World Sports News in Brief

Davis Cup: Nadal rescues Spain but heartbreak for Djokovic's Serbia

Rafael Nadal put in some late-night overtime to drag hosts Spain into the Davis Cup semi-finals but Novak Djokovic’s hopes were dashed in excruciating fashion as Serbia bowed out on Friday.

Tennis - Davis Cup Finals - Quarter-Final - Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain - November 23, 2019 Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates winning his doubles match with Marcel Granollers-Pujol against Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Leonardo Mayer. (Reuters)
Tennis - Davis Cup Finals - Quarter-Final - Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain - November 23, 2019 Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates winning his doubles match with Marcel Granollers-Pujol against Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Leonardo Mayer. (Reuters)

World number one Nadal rescued his country as he joined forces with Marcel Granollers to win the deciding doubles rubber of their quarter-final against Argentina and set up a clash with Britain who beat Germany 2-0.

* Neymar made his latest comeback from injury for Paris Saint-Germain on Friday (Nov 22) as first-half goals by Mauro Icardi and Angel Di Maria saw the Ligue 1 leaders ease to a 2-0 win over Lille at the Parc des Princes.

* Cristiano Ronaldo is '99 per cent' certain to miss this weekend's Serie A trip to Atalanta after his four-goal spree for Portugal in Euro 2020 qualifying, coach Maurizio Sarri confirmed on Friday (Nov 22).

* Scotland will face Israel in the Euro 2020 playoff semi-finals at Hampden Park, while Ireland visit Slovakia following a draw on Friday at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland.

* The president of Russian athletics and senior officials have been suspended for "serious breaches" of anti-doping rules, putting Russian track and field athletes' participation at next year's Tokyo Olympics in further danger.

* Celtic have been fined €15,000 (US$16,582) by UEFA for illicit banners and offensive chants by their supporters in their Europa League match against Lazio last month, European soccer's governing body said on Friday (Nov 22).

* South Africa snatched the last African place for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Ghana in Cairo Friday (Nov 22) after a breathtaking third place play-off.

* Floyd Mayweather has teased a possible return to fighting, writing in an Instagram post he was "coming out of retirement" in 2020.

* Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus scored a stoppage-time equaliser as they dragged themselves back from 3-0 down to rescue a 3-3 draw against promoted Paderborn on Friday but they still suffered a dent to their Bundesliga title hopes.

* New Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho wants to take the club led by England striker Harry Kane to the next level by winning trophies and said he would love to stay in the job for at least as long as his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino.

Reuters, CNA