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Alcaraz Falls to Zverev, Medvedev Tops Rublev at ATP Finals 

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
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Alcaraz Falls to Zverev, Medvedev Tops Rublev at ATP Finals 

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)

A sluggish Carlos Alcaraz was beaten 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 by Alexander Zverev on his debut at the ATP Finals on Monday to continue his end-of-year slump with a third straight defeat.

The 20-year-old world number two, who missed last year's edition of the season-ending championship due to injury, put the blame for his loss squarely on the fast indoor surface at the cavernous Pala Alpitour in Turin.

"I don't know why they put this surface at the end of the year," the Spaniard said in his post-match news conference.

"All the tournaments we have played on hard court are so, so, slow and then we come here to the Masters (Cup) and they put this court so, so fast.

"I don't understand why they've set the speed so high for this tournament when we have never played on a surface like this all year."

Alcaraz is looking to become the youngest ATP Finals champion since Pete Sampras in 1991 and, despite the loss, still has a chance to advance to the knockout stages from the round-robin Red Group.

"This tournament is different for many things, and one of them is that it allows you to go through to the semi-finals despite losing the first match," Alcaraz posted on Instagram.

The Spaniard's next match is on Wednesday against Andrey Rublev, who went down 6-4 6-2 to Daniil Medvedev in his Red Group opener on Monday.

The Russian duo were expected to duke it out in another epic showdown after meeting in the final of the Dubai Open and the quarter-finals of the US Open earlier this year.

Fifth ranked Rublev, however, fell apart after losing the first set and failed to put up much resistance as Medvedev eased to a 7-2 career record in matches against his compatriot.

"I felt really good and was able to get the upper hand fast," Medvedev said.

"I like to play aggressive on my serve, but Rublev plays in such a style that he doesn't give me any other option because I don't have the power of Alcaraz or (Stefanos) Tsitsipas on my forehand."

The action continues on Tuesday with Tsitsipas taking on Holger Rune, and world number one Novak Djokovic facing Jannik Sinner.

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Sports

Injured Swiatek Goes Down Fighting in Wuhan Open Semi-final

Tennis - WTA 1000 - Wuhan Open - Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Wuhan, China - October 17, 2026 Poland's Maja Chwalinska embraces Poland's Iga Swiatek after winning their semi final match REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Tennis - WTA 1000 - Wuhan Open - Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Wuhan, China - October 17, 2026 Poland's Maja Chwalinska embraces Poland's Iga Swiatek after winning their semi final match REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
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Injured Swiatek Goes Down Fighting in Wuhan Open Semi-final

Tennis - WTA 1000 - Wuhan Open - Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Wuhan, China - October 17, 2026 Poland's Maja Chwalinska embraces Poland's Iga Swiatek after winning their semi final match REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Tennis - WTA 1000 - Wuhan Open - Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Wuhan, China - October 17, 2026 Poland's Maja Chwalinska embraces Poland's Iga Swiatek after winning their semi final match REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

A left-leg injury derailed Iga Swiatek as she went down fighting to Polish compatriot and childhood friend Maja Chwalinska 7-5 6-1 in the Wuhan Open semi-finals on Saturday.

French Open runner-up Chwalinska, who was Swiatek's junior doubles partner, will face Sonay Kartal in the final after the Briton beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(9) 7-6(5) in the first semi-final.

Swiatek was 5-3 ahead in the first set but fellow 25-year-old Chwalinska saved two set points and took a 6-5 lead before the six-time Grand Slam winner had to take a medical timeout.

After receiving ⁠treatment, Swiatek continued ⁠the match with a bandaged left thigh, but found it difficult to put pressure on her leg and struggled to chase returns across the court.

She completed the match and the two players, who have known each other since they were 10, shared a quiet handshake after their first competitive clash in 10 years.

Swiatek's physio Maciej Ryszczuk posted on X: "I told her three times to stop the match ⁠because it was a risk to her health.

"She made the decision herself to carry on playing, and since she’s made that decision, I’ll support her as best I can."

An emotional Chwalinska said she could not believe she had won.

"She is a great champion, living legend, she won everything. So it was a great honor for me to share the court with her today," Chwalinska said about Swiatek.

With Swiatek losing, world number six Elina Svitolina secured her place in the WTA Finals, becoming the seventh player to qualify for next month's year-ending championship, with only one spot still up for grabs.

Former French Open ⁠champion Ostapenko was ⁠left ruing her mistakes as she squandered 4-1 leads in both sets to lose to Kartal, who is ranked 136 places below the Latvian.

Ostapenko was undone by her 41 unforced errors, including two straight double faults while serving for the first set. She hit the ground with her racket, frustrated with wayward and netted returns, as Kartal stayed calm to reach her second final on the tour, Reuters reported.

"At times she is unplayable and sometimes you just have to ride the wave. Mentally, I think this is one of the best performances I've had in my career," said the 24-year-old Kartal, who returned in September after a six-month absence due to a back injury.

Both Kartal and Chwalinska will play their first WTA 1000 final when they face each other on Sunday.

Sports

Messi Brace Lifts Inter Miami to 3-1 Win in Atlanta

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his second goal against Atlanta United during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his second goal against Atlanta United during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
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Messi Brace Lifts Inter Miami to 3-1 Win in Atlanta

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his second goal against Atlanta United during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his second goal against Atlanta United during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Lionel Messi scored twice in the space of four minutes to lift Inter Miami to a 3-1 victory at Atlanta United on Saturday as the Herons' MLS title defense continued to gain steam with the playoffs approaching.

The 39-year-old superstar tops the Major League Soccer scoring chart with 25 goals, six ahead of Croatian striker Petar Musa of FC Dallas and Philadelphia's Milan Iloski.

At the same Atlanta stadium where Messi helped Argentina beat England in the World Cup semi-finals in July, Messi delivered two scintillating goals to secure Miami's third straight victory, AFP reported.

German Berterame, who put Miami up 1-0 in the 45th minute, turned provider, finding Messi who weaved through the Atlanta defense to unleash a left footed shot from the center of the box and make it 2-0 in the 56th minute.

Four minutes later Messi struck again, breaking away on a pass from Luis Suarez and getting the better of hapless Junior Alonso to fire past Atlanta keeper Lucas Hoyos.

Messi had helped put Miami on top shortly before halftime, heading the ball to Suarez who shook off his defender in the box and lofted a pass that Berterame nodded home to make it 1-0.

Messi was credited with an assist, that saw him pull level with LAFC's Son Heung-min atop the assists table. Messi is the first player in MLS history to record at least 15 assists in three straight seasons.

Messi now has four goals in three matches since his emotional Argentina send-off. Miami, who clinched a playoff berth on Wednesday, won their third straight game under Cristian "Kily" Gonzalez, who took over as coach last month.

Fafa Picault converted a penalty in the 89th minute to pull a goal back for Atlanta, but at second-from-bottom in the Eastern Conference Gerardo Martino's team are running out of time to turn things around in time to reach the playoffs.

Elsewhere, St. Louis City's MLS record-tying 19-match unbeaten streak ended with a 3-2 loss at Minnesota as Philadelphia's undefeated run reached 15 matches with a 2-2 draw with Charlotte.

Canadian Marcus Caldeira scored the game winner for Minnesota in the 86th minute after United fell behind early on St. Louis goals by Brazilian forward Rafael Navarro and South Korean winger Jeong Sang-bin.

Aziel Jackson answered for Minnesota in the 49th minute and Kelvin Yeboah netted the equalizer in the 68th.

St. Louis City, already headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2023, missed the chance to break the MLS unbeaten streak mark it now shares with Columbus, Dallas and Inter Miami.

City also saw their MLS-record 21-match unbeaten streak across all competitions snapped.

City had not lost an MLS match since falling 2-0 at Austin on May 3, with 13 victories and six drawn in the run.

Philadelphia had won eight MLS matches in a row before the fightback home draw with Charlotte.

Philadelphia lost 6-4 at Miami on May 24 but since then the Union have won 12 times and drawn three, taking 39 of a possible 45 points since Ryan Richter took over as interim head coach during the league's World Cup break.

Sports

I'd Have Left Real Madrid If I Were Vinicius, Says Mourinho

Real Madird coach Jose Mourinho said he would have left the club this summer if he were Vinicius Junior. JOSE JORDAN / AFP
Real Madird coach Jose Mourinho said he would have left the club this summer if he were Vinicius Junior. JOSE JORDAN / AFP
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I'd Have Left Real Madrid If I Were Vinicius, Says Mourinho

Real Madird coach Jose Mourinho said he would have left the club this summer if he were Vinicius Junior. JOSE JORDAN / AFP
Real Madird coach Jose Mourinho said he would have left the club this summer if he were Vinicius Junior. JOSE JORDAN / AFP

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said Saturday if he were winger Vinicius Junior he would have left the club this summer.

The Brazilian was sent off during Madrid's win over Villarreal last weekend for hair pulling and was banned for four matches, meaning he will miss the Clasico clash against Barcelona on October 25, said AFP.

Vinicius, 26, has also been targeted regularly by opposition fans and been racially abused on many occasions since joining Madrid in 2018.

"He's a spectacular kid who it's easy to have a good relationship with," Mourinho told reporters.

"He's a fantastic boy, tremendous credit to him for the fact that he keeps living and surviving and still having a smile...

"If it were me in his place, probably I wouldn't be here. In this last summer I would have forced an exit to a league, a country, to somewhere there are rival clubs and stadiums that respect him."

In the summer Vinicius signed a new contract with Real Madrid until 2032.

Question marks remain over whether Madrid can line up with attacking superstars Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham together, without losing balance.

"Because he loves Real Madrid, for loving the club and the city, for believing that things can always improve, he renewed and he keeps on smiling," continued Mourinho.

"No one or nobody can... well, influence him negatively yes, because he's human... but take away his joy of living and working and being with his team-mates, no, no one can do that."

Mourinho took Vinicius off during the 4-3 Champions League win at Roma on Wednesday, with the winger still struggling to return to the form that helped him win the competition twice under Carlo Ancelotti.

Mourinho said he was happy that Vinicius's ban was four matches, saying he thought some hidden figures at the Spanish football federation's disciplinary committee "would give him one or two more".

- 'There are limits' -

Madrid face Sevilla on Sunday aiming not to fall further behind league leaders Barcelona, who visit Real Betis later on Saturday.

Hansi Flick's Barcelona have won every single match this season and are six points ahead of fourth-placed Real Madrid.

Los Blancos and Mourinho have blamed referees for some of their results, including the 2-1 derby defeat by Atletico Madrid in September.

On Friday Real Madrid called for La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign after he compared the club's efforts to discredit referees to the techniques of propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

Tebas later attempted to clarify that he was drawing comparisons with "those propaganda techniques" and not with the ideology of the Nazis.

"I don't want to talk about this, there are limits and there are limits. You can only excuse it if it's a clinical case -- otherwise there's no excuse," said Mourinho.

"I don't want to go down that road. Madrid and its fans understands what it is up against.

"For the prestige that the league has abroad, for being the current world champions, it's better if we try to keep this here and not let it get out (to the world)."