after scoring in his next game to join the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest.

LONDON — Rafael Nadal insisted he can still win the ATP Finals for the first time despite a damaging 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4) defeat against Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Tuesday.

Thiem overpowered Nadal behind closed doors at London’s O2 Arena to put a dent in the Spanish star’s bid to finally lift the one major prize missing from his packed trophy cabinet.

Thiem became the first player to qualify for the semifinals a few hours later when reigning champion Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6).

Nadal, who lost the 2010 and 2013 finals of the event, has to beat Tsitsipas in his last group match to reach the semifinals of the prestigious season-ending tournament.

Despite his perilous position, Nadal goes into the showdown against Tsitsipas, with the winner guaranteed to progress to the last four, in confident mood after battling hard against the inspired Thiem.

“He played I think an amazing match, and I played well too. So my feeling is not negative. I lost, but I had plenty of chances, said Nadal, who had beaten Rublev in straight sets in his first match.

“I’m happy with the way I played. I think my chances are bigger to have a very good result now than five days ago because the level of tennis, even if I lost today, for me is much higher.”

Nadal, who last month equalled Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slams by winning the French Open, has won 86 titles but just one of those has come on an indoor hard court.

The World No. 2 has qualified for the ATP Finals for 16 years in a row, but his record at the eight-man elite event pales in comparison with Federer and Novak Djokovic after six injury withdrawals.

‘I have my chances’

Potentially facing another disappointment in the Finals, Nadal said he couldn’t explain his problems at the event.

“I think even if I never won here, I don’t want to pretend to be arrogant at all, because I am not. But I really don’t need to show even to myself or to no one that if I am playing my best tennis I think I can win in every surface and against any player,” he said.

“I never won in the World Tour Finals. That’s the real thing at the same time. I have a match against Tsitsipas in two days. Gonna be another tough one. 

“I hope to be ready. I think playing like this I am confident that I can have my chances in the tournament.”

World No. 3 Thiem, who defeated Tsitsipas in his opening match, has won his first two matches in this year’s tournament as he looks to go one better than last year’s runner-up finish.

The 27-year-old has already enjoyed a year to remember, reaching two Grand Slam finals and winning one of the four majors for the first time when he defeated Alexander Zverev in the US Open final in September.

“It’s definitely one of the better matches I’ve played so far in my career,” Thiem said.

“I think that today I played a little bit higher level than at the US Open. It was maybe the best match from me since the restart of the tour and that makes me super happy.”

Tsitsipas saved a match point in the final set tie-break against Rublev before the Greek sixth seed sealed his first win of the week and eliminated his opponent.

“I’m relieved all that effort and fight on the court paid off at the end. I showed determination to not give up when he had match point,” Tsitsipas said.

“I’m going to try and play an aggressive game against Rafa. You can’t be defensive. I have to start strong and finish even stronger.”