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Novak Djokovic Clinches Year-End No. 1 Ranking at ATP Finals 

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts while in action against Holger Rune of Denmark during their match at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Turin, Italy, 12 November 2023. (EPA)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts while in action against Holger Rune of Denmark during their match at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Turin, Italy, 12 November 2023. (EPA)
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Novak Djokovic Clinches Year-End No. 1 Ranking at ATP Finals 

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts while in action against Holger Rune of Denmark during their match at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Turin, Italy, 12 November 2023. (EPA)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts while in action against Holger Rune of Denmark during their match at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Turin, Italy, 12 November 2023. (EPA)

Top-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic opened group play with a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1), 6-3 victory over No. 8 seed Holger Rune of Denmark at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, on Sunday to clinch the year-end No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings.

Djokovic lands at No. 1 at year's end for the eighth time, an ATP record. At 36, he is also the oldest player to finish in the top spot.

"Becoming year-end No. 1 is an incredible accomplishment. To achieve it eight times is absolutely extraordinary," ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said. "Novak continues to set the standard in tennis, and his passion and drive make him a true champion. There's no doubt that more greatness and records lie ahead in his journey."

With the victory, Djokovic improved to 1-0 in the Green Group.

The top eight players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings were divided into two groups of four for the round-robin group stage. Italian Jannik Sinner, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic and Rune are in the Green Group, while Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev of Germany and Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev make up the Red Group.

The winners of each group will face the runners-up of the other group in the semifinals, with the third- and fourth-place finishers from each group getting eliminated.

Rune logged 18 aces and 48 winners on Sunday, but that still wasn't enough to get the best of Djokovic, who never trailed in the decisive third set.

"It took everything," Djokovic said. "I saw in the first game, when he fired shots from the baseline in the first three or four points, I knew that it was going to be a tough life for me. If I wanted to win this match, I was going to have to work really hard."

In Sunday's other match in the Green Group, fourth-seeded Sinner beat No. 6 Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.

Sinner won 32 of 36 first-service points and racked up 21 winners against five unforced errors to cruise to the win. Tsitsipas saved three of five break points and had 16 winners.

"I was excited to step on court and opening the Finals is really, really special," Sinner said. "I knew it was going to be very tough, but I think I handled the situation well. I tried to stay aggressive and I am very happy with the performance."

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Late Guirassy Goal Seals Win as Dortmund Cuts Bayern’s Bundesliga Lead to 3 Points

07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
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Late Guirassy Goal Seals Win as Dortmund Cuts Bayern’s Bundesliga Lead to 3 Points

07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)

Serhou Guirassy scored late for Borussia Dortmund to cut Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga lead to three points on Saturday with a 2-1 win at Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg dominated the second half with Mohamed Amoura missing several good chances and Maximilian Arnold striking the crossbar.

Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier hit the underside of the bar with a deflected shot in the first half, when Julian Brandt opened the scoring with a header from Julian Ryerson’s corner in the 38th for the visitors.

Konstantinos Koulierakis replied in similar fashion after the break with a header from Arnold’s free kick, but Wolfsburg was to rue not taking its chances to score more.

Guirassy pounced for the winner in the 87th after good play between Fábio Silva and Felix Nmecha.

“That’s part of football,” Dortmund coach Niko Kovač said of his team’s scrappy win. “But then to decide it with one action is also a quality.”

Eighteen-year-old Italian defender Luca Reggiani went on late for Dortmund for his Bundesliga debut.

American winger Kevin Paredes made his first Wolfsburg start since April 25 after recovering from two operations on his right foot.

Bayern, which failed to win its last two games, can restore its six-point lead with a win over high-flying Hoffenheim on Sunday.

Borussia Mönchengladbach was hosting Bayer Leverkusen later.

Bremen loses on coach's debut

Werder Bremen’s coaching change did little to alter its fortunes as the team lost 1-0 in Freiburg on Daniel Thioune’s debut.

Jan-Niklas Beste let fly and found the top far corner in the 13th for Freiburg, which had Johan Manzambi sent off early in the second half for a foul on Bremen’s Olivier Deman.

Thioune’s team was unable to capitalize on the extra player and is now 11 league games without a win. Bremen faces a visit from Bayern next weekend.

Welcome win for St. Pauli

St. Pauli boosted its survival hopes with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Stuttgart.

The Hamburg-based team remained second-from-bottom, but it opened a four-point gap on bottom side Heidenheim, which lost 2-0 at home to Hamburger SV. Bremen's defeat means St. Pauli is just two points from the relegation playoff place.

Mainz keeps winning

Nadiem Amiri scored two penalties, one in each half, for Mainz to beat Augsburg 2-0 for its third straight win.

Amiri ripped off his distinctive carnival-inspired jersey as he celebrated the second one to seal the win. The thoughtful Lee Jae-sung picked it up so he could resume when the celebrations died down.

Mainz next visits Dortmund.

Sports

Man United Wins Again to Make It Four in a Row for New Coach Michael Carrick

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
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Man United Wins Again to Make It Four in a Row for New Coach Michael Carrick

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)

It's four Premier League wins in a row for Manchester United under Michael Carrick and a season that was unraveling just weeks ago now looks full of promise.

A 2-0 victory against Tottenham on Saturday extended Carrick's 100% start as head coach and will further strengthen his case to be given the job on a long-term basis.

“Michael has won everything here and he knows what it means for these fans, what it means for the club to win and how much is needed to win in this football. I think that adds something special to the team,” United captain Bruno Fernandes told TNT Sports.

It was the first time in two years that United has won four straight league games and boosted its hopes of a return to the lucrative Champions League after missing out for the last two years.

Bryan Mbeumo and Fernandes scored in each half at Old Trafford in a game that saw Spurs reduced to 10 men after captain Cristian Romero was sent off in the 29th minute.

Carrick has transformed United's fortunes since he was parachuted in to replace the fired Ruben Amorim last month. Initially given a contract until the end of the season — having previously had a three-game interim spell in 2021 — his impressive impact will likely put him in serious contention to keep the job as the club's hierarchy consider its long-term plans.

“I think Michael came in with the right ideas of giving the players the responsibility, but some freedom to take the responsibility on the pitch, doing the decisions that were needed,” said Fernandes. “He's very good with the words.

“I think he still remembers what I told him the last time he was our manager for our last game. I was sure that Michael could be a great manager, and he’s just showing it.”

United is fourth and after moving up to 44 points, the 20-time English champion has already exceeded last season's total of 42 points for the entire campaign.

Fernandes’ goal, with a controlled finish off his shin in the 81st, was his 200th goal involvement since joining United in 2020.

It sealed victory after Mbeumo had given United the lead in the 38th when firing low from a corner to score his 10th goal of his debut season at the club.

While United's captain was inspirational, Tottenham's Romero did his team no favors with his sending off in the first half.

Having described as “disgraceful” the fact that Spurs were reduced to 11 fit players for the draw with Manchester City last weekend, Romero hardly helped his team’s cause with his red card for a dangerous tackle on Casemiro.

The league's stats partner Opta said it was Romero's sixth sending off since joining the club in 2021 — more than any other Premier League player in that time.

Sports

Protesters in Milan Denounce Impact of Games on Environment

A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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Protesters in Milan Denounce Impact of Games on Environment

A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)

Thousands of people took to the streets of Milan on Saturday in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns on the first full day of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

The march, organized by grassroots unions, housing-rights groups and social center community activists, is seeking to highlight what activists call an increasingly unsustainable city model marked by soaring rents and deepening inequality.

The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals ‌squeezed by soaring ‌living costs as an Italian tax scheme for ‌wealthy ⁠new residents, ‌alongside Brexit, draws professionals to the financial capital.

Some groups also argue that the Olympics are a waste of public money and resources pointing to infrastructure projects they say have damaged the environment in mountain communities.

A banner stretched across the street read: "Let's take back the cities, let's free the mountains."

CARDBOARD TREES SYMBOLIZE DESTRUCTION

"I’m here because these Olympics are unsustainable — economically, socially, and environmentally," said 71-year-old Stefano Nutini, standing beneath a Communist ⁠Refoundation Party flag.

He argued that Olympic infrastructure had placed a heavy burden on mountain towns hosting events ‌in the first widely dispersed edition of the Winter ‍Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) points out ‍that the Games are largely using existing facilities, making them more sustainable.

At ‍the head of the procession, about 50 people carried stylized cardboard trees to represent the larches they said were felled to build a new bobsleigh track in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"Century-old trees, survivors of two wars...sacrificed for 90 seconds of competition on a bobsleigh track costing 124 million (euros)," read another banner.

MARCH TAKES PLACE UNDER TIGHT SECURITY

According to police estimates, more than 5,000 people were taking part in the ⁠march.

Protesters set off from the Medaglie d'Oro central square to cover nearly four kilometers (2.5 miles) to end in Milan's south-eastern quadrant of Corvetto, a historically working-class district.

A rally last weekend by the hard-left in the city of Turin turned violent, with more than 100 police officers injured and nearly 30 protesters arrested, according to an interior ministry tally.

Saturday's protest follows a series of actions in the run-up to the Games, including rallies on the eve of the opening ceremony that denounced the presence in Italy of US ICE agents and what activists describe as the social and economic burdens of the Olympic project.

The march is taking place under tight security ‌as Milan hosts world leaders, athletes and thousands of visitors for the global sport event, including US Vice President JD Vance.