World Sports News in Brief

Thiem beats Djokovic in thriller to reach ATP Finals semis

Austria's Dominic Thiem booked a semi-final spot at the ATP Finals with a stunning victory over Novak Djokovic in the standout match of the tournament so far on Tuesday.

Tennis - ATP Finals - The O2, London, UK - November 12, 2019 Austria's Dominic Thiem celebrates after winning his group stage match against Serbia's Novak Djokovic. (Reuters)
Tennis - ATP Finals - The O2, London, UK - November 12, 2019 Austria's Dominic Thiem celebrates after winning his group stage match against Serbia's Novak Djokovic. (Reuters)

* Roger Federer kept alive his hopes of a seventh ATP Finals crown on Tuesday (Nov 12), beating Italian debutant Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 at London's O2 Arena.

* Former world number one Andy Murray is excited to see what he can achieve over the next couple of years after returning to the tour following hip resurfacing surgery but he will not be setting any lofty targets.

* Former world number four and Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova announced her retirement on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Slovakian claimed eight WTA singles titles and entered the top four in 2017. Her biggest title came in 2016 when she defeated then world number one Angelique Kerber to win the WTA Finals.

* Real Madrid have written to Spain's soccer federation (RFEF) to oppose La Liga's plans to play Villarreal's upcoming home match with Atletico Madrid in Miami, an RFEF spokesman said on Tuesday.

* A brilliant Teboho Mokoena free-kick goal gave South Africa a 1-0 victory over the Ivory Coast on Tuesday (Nov 12) in a 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games qualifier in Cairo.

* England midfielder Fabian Delph has been ruled out of their final Euro 2020 qualifiers against Montenegro and Kosovo due to injury, the FA said in a statement.

* Munich will host the 2022 European Championships with the second edition of the multi-sport event also marking the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games held in the city, organisers said on Tuesday.

* World number one Kento Momota unexpectedly withdrew from badminton's Hong Kong Open on Tuesday (Nov 12) - without playing a match - leaving Indian challenger Kidambi Srikanth to advance to the second round.

* Tiger Woods is looking ahead to 2020 by committing to play in The Genesis Invitational, the Feb. 13-16 event in which he’ll serve as tournament host.

Reuters, CNA