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PARIS — Finland wrote a new page in their tennis history on Saturday, beating the United States 2-1 in Split to reach the last eight of the Davis Cup for the first time.

Australia and defending champions Canada also qualified while Novak Djokovic played doubles in a losing cause for Serbia against Czech Republic in a dead rubber with both teams already through to the final stages to be played in Malaga in November.

Otto Virtanen set the Finns rolling in the winner-take-all match against the Americans with a 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-6 (9/7) win over Mackenzie McDonald.

Emil Ruusuvuori then followed up with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 victory against world number 13 Tommy Paul on his fourth match point, sending Finland through with Netherlands from Group D.

“You can hear it from the [fans]. It means a lot for the whole country, for tennis in Finland. It’s a huge thing,” 24-year-old Ruusuvuori said post-match. “We’re going to Malaga!”

Alexis Galarneau saw off Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to give Canada an early lead over Chile but the South Americans levelled the tie when Nicolas Jarry strolled to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Gabriel Diallo.

The Canadians won the tie when Galarneau teamed up with Vasek Pospisil to beat Tabilo and Tomas Barrios Vera 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) in the doubles.

Chile’s hopes of progressing now depend on Italy, which is currently second in the group, losing 3-0 to Sweden on Sunday.

Djokovic sat out the singles in Serbia’s dead rubber against the Czechs, but did not disappoint the crowd in Valencia as he partnered Nikola Cacic in the doubles, losing 7-5, 6-7 (9/7), 10-3 to Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek.

Australia booked its place with an emphatic 3-0 win over Switzerland in Glasgow.

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex de Minaur won their singles matches in straight sets to win the tie but Australia did not stamp their passage to Malaga until doubles duo Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell completed the sweep and guaranteed Australia a top-two finish in Group B.

Britain or France, who meet on Sunday, will join the Australians in Spain in November.

Format row 

Three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka did not take to the court but his comments about the poor crowds in Glasgow earlier in the week has stirred discussion over the future of the current Davis Cup format.

Wawrinka posted contrasting videos on his social media of Switzerland’s first match against France which showed the stands almost empty and their second against hosts Britain on Friday where the atmosphere was pumping.

“We see the difference between today and three days ago — it’s not normal,” said Wawrinka.

Since 2019, the historic competition has been converted to a World Cup-style event with group stages and matches on neutral soil, with many of the matches played out in front of low crowd numbers.

Rising criticism has called for a return to the pre-2019 system of home and away ties in front of partisan crowds supporting their country.

Mark Woodforde, who played for Australia in three Davis Cup finals, is chair of the Davis Cup committee and rejects the criticism.

“We’re fully aware that some players will say, ‘Why don’t we go back to that home-and-away format?’,” he said on Saturday.

“That format was not working. That’s why the change came about. The old format was killing Davis Cup. We had nations telling the ITF they were unhappy, it needed to change.”

Woodforde also scotched any ideas that the format would change any time soon.

“In 2024 the competition will remain as is,” he said. “We feel this is the format where we can see mileage with it.

“I don’t think there is a format that we are going to ever have 100 per cent thumbs up from the players and the nations.”

MILAN — Dusan Vlahovic shot Juventus temporarily top of Serie A on Saturday as the Serbia striker scored twice in a convincing 3-1 win over Lazio.

Goals in each half from Vlahovic and another in the 26th minute from strike partner Federico Chiesa at the Allianz Stadium pushed Juve a point ahead of both Milan clubs before the derby which kicks off later.

Inter Milan and AC Milan are both on a perfect nine points heading into their clash for local bragging rights, one behind Juve.

Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve will concede top spot regardless of the result at the San Siro but the coach will be encouraged by what he saw in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Turin.

Allegri has paired Vlahovic and Italy star Chiesa up front this season and the attacking duo have hit it off, combining for seven goals in unbeaten Juve’s opening four matches.

Vlahovic has scored four times after a tumultuous summer dominated by rumours that he might be sold and replaced by Romelu Lukaku, now on loan from Chelsea at Roma.

Lazio, who scored through a beautiful 64th-minute Luis Alberto curler, just before Vlahovic netted his second, are 15th following their third defeat of the season.

Juve’s win was a positive end to a difficult week in which star midfielder Paul Pogba was suspended for a doping violation and Leonardo Bonucci announced legal action against his former club.

Italian anti-doping authority NADO said on Monday that Pogba showed elevated levels of testosterone in tests after Juve’s season opener at Udinese.

World Cup winner Pogba, who has struggled with injury and risks a four-year ban, was questioned in a Paris court on Friday alongside five acquaintances and childhood friends suspected of trying to extort 13 million euros from him.

Bonucci claimed on Wednesday that Juve violated professional football’s collective bargaining agreement by sidelining him over the summer before he moved to Union Berlin in Germany at the end of the transfer window.

Champions Napoli are at Genoa in Saturday’s late match, trying to get back on track after falling to home defeat at the hands of Lazio last time out.

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-16 men’s basketball team returns to the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship on Sunday.

The Kingdom will contest the 7th edition of the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship in Qatar from September 17-24 which will qualify the top four teams  to the FIBA U-17 Basketball World Cup set for Turkey in 2024.

Jordan opens its Group C matches against Bahrain on Sunday before they face New Zealand’s September 18 and South Korea the following day.

Group A includes Australia, India,  Lebanon and Sri Lanka; Group B includes Iran, Japan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia while Group D includes the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s senior national team is readying for the upcoming 19th Asian Games set for September 23-October 8 in Hangzhou, China.

Jordan will play in Group C alongside Thailand, Bahrain and the Philippines and officials and fans hope the lineup can jump back and obtain an advanced placement at the Games after failing to score a single win, at Mundobasket organised in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

This summer, the senior women’s squad finished fourth at the Women’s FIBA Asia Cup Division B, where, in the absence of the Lebanese team, which retained its spot in Division A, Jordan had a chance to grab the qualifying spot from Division B. They, however, reached the semis but lost to Iran and settled for the third place match which they lost to Thailand.

This year the Kingdom’s U16 women’s basketball team finish 5th at the  FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship as Jordan hosted Divisions A&B. The Philippines won Division B top spot and was promoted to Division A. Australia retained Division A title while Japan settled for  second, New Zealand for third and Chinese Taipei fourth. The top four teams qualified for the FIBA U-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2024 in Mexico.

Jordan hosted the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship for the second consecutive edition and its third time at the event. Last year, Jordan settled for 8th place while in 2013 they finished 11th. 

In the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship, Jordan settled for 6th place at the latest edition in India. 

AMMAN — The 71st  Jordan Professional League resumes action on Friday following a  break during which club players were busy on national duty.

Week 5 of the league kicks off with Hussein atop the standings after they took the lead following Faisali’s 3-2 defeat to Wihdat. The Hussein vs Wihdat and Faisali vs Aqaba matches are postponed this week as Faisali host Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshiin the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions Leagueround robin group stages on September 18. Wihdat, who lost to Ahli Dubai in the preliminary round of the Champions League, now move to play in the AFC Cup and host Aleppo’s Ittihad on September 19.

Meanwhile, Wihdat beat Faisali to win the Jordan Super Cup for their 15thtime while Faisali are a record 17-time champions. Reigning Pro League champs Faisali won their 9th Jordan Football Association Shield, while the Jordan Cup will start September 25.

In the 2022 season, the Pro League saw a close-fought contest at both ends of the standings.Faisali won the league title one point ahead of Wihdat and Hussein who tied in overall points and finished second and third respectively. They were followed by Shabab Urdun, Aqaba, Ramtha, Ma’an, Salt , Sahab, Mugheer Sarhan, Sarih and Jazira.

A three-time league champ veteran Jazira, were relegated alongside Sarih, while Ahli and Jalil were promoted from the First Division. Jazira’s relegation was the fourth time– 1977, 1992, 2003, 2022 after the club was a frontrunner in the past five years and played in the AFC West Asia Zone final in 2018 and 2019.In 2021, Ramtha won the League crown for the third time in their history after 39 years. 

MONTEVIDEO — World champions Argentina rested Lionel Messi, but still shined in a 3-0 victory over 10-man Bolivia in La Paz on Wednesday to maintain its winning start to South American World Cup qualifying.

Brazil also have the maximum six points from two games after a superb 90th-minute winner from Marquinhos against Peru in Lima for the only goal of the match.

But Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay suffered a setback, giving up the lead to end with a 2-1 defeat at Ecuador.

Messi, who has had a hectic schedule with his club Inter Miami, watched his teammates from the bench but was not listed as a substitute, having complained of tiredness after scoring the winner in Thursday's 1-0 victory over Ecuador.

Despite the absence of their talisman Lionel Scaloni's side had too much firepower for Bolivia with goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Tagliafico and Nicolas Gonzalez securing an impressive victory.

Chelsea midfielder Fernandez went close with a wonderful effort from 30 yards out superbly saved by Guillermo Viscarra, who then did well again to keep out a near-post drive from Julian Alvarez.

The lively Alvarez had a hand in Argentina's opener in the 31st minute, feeding Angel Di Maria, whose low cross was turned in by Fernandez, who had made a perfectly timed run into the box.

Eight minutes later Bolivia's task got even tougher when Roberto Fernandez was sent off for an over-the-top challenge on Cristian Romero.

Argentina went in at the break with a 2-0 lead after Tagliafico met a floated Di Maria free-kick with a header that looped over Viscarra.

The three-time World Cup winners were in total control after the break with Alvarez hitting the post in the 70th minute and Viscarra kept busy by efforts from Rodrigo De Paul and Di Maria.

Gonzalez wrapped up the victory seven minutes from the end with a left-footed drive after more hesitant defending from the home side, who have lost both their opening games.

Scaloni was pleased with the performance by his team, saying they were "not afraid to play with the ball" and also offered an explanation for Messi's absence.

"Leo was not ready to play, he tried to recover, but he did not feel comfortable," he said.

Masterful Marquinhos 

Brazil came up against a determined Peru side and looked set to be frustrated when Raphinha's rocket in the 72nd minute was brilliantly saved by Pedro Gallese.

But in the final minute Neymar whipped in a corner and Marquinhos met it with a masterful glancing header that flashed into the far corner.

Colombia had to settle for a point in a disappointing goalless draw in Santiago, Chile.

Chile, with Alexis Sanchez back in the starting line-up, had the better of the game, playing some intelligent football in possession but like their opponents they lacked a cutting edge.

After an impressive start to his reign in charge of Uruguay, Argentine Bielsa saw his team lose to two goals from Ecuador defender Felix Torres in Quito.

Uruguay took the lead in the 38th minute through Agustin Canobbio but the home side levelled just before the break when Torres rose to power home a header from a Moises Caicedo cross.

A penalty award gave Ecuador the opportunity to take the lead after the break but Enner Valencia's woeful effort from the spot flew wide.

But Torres showed his value again to grab the winner, sliding into a crowded box to turn in a low cross from 16-year-old Kendry Paez.

VAR drama 

Venezuela defeated Paraguay 1-0 at home thanks to Salomon Rondon's injury-time penalty to raise hopes of making the World Cup for the first time in their history.

The hosts thought they had the lead in the 78th minute when Yangel Herrera fired home, but the referee's review at the monitor concluded that the midfielder had handled the ball — to the fury of the home crowd.

But the technology worked in Venezuela's favour in stoppage time when it spotted that Paraguay defender Ivan Piris had handled during an aerial challenge in the box and Rondon confidently tucked away the spot-kick.

The qualification process for the expanded 48-team World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, offers two extra places for South America with six teams qualifying directly.

The seventh out of the 10 nations will head to an inter-continental play-off.

After the opening two rounds Brazil lead Argentina on goal difference with Colombia third on four points, one ahead of Uruguay and Venezuela.

Paraguay, Peru and Chile have a point each.

AMMAN - Jordan’s U-23 football team qualified to its 6th AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar set for April 2024.

Jordan hosted 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.  Oman came in second  after it beat Syria 2-0 and Brunei 3-0. Syria beat Brunei 11-0.

Forty three 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 four teams from the AFC U23 Asian Cup will advance to the Olympics.

South Korea qualified from Group B,  Vietnam from Group C, Japan from Group D, Uzbekistan from Group E, Iraq and Kuwait from Group F,  UAE and China from Group G, Thailand and Malaysia from Group H, Australia and Tajikistan from Group I,  Saudi Arabic from Group J and Indonesia from Group K.

Coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh has guided his team to the Asian finals despite a lackluster preparation agenda as the team did not regroup much and played minimal friendlies against Lebanon, Bahrain, Palestine and the U20 national team. 

Meanwhile, Jordan’s senior team has lost two friendlies under incoming coach Hussein Amouta. Jordan  went down to  Norway 6-0 and Azerbaijan 2-1, as Amouta strives to prepare the team for the 23rd World Cup 2026 qualifiers set to kick off in October, which also serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup. Jordan was drawn in Group G alongside Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and the winner from the Cambodia/Pakistan match. 

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, as Asia will get 8 slots in the next edition in additional to a zonal qualifier after expanding the number to include 48 nations. 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.

BERLIN — Nine months before Euro 2024 kicks off in Germany, the hosts have turned to Rudi Voeller to get the team back on track before Tuesday’s friendly against France after coach Hansi Flick was sacked.

Flick became the first Germany coach in history to be relieved of his duties after his side slumped to a 4-1 loss to Japan in Wolfsburg on Saturday, the latest in a run of poor results which included a group-stage exit at the World Cup in Qatar last year.

The German Football Association (DFB) have turned to 1990 World Cup winner Voeller to take over on an interim basis for the friendly against 2022 World Cup finalists France in Dortmund.

While Voeller’s first point of call will be to inject some pride and stability into the struggling team, his broader task is to right the ship before next year’s European Championship on home soil.

Voeller was asked in Dortmund on Monday about whether the well-known statement, commonly attributed to England’s Gary Lineker, that “football is a simple game with 11 v 11, and Germany wins at the end” still rang true.

“Those times are over” Voeller said, “we’ve been booted out at the group stage in the World Cup twice in a row.”

“In the meantime other countries and associations have caught up.”

‘Urgent task’

Voeller, who was part of the Flick set-up as the DFB’s sporting director, was also appointed on an interim basis after Germany’s disastrous group stage exit at Euro 2000.

He took the side all the way to the final at the 2002 World Cup, before losing 2-0 to Brazil, but 63-year-old Voeller said on Sunday this time he will not be in the hot seat for long.

Speaking on Monday, Voeller said his appointment was a “one-time thing” and he would not stay on, regardless of the result against France.

“The most urgent task is to hire a national coach who will quickly get the team back on track and prepare us for the big European Championships next year,” Voeller said on Sunday.

He said the sacking was “not an easy moment for me... I joined in February to support Hansi Flick so that he could be successful.”

“I firmly believed that as a national coach he could manage to get our team back on track.”

Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan said on Monday the players were feeling “a mixture of disappointment, sadness and frustration” that their performances cost the coach his job.

“I feel like I let Hansi down and the other players feel that way also.”

Voeller will be assisted by Germany Under-20s manager Hannes Wolf and former Bayern striker Sandro Wagner.

Several candidates have been mentioned to take the position on a permanent basis, with Julian Nagelsmann, who replaced Flick at Bayern Munich only to be sacked in March, believed to be the frontrunner.

Oliver Glasner, who took Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League title in 2022 — their first European trophy in 40 years — and Matthias Sammer, who won the Bundesliga as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2002, have also been mentioned.

Voeller will need to start by giving the struggling side some defensive stability.

Germany is winless in five matches, having conceded 13 goals in that time.

Led by a front-line which could include the attacking firepower of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Randal Kolo Muani, Marcus Thuram and Kingsley Coman, Tuesday’s opponents France will be salivating at the space Germany afforded Japan on Saturday.

Unlike Germany, Didier Deschamps men are in blistering form, having won their past five Euro 2024 qualifying matches without conceding a goal.

Deschamps played alongside Voeller in the Marseille side which won the 1993 Champions League title. On Monday, Deschamps praised his one-time teammate’s “dynamism and determination which he still has”.

“I value him very much. It’s a great pleasure for me that I will meet him again on Tuesday.”


MANILA - Head coach Gordon Herbert hailed Germany's "team-first" attitude after they beat Serbia to win the Basketball World Cup for the first time on Sunday, going unbeaten throughout the tournament.

Germany beat the Serbians 83-77 in Manila, breaking clear in the third quarter before hanging on for the win in a nervy finish.

Dennis Schroder finished as the game's top scorer with 28 points and was also named player of the tournament.

Herbert hailed Toronto Raptors point guard Schroder's impact on the team, saying "we would not be here without him and he would not be here without the team".

"I think the biggest thing with this team is that we've enjoyed being here," said Herbert.

"I can't say enough about Dennis Schroder and what he's meant for German basketball.

"I think Dennis would tell you first that this is a team-first thing."

Serbia lost small forward Ognjen Dobric to a sprained ankle with less than three minutes of the game gone after a bad landing at the basket.

Star player Bogdan Bogdanovic almost did not play after struggling with illness before the game.

Serbia still managed to launch a furious fourth-quarter fightback and cut the deficit to three points with less than a minute remaining, but it was not enough to stop Germany.

"They deserved this win," said Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic.

"They played 40 minutes at a high level, with continuity, very physical.

"If one team like Germany won all the games from the start until the end, we must everybody say bravo."

Germany edged past Latvia in the quarter-finals before beating the United States in a semifinal for the ages.

'Three-year plan' 

They were appearing in their first World Cup final and Schroder said it had been "a long ride" since he made his national team debut nine years ago.

"We're enjoying every single moment, every single day, every single practice, every single game," he said.

"We embrace it, we compete on the highest level, and that's the reason why we did what we did. We wrote history."

Both Germany and Serbia had already qualified for next year's Paris Olympics as the World Cup's two highest-placed European teams.

Germany finished third at last year's EuroBasket championship and Herbert said they were in "year two of our three-year plan".

Schroder said he hoped the win would lead to more of their games being shown live on German TV.

"Ten years ago when I first started we had Dirk Nowitzki, but other than that, nobody knew who people are on the team," he said.

"Now we go to the Philippines or Okinawa and everyone knows our team.

"We just want our respect."

Aleksa Avramovic finished as Serbia's top scorer with 21 points, followed by Bogdanovic with 17.

Serbia was playing without power forward Borisa Simanic, who underwent surgery to remove a kidney after getting injured earlier in the tournament.

They were also without superstar Nikola Jokic, who skipped the tournament to rest after leading the Denver Nuggets to the NBA title last season.

"Our heads are already up," said Avramovic.

"Our next goal is to go to the Olympics Games and make a better success than this."

Canada claimed its first-ever bronze medal after beating the United States 127-118 in overtime earlier in the day.

Both teams had already qualified for the Olympics as the World Cup's highest-placed teams from the Americas.

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic, who won his fourth US Open and all-time record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title on Sunday, is driven on through controversy by his determination to be the greatest ever.

The Serb’s victory over Daniil Medvedev at Flushing Meadows — his third major triumph of 2023 — took him two Slams clear of great rival Rafael Nadal at the top of the list of men’s Slam champions.

For 36-year-old Djokovic, it matters to be the best, and he has a strong sense of his historical place in tennis.

He also keeps ploughing on through the highs and lows because it is “a great school of life”.

“I would like to send a message to every young person out there. I was a seven-year-old dreaming that I could win Wimbledon and be world no.1 one day,” he has said.

“I am beyond grateful but I feel I had the power to create my own destiny. I believe it and feel it with every cell in my body. Be in the present moment, forget about the past. If you want a better future, you create it.”

Yet, while Nadal and now-retired Roger Federer are widely admired, Djokovic continues to divide opinion.

His staggering achievements on the court have often been overshadowed by blunders and missteps off it.

At the French Open this year, he wrote “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” on a courtside TV camera lens as ethnic tensions were again rising in the Balkans.

On court at Roland Garros, he was booed for fist-pumping as semifinal rival Carlos Alcaraz wilted with cramping.

Djokovic remains indifferent to the critics.

“I don’t mind. It’s not the first; probably not the last. I’ll just keep winning,” said Djokovic.

His most controversial moment was his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID, which culminated with Djokovic being deported from Melbourne on the eve of the 2022 Australian Open.

His uncompromising stance on the vaccine also saw him barred from the United States and unable to play in last year’s US Open.

Even before that, the Serb was seemingly doomed never to be held in the same saintly esteem as Federer or Nadal, the undisputed people’s champions.

There are those who see something too calculating in the Djokovic make-up — an intense, brooding presence prone to affectation.

His infamous default from the US Open in 2020 for petulantly swiping at a ball that hit a female line judge gave a glimpse of his fiery character.

And some of his personal stances have drawn criticism — one claim that raised eyebrows was his belief that it was possible to alter the composition of water and food through positive thinking.

‘Born winner’ 

However, the career achievements and resolve of a player who was the first to smash through the $150 million prize-money barrier cannot be doubted.

“He’s a genius,” Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic said on Sunday. “He’s one of kind. Not too many people in this world like him, sport-wise.

“He’s a born winner. For him, when you tell him he cannot do something, it’s even worse. Then he’s going to show you that he can do it.

“It’s no excuses. He always try to find a way how to win, how to fight, even when he’s not feeling well, injured, not injured.”

Djokovic, who left Belgrade when he was 12 to train in Munich and escape NATO’s bombardment of his home city, captured the first of his 24 majors at the Australian Open in 2008.

It was three years before he added his second.

He dropped gluten from his diet, his lithe physique allowing him to chase down lost causes, transforming him into the rubber man of tennis with a rock-steady defence.

In 2011 he enjoyed a spectacular year, winning three of four Slams and becoming world number one for the first time.

In total, he has 10 Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, four US Open titles and three French Opens. He is the only man to win all four majors at least three times.

His collection of 39 Masters titles is also a record as is his 389 weeks spent as world number one.

And time appears to be on his side in the quest to be considered the greatest.

Federer is retired now while Nadal, 37, is sitting out the rest of the season due to a hip injury which might well see him permanently sidelined.

Djokovic also shows few signs of losing his physical edge — 12 of his 24 Grand Slams have come after he turned 30.