Paris Masters: New dad Novak Djokovic returns to action

Novak Djokovic says he is not concerned about his number one ranking as he returns to action after becoming a father for the first time.

BBC Sport -- The Serb, 27, plays his first match at the Paris Masters on Tuesday since wife Jelena Ristic gave birth to son Stefan.

Philipp Kohlschreiber is Djokovic's first opponent since he lost to world number two Roger Federer in Shanghai earlier this month.

"I feel like I'm already number one becoming a father last week," he said.

It is the first indoor tournament of the defending champion's season as the players prepare for the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

Federer is just 490 points behind Djokovic in the ATP world rankings, with the winner in Paris receiving 1,000 points.

"I never thought that he's not a competition for number one of the world," said Djokovic. "I always thought that he's one of the best players in the world, and he keeps on proving everybody that he deserves to be there.

World Rankings	Player	Nationality
1st - 9,010 points	Novak Djokovic	Ser
2nd - 8,520 points	Roger Federer	Swi
3rd - 6,835 points	Rafael Nadal	Spa
4th - 4,805 points	Stanislas Wawrinka	Swi
5th - 4,295 points	Andy Murray	GB
6th - 4,265 points	Kei Nishikori	Jpn

"I have lots of respect for what he does. I don't think that age is an issue for him. As a matter of fact, I think he's playing some of his best tennis this year.

"For me, it's important to participate in my child's life as much as I can, in his development, in his growing up, in his childhood.

"You know, I hope that it's going to affect positively on my career. In terms of my approach to the tennis, nothing is really changing. I'm still out here, still fighting, competing, and then trying to be number one of the world, trying to win tournaments."

Britain's Andy Murray, now ranked eighth in the world, will open his Paris campaign with a match against the winner of Julien Benneteau and Yen-Hsun Lu on Wednesday, as he bids to secure a place in London.

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Carlos Tevez to return to Argentina fold after three years in international wilderness

The former Manchester City striker hasn't figured for the Albiceleste since missing a penalty in the 2011 Copa America

Carlos Tevez is set to make a sensational return to international football in England next month after years in the Argentina wilderness.

And the Juventus forward could make that comeback at his old stomping ground, Old Trafford, where Argentina will play Portugal in a mouthwatering friendly on November 17.

Tevez last featured in an international shirt back in 2011 as Argentina crashed out of the Copa America on home soil.

Alejandro Sabella - who led his side to this summer's World Cup Final - took over shortly after and consistently left out the former Manchester United, West Ham and Man City forward until leaving the role in July.

But new boss Gerardo Martino, who insists he is not bowing to commercial pressures, will recall Tevez for the two friendlies next month in the first step of his international rehabilitation.

Argentina will play Croatia at Upton Park on November 12 after Ecuador pulled out of a scheduled friendly in Madrid, before Lionel Messi's side take on Cristiano Ronaldo and friends at Old Trafford five days later.

By Ed Malyon - Mirror.co.uk

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ATP Valencia Open: Andy Murray takes title after marathon final against Tommy Robredo

Andy Murray virtually assured himself of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals by battling to a 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (10-8) win over Tommy Robredo in the Valencia Open final.

Andy Murray Saved five match points before edging out Tommy Robredo

Sky Sports -- Just like in the Shenzhen Open final between the two a month ago, the British No 1 saved five match points in a dramatic contest which lasted 3 hours 19 minutes.

The victory gives Murray 500 ranking points and moves him into the top non-qualified spot in the Race to London standings.

Although it is possible that Murray could drop out of the qualifying places after next week’s Paris Masters, such a scenario would need the tournament in the French capital to play out in a very elaborate and improbable way.

The win sealed the 31st ATP title of Murray’s career and was his third success in the space of a month. Before the current rich vein of form he had not won a tournament since last year’s Wimbledon.

Robredo showed he was up for a battle in the first set as he saved six break points while converting the only two chances he earned.

The Spaniard, playing in front of a home crowd, broke for the first time for a 4-3 lead and then wrapped up the set when Murray dropped serve again.

Murray responded by recording his first break of serve in the opening game of the second set, but the Spaniard stayed in it and eventually managed to level matters in the eighth game.

A tie-break was eventually needed to settle the set, with Murray coming back from the brink to save two match points before forcing a deciding set.

Both players looked to be in physical difficulty during the third set as the intense exertions seemed to be taking their toll.

But they still managed to produce a marathon deciding tie-break full of drama, Murray saving three more match points before finally wrapping up the win.

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Manchester United eye Ezequiel Garay transfer as Louis van Gaal aims for defensive fix in January

The long-term Manchester United target could finally move to Old Trafford if Louis van Gaal gets his way

Mirror.co.uk -- Louis van Gaal has identified Argentina hard man Ezequiel Garay as the player to fix Manchester United’s leaky defence.

United sent two scouts to watch the Zenit St Petersburg centre-half play in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday with a view to making a January bid.

Although Garay only joined Zenit for £12million from Benfica in the summer , United believe they can prise the Argentina international away in the January transfer window. Van Gaal has made sorting out his rearguard a priority and sees Garay, 28, as the man to build his defence around.

Garay was linked with United last summer , but his move to Zenit went through before Van Gaal took charge officially at Old Trafford.

Quick, powerful and strong is the air, Van Gaal sees Garay as the man to bring much-needed solidity to United’s defence.

He first came to Van Gaal’s attention back in 2007, when he was part of the Argentina team that won the World Under-20 Championships in Holland.

Garay played alongside United defender Marcos Rojo in the World Cup in Brazil. Although Rojo has played in central defence in United’s last three games, Van Gaal is said to see him as a left-back long-term and Garay as the man to lead the back four.

Van Gaal is not convinced by Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, the three centre-backs he inherited at United. 

His defence faces its most difficult test tomorrow when Jose Mourinho’s free-scoring Chelsea visit. 

Mourinho is desperate for Diego Costa to play, but has told him he needs to go flat out in training today.

The Brazil-born hitman, already suffering with a hamstring problem, only left hospital on Thursday after being hit by a virus.

Mourinho claims Costa has “a little chance” of featuring against United, but added: “Diego has to show in training that he’s capable of playing. He has to make a complete session with the other guys without any kind of protection.”

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Angel Di Maria is Leading the Manchester United Transformation

Club Manchester United; for some, it is one of the biggest clubs in the world. For many, it is the biggest club in England. But, for all, it is going through one of the largest transformations in its history. Louis Van Gaal arrived in the summer along with a clutch of stars to start this process.

The hopes for the die-hard followers are a little subdued because no one is sure if Van Gaal will lead the revival (like he did at Bayern) or if United will follow the path of Liverpool (which struggled for many years). Though the star summer arrivals are supposed to improve the mood and performances, there still is an air of subdued expectations. As Van Gaal tried to put it in perspective, the process of transformation is slow.

The results aren’t great as of yet, but after seven games, they are back in Champion’s League places. So, what has changed? Who’s leading the transformation? Goals, assists, carrying expectations, etc.: it’s all one man – Angel Di Maria. The largest British transfer of all time, Di Maria has started justifying every penny that United has spent in the summer.

Experts look at goals, assists and key passes. But, they tell only half the story. The impact of Di Maria at United this season is much more than the goals and assists. After the disasters of last season, United faithful were looking for a liftoff. And it arrived in the form of Di Maria. He responded with goals on the pitch, assists that ended in fabulous goals. Di Maria has influenced the game so much that when they lost at Leicester after leading 3-1, the team attributed it to the substitution of Di Maria.

The season is still young and there is so much to play for before it is concluded that the revival of United is complete. But, just for the impact he has had on and off the pitch, Di Maria has already revived United. The end of the season may not see any silverware at Old Trafford. Next season may not see United back in Europe. But, one thing’s for sure – at this point of the season, the mood at United is one of optimism and realistic hopes.

By sridharbhamidi - RantSports.com

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Air Force captain proposes to Cardinals cheerleader during Arizona game

A recently-returned from the Middle East officer in the Air Force proposed to his NFL cheerleader girlfriend on the field Sunday before a game.

Captain Erick Straub dropped to one knee and proposed to Arizona Cardinals cheerleader Claire Thornton, 23, in front of a packed University of Phoenix Stadium just before the team's game against the Washington Redskins, according to USA Today. She said yes.

Straub, dressed in full uniform, popped the question on the sidelines as Thornton's fellow cheerleaders burst into tears and cheered her on.

The 70,000-seat stadium roared with approval as the couple hugged just after Straub put the ring on Thornton's finger.

Straub is believed to have just returned from a tour of duty in the Middle East.

The proposal came as a shock to Thornton, a first-grade teacher by day.

Thornton has been named cheerleader of the month multiple times by the Cardinals organization, her engagement is likely to have left more than a few broken hearts in the stands.

The pair's celebration was briefly put on hold while Thornton resumed her cheering duties during the Sunday afternoon game.

Straub and Thornton's engagement appears to have rubbed off on the Cardinals.

The first-place team beat the bottom-feeding Redskins 30-20 to improve to 4-1. 

By RYAN GORMAN - AOL

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German Misfortune Hands Poland a First

Germany fell 2-0 in Poland in a EURO 2016 Qualifying encounter. This was the first ever victory for the hosts over the world champions at the senior international level. The men that will go down in history are Arkadiusz Milik and Sebastian Mila, as they scored in the second half to decide the matter.

Poland lined up in a 4-4-2, allowing Robert Lewandowski to team up with Milik up top to really put pressure on the German back four. The visitors played in their usual 4-2-3-1 and they did create a plethora of chances, but they were ironically caught out on the counter twice, as this setup usually works well offensively on the break.

Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny was the hero of the night as he made save after save to deny the German onslaught. Torino FC defender, Kamil Glik, intercepted, dispossessed and halted so much danger that he has to be voted the best defender of the game. If it were not for these two, Poland could have lost big time.

Even though there were two strikers, Lewandowski was left isolated at times on the counter or the build-up, which is why they created so rarely. Maybe switching to a 4-1-2-1-2 could have given Poland more possession and better opportunities in the final third, as scoring more than once is exactly how to defeat Germany, hence today’s result.

Now, Germany need to bounce back with their home game against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday. If they win that one, they will be right back on track to win the group.

By Aydin Reyhan - RantSports.com

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LeBron James surprised by comments from former Heat teammates

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James said Friday that he was surprised by recent comments from former Miami Heat teammates.

Dwyane Wade said in recent interview that last "last year wasn't fun," while Chris Bosh, who initially said he had not spoken with James since the announcement of his decision to leave Miami, clarified this week that he spoke briefly with the four-time MVP at Wade's Aug. 30 wedding. On Thursday, Bosh said there are no "hard feelings" between him and James. 

From ESPN.com:

"I know a lot of words have been coming out of their camp as of late and some of it is surprising," James said Friday after Cleveland's practice. "We've got so much history together. ... It doesn't take away from what we accomplished [in Miami] and I know that."
"I've talked to D. Wade. Obviously I haven't talked to Chris. But I haven't seen them," James added.

Bosh and Wade re-signed with Miami this summer after James announced that he was returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat appeared in four consecutive Finals and won two championships after James and Bosh joined Wade in 2010 to form the so-called "Big 3"

The first regular season matchup between the Cavaliers and Heat is on Christmas Day in Miami. 

si.com

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