Saudi Footballer Salem Al-Dawsari Named 2022 AFC Player of the Year

President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa (L) presents Saudi Arabia's forward Salem al-Dawsari with the AFC Player of the Year award during the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022 on October 31, 2023. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa (L) presents Saudi Arabia's forward Salem al-Dawsari with the AFC Player of the Year award during the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022 on October 31, 2023. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
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Saudi Footballer Salem Al-Dawsari Named 2022 AFC Player of the Year

President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa (L) presents Saudi Arabia's forward Salem al-Dawsari with the AFC Player of the Year award during the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022 on October 31, 2023. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa (L) presents Saudi Arabia's forward Salem al-Dawsari with the AFC Player of the Year award during the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022 on October 31, 2023. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)

Saudi national team player and Al-Hilal SFC winger Salem Al-Dawsari was crowned the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Player of the Year for 2022 in a ceremony at the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha.

Salem has solidified his position as one of the best players in Asia, showcasing his talent on the world stage during his participation in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he scored the winning goal for the national team in a 2-1 victory against Argentina, which ultimately became the champions.

He also netted a goal against Mexico, equaling the record for the highest number of goals scored by a Saudi player in World Cup matches with a total of three goals.

Locally, Al-Dawsari was a main contributor to Al-Hilal's triumph in the Saudi Pro League 2021-2022 and the King Cup 2022-2023.



Medvedev Beats Monfils in Beijing. Draper Upsets Hurkacz in Japan

Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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Medvedev Beats Monfils in Beijing. Draper Upsets Hurkacz in Japan

Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Daniil Medvedev safely navigated a tricky first outing at the China Open on Friday, winning 6-3, 6-4 against French veteran Gael Monfils.
The third-seeded Medvedev, runner-up to Jannik Sinner here last year, broke Monfils' serve three times in a dominant opening set, The Associated Press reported.
After trading breaks in a closer second set, former No. 1-ranked Medvedev clinched the match with another service break to seal the win in 92 minutes.
Roman Safiullin, who made the main draw as a lucky loser in qualifying, beat three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 and will face top-ranked Sinner.
No. 3-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, seeded second in Beijing, begins against No. 51 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France later Friday.
In the women's draw, sixth-seeded Emma Navarro was upset by Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes. The 35-year-old Zhang, a doubles specialist, played well above her current singles ranking of No. 595 as she took five of her seven breakpoint opportunities against the U.S. Open semifinalist.
Zhang will play Greet Minnen of Belgium, who beat 28th-seeded Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, in the third round.
Also, 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider beat former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-3 and Yuliia Starodubtseva had a 6-2, 6-2 win over 27th-seeded Katerina Siniakova.
Second-seeded Jessica Pegula was due open her tournament later Friday against Diane Parry of France, and Coco Gauff faced Clara Burel in a night match.
US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka plays Saturday against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek was not playing this week for personal reasons.
Japan Open Second-seeded Hubert Hurkacz lost 6-4, 6-4 to US Open semifinalist Jack Draper in the second round in Tokyo, a day after top-seeded Taylor Fritz and third-seeded Casper Ruud were eliminated from the tournament.
While the 22-year-old Draper and Hurkacz were evenly matched on aces and winners, it was the Polish player's 30 unforced errors, to Draper's 20, that proved costly.
Draper will next play either Brandon Nakashima or Ugo Humbert in the quarterfinals.
Defending champion Ben Shelton also progressed to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Mariano Navone. Shelton, along with Fritz, traveled to Japan from the Laver Cup in Berlin, where they represented Team World in a loss to Alcaraz’s Team Europe.