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SHANGHAI — Feisty Andrey Rublev said he is trying to curb his “ugly” behaviour after beating Grigor Dimitrov at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday to set up a final with big-serving Hubert Hurkacz.

Russia’s Rublev defeated Dimitrov 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 in their semi-final and is yet to drop a set in Shanghai as he closes on his second Masters 1000 crown of the year.

In the first semifinal, the 16th-seeded Hurkacz from Poland blasted his way past Sebastian Korda of the United States 6-3, 6-4.

Rublev, the highest-ranked player left in the tournament at seven in the world, cut an angry figure at times and was especially irked by what appeared to be a drone overhead early on.

He also repeatedly whacked the net at one point and said afterwards of his outbursts: “It is not helping me at all and it looks really ugly.

“Some matches, like today, you feel more stressed and more pressure because it’s a semifinal and you want to win, so it’s tough to control.”

The 25-year-old composed himself to get out of a hole at 0-40 in the first set to eventually hold serve for 3-3 in a game lasting 10 minutes.

Rublev then pounced at the first glimpse of an opportunity to break Bulgaria’s Dimitrov for 6-5, only to be broken back immediately by the 18th seed as he served for the set.

The duo exchanged more thunderous groundstrokes in the tie break and both squandered a set point before Rublev sealed the set in 76 minutes when Dimitrov fired a forehand wide.

The 32-year-old Dimitrov is playing some of the best tennis of his career and broke at the start of the second set, with Rublev reacting by smacking the net three times with his racquet.

But Rublev, who has won 14 titles, got the break back for 2-2 and then repeated the trick to race to victory as Dimitrov quickly ran out of steam.

Rublev, who triumphed at the Monte Carlo Masters in April, said it was “special” to be in the final in Shanghai but felt sorry for the beaten Dimitrov, someone he regards as a friend.

“After the match I told him I’m really sorry,” he said.

Earlier, Hurkacz sent down 14 aces as he barrelled into the final.

The 26th seed Korda, who was contesting his first Masters semi-final, was always up against it in the face of a barrage.

The 26-year-old Pole did not face a single break point on his powerful serve and wrapped up the last-four encounter on his second match point after 77 minutes.

“Seb is a really tough opponent and great returner so you need to play well against him otherwise he ends up taking advantage of your shots,” said Hurkacz, who has six titles already including winning the Miami Masters in 2021.

Hurkacz, who went into the semi-finals with the highest number of aces in the tournament, said his serve is “a big thing for me”.

“It’s really important to set up the point with the serve and if I am serving well that puts pressure on the opponent and they know they need to serve well,” he said.

SHANGHAI — Sebastian Korda reached his first Masters semifinal as he battled back to tame fast-rising fellow American Ben Shelton 6-7 (10/12), 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in Shanghai on Thursday.

The 26th seed finally sealed the quarter-final on his sixth match point and plays Poland’s 16th seed Hubert Hurkacz for a place in Sunday’s final.

With the centre-court roof closed because of rain in Shanghai, the first set went to a tie break after they exchanged breaks in the 11th and 12th games.

US Open semifinalist Shelton, who uncorked a serve clocked at 236 kilometres per hour earlier in the set, had Korda on the back foot throughout a gripping tie break.

The pressure finally told when the recently turned 21-year-old Shelton unleashed an ace on his fifth set point that Korda could only watch whizz by.

The 23-year-old Korda, whose father Petr reached two in the world at his peak, recovered to break Shelton’s big serve at the start of the second set and raced to level the quarter-final at one set all.

Korda broke the 19th seed at the start of the deciding set and then dug himself out of a hole, saving three break points to extend his lead to 3-1 and then 4-2.

But Korda, whose only previous ATP title came in 2021 in Parma, allowed Shelton back in again and they went to another tie break.

Korda let slip five match points from 6-1 in the tie break before belatedly sealing an absorbing encounter in just under three hours.

In the first quarter-final, Hurkacz similarly fought back to defeat unseeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

The Shanghai Masters is back after four years following the pandemic and has witnessed a succession of shocks.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was turfed out in the last 16 to follow Daniil Medvedev — beaten by Korda — Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner out the exit door.

There is only one player from the world’s top 10 left in the draw in the form of seventh-ranked Russian Andrey Rublev.

The fifth seed faces 32nd seed Ugo Humbert of France in the quarter-finals while 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov — who turfed out Alcaraz — plays 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry.

World Number 1. Novak Djokovic skipped the tournament.

AMMAN — Jordan hosts a four nation tourney on the weekend as national football teams prepare for the 23rd World Cup 2026 qualifiers set to kick off in October, which also serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup. 

All the teams playing are ranked higher than Jordan who is now 84th in FIFA rankings. Jordan face Iran (21) on the opening day Friday while Iraq (69) plays Qatar (61). The winners will play the final on October 17. Last year Jordan hosted Iraq, Syria and Oman and won the title after beating Oman in the final.

Newly appointed Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta named Jordan’s lineup last week including seven new players and four from the U-23 national team. Jordan’s Tamer Ta’mari, who has joined Frances’ Montpellier and is one of the French League’s  top scorers, joined the national team alongside other players abroad.

“The eventual aim would be to have a younger competitive group who can serve the national team for upcoming years,” Amouta was quoted as saying 

Jordan was drawn in Group G for the World Cup qualifiers alongside Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and the winner from the Cambodia/Pakistan match. Jordan also hopes to play for  an advanced spot in the upcoming Asian Cup 2023 slated for Qatar in January 12, 2024, where Jordan will play in Group E alongside Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea.

Jordan lately lost two friendlies  under coach Amouta, going down to  Norway 6-0 and Azerbaijan 2-1, as the Moroccan coach is set on advancing Jordan to the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, with Asia getting eight slots in the next edition in additional to a zonal qualifier after expanding the number to include 48 nations. 

Meanwhile,  Jordan’s U-23 team played its Egyptian counterpart Thursday evening as coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh, who recently guided his team through qualifiers to the 6th AFC U-23 Asian Cup set for April 2024 in Qatar despite a lackluster preparation agenda, strives to boost the team’s preparedness.

The squad qualified to their 6th AFC U-23 Asian Cup after hosting Group A qualifiers, and  finished unbeaten after overcoming Brunei 9-0, Oman 1-0 and Syria 2-0 to clinch the sole qualifying spot from the group. 43 teams contested the qualifiers in 11 groups with the top team from each group together with four best second placed teams advancing to the U-23 Asian Cup alongside hosts Qatar. The top three teams from the AFC U-23 Asian Cup will advance to the Olympics while the fourth will play a playoff to advance.

This year, Jordan reached the semis of the U-23 West Asian Championship, which they won in 2021 but did not play in 2022. 

SHANGHAI — Grigor Dimitrov fought back to beat top seed Carlos Alcaraz in three sets and reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday in the latest upset at the Shanghai Masters.

The 18th seed won 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 against an out-of-sorts Alcaraz as the Bulgarian steps up his pursuit of a first ATP title since 2017.

He will next face the 22nd-seeded Nicolas Jarry after the Chilean defeated wild card Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

The first Shanghai Masters since the pandemic has opened up for Dimitrov after the exits of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner.

Russia’s Andrey Rublev is the highest remaining seed left in the draw at five.

World No.1 Novak Djokovic is not in China.

“I’m still here, I’m not going anywhere,” the 32-year-old Dimitrov said after dismissing Alcaraz.

Spain’s Alcaraz, the world number two, was chasing a seventh tour-level title of the season but he uncharacteristically crumbled after winning the first set.

The 20-year-old Alcaraz took time to find his range and Dimitrov broke for 3-2 in the first set with a vicious whipped forehand return.

Dimitrov was broken back as he served for the set in a riveting 10th game involving two thrilling rallies that both times saw Alcaraz come out on top.

Alcaraz held and then broke again to wrap the set up in just under an hour.

But rather than power on to victory, Alcaraz let the match get away from him.

The clean-hitting Dimitrov gathered himself to race into a 2-0 lead in the second set then broke again for 5-2, before sealing the set when Alcaraz shanked his return.

They went to a decider and an unusually flustered Alcaraz was broken in the third game after yet another unforced error.

Alcaraz let out a roar of anger as the match slipped away from him.

Dimitrov held his nerve to serve out his first victory over the Spaniard on his second match point.

“I knew what I had to do,” said Dimitrov.

“I knew I had to apply constant pressure against him.

“Even if I was down, even if my shots were not good enough, I had to put him in uncomfortable positions.

“He doesn’t like being on the back foot.”

Alcaraz, who had been the favourite for the Shanghai crown in Djokovic’s absence, said he had always been up against it.

“He was on another level today, this Grigor,” said Alcaraz, who lost to Sinner in the semi-finals in Beijing and won’t look back on his visit to China with much fondness as a result.

“I was all the time defending, I could not find the way to put myself in a position to attack.”

The efficient Rublev beat the American 12th seed Tommy Paul 7-5, 7-5 in their last-16 encounter in the late-night match.

Rublev meets Ugo Humbert of France in the quarter-finals after the 32nd seed demolished J.J. Wolf, also of the United States, 6-1, 6-2 in just 57 minutes.

SHANGHAI — US Open semifinalist Ben Shelton fought back from a set down to defeat sixth seed Jannik Sinner on Tuesday and reach the Shanghai Masters last eight in one of the biggest victories of his young career.

The 19th seed emerged from an excruciatingly tight deciding set to battle through 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) and faces fellow American Sebastian Korda in the quarter-finals.

The 26th-seeded Korda fended off a late fightback from the 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina to go through 7-5, 7-6 (8/6).

Shelton, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the last four in New York last month, did his now-trademark “dialled-in” celebration with an imaginary telephone to mark his first time into the quarter-finals of a Masters.

“I think my toughness level and how resilient I was able to be on the court, I surprised myself a little bit,” said Shelton, who turned 21 on Monday.

Shelton endured a torrid opening set against the in-form Sinner, summed up by his double fault to concede the seventh game of an error-strewn first stanza.

The Italian Sinner, fresh from winning the China Open in Beijing, clinched the opening set with a well-placed smash.

Shelton was a changed man in the second, sealing the set with an ace and a roar, and then immediately put Sinner under the cosh to start the decider.

The 22-year-old Sinner survived the initial onslaught, saving five break points to seal a game that lasted nearly 10 minutes, and the set went with serve to force a tiebreak.

Shelton prevailed and a crowd that had been on his side serenaded him by singing happy birthday.

Shelton only turned professional last year and his appearance at the Australian Open in January, where he reached the quarter-finals, was his first time outside the United States.

He is still getting used to the scrutiny that comes with his fast-growing profile.

“It’s something that happened quite quickly and was kind of a shock to me,” said Shelton, whose father Bryan reached 55 in the world as a player and is now his coach.

Shocks galore 

A tournament full of shocks had another to start the day when 91st-ranked Fabian Marozsan had a belated birthday present of his own by beating eighth-seeded Casper Ruud.

The unseeded Hungarian won 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-4 and will face Poland’s 16th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz.

“This is just only my second Masters tournament, so it’s kind of a new tournament series for me,” said Marozsan, who beat Carlos Alcaraz at the Italian Open in May.

“I’m really enjoying this, I’m very proud for this one.”

Hurkacz just about avoided falling victim to a shock, defeating unseeded home hope Zhang Zhizhen 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that stretched beyond midnight.

The Shanghai event, which is back on the ATP calendar for the first time since the COVID pandemic, has witnessed several shocks.

Korda dumped out second-seeded Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the third and fourth seeds, are already out.

The upsets have paved the way for top seed Alcaraz, who faces 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16 on Wednesday.

World number one Djokovic is not in China.

PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain bounced back from their heavy Champions League loss at Newcastle United to beat Rennes 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Sunday, while the earlier game between Montpellier and Clermont was abandoned after a firecracker was thrown at visiting goalkeeper Mory Diaw.

PSG were thrashed 4-1 in Newcastle on Wednesday, a result and a performance which raised serious doubts about their prospects in Europe this season.

But they returned to form against Rennes at a ground where they have regularly struggled in recent years, recording a win which lifts them up to third in the table, two points behind leaders Monaco.

Coach Luis Enrique abandoned his experiment with playing four forwards, and the returning midfielder Vitinha opened the scoring with a brilliant arcing strike into the top corner from an Ousmane Dembele pass just after the half-hour mark.

It was 2-0 four minutes later when Warren Zaire-Emery crossed for Achraf Hakimi, arriving unmarked in the box, to head in.

Amine Gouiri headed in from close range to get Rennes back into the match in the 56th minute, but PSG scored again just two minutes later as Hakimi's low delivery was converted at the near post by Randal Kolo Muani, who had been dropped from the starting line-up.

Kolo Muani had another goal disallowed for offside, while Kylian Mbappe somehow shot over late on after a brilliant burst forward that had taken him around the goalkeeper.

Montpellier face punishment 

In Montpellier, television pictures showed a firecracker landing next to the feet of Clermont goalkeeper Diaw and exploding with a loud bang, just as the match was entering stoppage time.

A clearly stunned Diaw went down and needed treatment before being stretchered off, and the game was halted before being abandoned following a crisis meeting.

"The doctor who examined the Clermont goalkeeper certified that he was not in a condition to return to the field. The match is therefore halted definitively," referee Florent Batta told media at the Stade de la Mosson.

Montpellier were leading 4-2 and on course to win their first home game of the season until the incident, and now risk serious punishment from the French footballing authorities with the prospect of having to replay the game without their fans at the very least.

A police spokesman told AFP that the suspected perpetrator had been arrested and taken into custody.

Diaw was able to return to Clermont with his teammates after the game and was due to undergo further tests on Monday, the club said.

"We are disgusted, disappointed and sad," admitted the Montpellier president, Laurent Nicollin, as he complained that the actions of one individual "could penalise the whole team".

Lyon still winless 

Marseille claimed their first win under new coach Gennaro Gattuso, beating Le Havre 3-0 courtesy of an own goal as well as strikes by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ismaila Sarr.

Le Havre had been reduced to 10 men before half-time when Rassoul Ndiaye was sent off for a second yellow card.

Lens followed their midweek Champions League win over Arsenal by coming from behind to draw 1-1 at home to Lille in the northern derby.

Benjamin Andre gave Lille the lead but Deiver Machado equalised for Lens, who are now unbeaten in five games.

Struggling Lyon are still without a win this season after squandering a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at home to Lorient.

Eli Junior Kroupi gave Lorient the lead, but Ernest Nuamah equalised in the 21st minute and Alexandre Lacazette put Lyon ahead 60 seconds later.

A Lacazette penalty made it 3-1 for Lyon before half-time, but Lorient fought back in the second half with Kroupi scoring again before Darlin Yongwa equalised.

Monaco are a point clear of Nice at the Ligue 1 summit following a 3-1 victory at Reims on Saturday, while their Cote d'Azur neighbours won 1-0 at Metz to maintain their unbeaten record this season.

Like PSG, Brest are two points off top spot after a 1-1 draw with Toulouse.

DOHA — Max Verstappen said his third consecutive drivers’ world title triumph, achieved in Saturday’s sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, was “the one I am most proud of — the best”.

The 26-year-old Dutchman, who was champion in 2021 and 2022, finished second behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after his Red Bull teammate and only remaining title rival Sergio Perez crashed out of the race and the championship reckoning.

“This one is the best,” he said, “I think the first one was the most emotional because that is when your dreams are fulfilled, but this is definitely my best year for consecutive wins and stuff like that and the car itself has been probably in the best shape as well.

“So, for me, this is the one I am most proud of because of the consistency.”

Verstappen has won 13 of this year’s 16 Grands Prix to date, seizing the title with six races to go — a rare measure of supremacy not achieved since seven-time Michael Schumacher won for Ferrari in 2002.

He is the 11th driver overall to win three drivers’ titles and one of only five to win three in succession along with Juan-Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

“It’s something, of course, that I never even really dreamt of doing,” he said. “It’s a very proud moment for myself, for my family, my close family. I think everyone within the team I’m working with to be able to experience all of this together... it’s amazing.”

Verstappen said his experience with Toro Rosso, with whom he made his F1 debut aged only 17 in 2016, and Red Bull had been important to his life and his development.

“I keep trying to improve and of course I don’t necessarily think I’ve become a faster driver, but you have a lot more experience in the car, you grow as a driver and you grow also I think as a person in life.

“I think all these kind of things, when I compare to my first season in Formula One, they help a lot in terms of just dealing with every kind of pressure situation throughout the weekend.

“Everything that might be thrown at you in difficult conditions, for example. At the end, it’s all about trying to deliver every single weekend, which is, I think, very hard in F1.”

Typically, he stressed that he had no plans to allow any celebrations of his third title to interfere with his plans to win Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix when he seeks to claim his 14th win in 17 races this year.

He said he might celebrate with “a few sparkling waters”.

“It’s going to be the same tomorrow,” he said. “And when I go to the next race, I’ll try to win again because we have a great car. I know that people around us are catching up maybe a little bit so it’s going to be tight, but my mindset is the same.

“It’s not like you suddenly go more risky, or get into any kind of battle... I am pretty happy with what I am doing at the moment so I am going to carry on!”

He said that joining a list of great names from Formula One’s roll call of champions who have won three in a row was a great feeling.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “A fantastic feeling. To be a three-time champion is incredible. It’s been an incredible year with a lot of great races and I am super proud of the job done by the team. It has been so enjoyable to be a part of that group of people.”

Verstappen explained that he felt he had reached a new level of consistency this year.

“Sometimes, I’m not happy with the performance or how the weekend was going. but I always try to be perfect... I always try to be better every race weekend I go to,” he said.

SHANGHAI — Defending champion Daniil Medvedev made a strong start to the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, with his main rival, top seed Carlos Alcaraz, due to launch his campaign later.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner is also through after battling through an intense first set — saving four set points — against the United States’ Marcos Giron.

Medvedev, the world number three, beat Chile’s Cristian Garin in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to proceed breezily to the third round.

Garin put up a valiant defence, with several hard-fought rallies inducing gasps from the crowd, but ultimately the 98th-ranked player struggled with the Russian’s relentless pace.

“[There’s a] long tournament ahead, with a lot of strong players, starting from my next match,” said Medvedev at the end.

“But the goal for sure is to try and win this beautiful trophy one more time.”

Medvedev won the 2019 title, but for the next three years the tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m definitely happy to be back in Shanghai,” he said. “I honestly feel great and I want to stay here as long as possible.”

Medvedev is popular with Chinese fans, a chemistry on display when the indoor match was interrupted briefly after a red-and-white butterfly distracted the Russian from serving.

The crowd giggled as he played up his surprise for comic effect, before carefully handing over the insect, which had settled on one of his tennis balls, to great applause.

“I’m a little bit, not scared of insects, but, like, I don’t like when they go on me,” Medvedev said at a press conference afterwards, though he added it was “perfect for me” upon hearing they were a symbol of good luck in China.

The Russian next plays 26th-ranked Sebastian Korda, who beat him at their last meeting.

“He was very dominant, in a way, and that’s how he plays, so it’s going to be interesting for me,” said Medvedev.

“I’m in a good shape now, so I will try to do better than last time and try to win.”

Sinner prevails 

Sinner, who defeated Medvedev in the final of the China Open this week, had a more challenging route to the third round in his Shanghai Masters debut.

The Word No. 4 snatched a nail-biting first set 7-6 (9/7), before coming back strong in the second set for a quick 6-2 victory.

“[Giron] is a very, very good player... The first set is never easy, I got lucky a little bit but sometimes you need a bit of luck,” Sinner said after the match.

“In the second set I was able to raise the level a bit... so I’m very happy with that.”

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is also through to the next round after a straightforward job dispatching Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2.

“In the beginning of a tournament, it takes some time to get the pace and rhythm of how things flow,” Tsitsipas said.

“I was very confident and very sure of what I was doing and what I was following and it worked out pretty well.”

World No.2 Alcaraz is also in action Saturday, playing France’s Gregoire Barrere.

Alcaraz is looking to close the gap on the absent Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings with strong performances in China.

But he was disappointed in Beijing by Sinner, who defeated him in the semi-final before going on to beat Medvedev too.