Prolific striker Wissam Ben Yedder grabbed his ninth goal of the season as Monaco handed Nantes their first home Ligue 1 defeat of the campaign on Friday.
Ben Yedder struck in the first half and had two more efforts ruled out for offside as Leonardo Jardim's rejuvenated Monaco clinched a fourth win in their last five league outings.
They move into eighth place in the table while Nantes stay second, five points behind leaders Paris Saint Germain who take on bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday.
Nantes' defeat ended their perfect record at home this season which had seen four successive 1-0 wins over Montpellier, Reims, Rennes and Nice.
"It's important to win away from home for the first time this season," said Jardim after Ben Yedder became the first Monaco player in 50 years to score nine goals in his first nine games in a season.
"Ben Yedder was always very effective at Toulouse and Sevilla. He is also in a better physical condition than at the beginning of the season."
Ben Yedder ...

Monaco's Ben Yedder ends Nantes' perfect home run

PTI Automatic

Strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are set to return for Uruguay in a friendly game against Hungary in November.
Both men missed two games against Peru in October as they recovered from injuries. All 24 players named by coach Oscar Tabarez on Friday do not play in Uruguay.
Defender Jose Maria Gimenez is out because of muscle injury he picked playing for Atletico Madrid this week.
Uruguay faces Hungary on Nov. 15 at the Ferenc Puskas stadium in Budapest. The country's soccer body is yet to pick an opponent for another friendly on Nov. 19.
Squad:
Goakeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Campana (Independiente).  Defenders: Diego Godin (Inter Milan), Sebastian Coates (Sporting Lisbon), Gaston Silva (Independiente), Martin Caceres (Fiorentina), Bruno Mendez (Corinthians), Mathias Suarez (Montpellier).
Midfielders: Matias Vecino (Inter Milan), Nahitan Nandez (Cagliari), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Brian Lozano (Santos Laguna), Lucas ...

Suarez, Cavani set to play for Uruguay in friendly v Hungary

Lewis Hamilton's hopes of wrapping up his sixth drivers world title this weekend dimmed on Friday when he languished in fifth place behind Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari after second free practice at the Mexican Grand Prix.
After topping the times in the opening session, the defending five-time champion was unable to resist the pace of his main rivals as four-time champion Vettel delivered a best lap in one minute and 16.607 seconds.
On an overcast but warm day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the outright pace of the Ferraris ruled on the main straight with Max Verstappen, winner of the last two Mexican races for Red Bull, also showing competitive pace.
The Dutchman was second, just one-tenth down on Vettel, but four-tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc with Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate -- and only remaining title rival -- Valtteri Bottas fourth ahead of the champion-elect.
Daniil Kvyat was sixth ahead of his Toro Rosso team-mate Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz of McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg ..

Hamilton's hopes of sixth title in Mexico dim after poor practice

Stefanos Tsitsipas set up his fourth meeting this season with Roger Federer after a 3-6 6-4 6-4 quarter-final comeback win over Filip Krajinovic at the Swiss Indoors on Friday.
The Greek world number seven has beaten nine-time Basel champion Federer at the Australian Open while benefitting from a walkover on the clay in Rome. In between, Federer, 38, swept past the 21-year-old Greek in Dubai.
Top seed Federer on Thursday had already made sure of his spot in the semi-finals after Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka withdrew from their last-eight tie with a lower back injury just an hour after seeing off Frances Tiafoe in a gruelling second round clash.
On Friday, Tsitsipas had to stage a fightback for a second straight match after recovering against qualifier Ricardas Berankis 24 hours earlier.
"Persistence was the key today," said third seed Tsitsipas. "I put a lot of emphasis on my serve. It was also crucial to stay concentrated, even if I was broken three times, unfortunately. But there .

Tsitsipas sets up Federer clash in Basel semi-finals

Reilly Opelka fired 31 aces to reach the fifth semi-final of his career on Friday as he beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at the Swiss Indoors.
The 37th-ranked American's victory in 93 minutes also slowed the progress of his Spanish opponent in the chase for one of the two remaining places at the ATP Finals in London next month.
Opelka has reached four of his five semi-finals this season -- most recently at the start of the month in Tokyo -- as the 22-year-old works to broaden his game beyond just a huge serve.
The 6ft 11in (2.11m) giant earned the only title of his career last February at Long Island, New York.
Opelka ended his afternoon when he set up two match points with an ace and then caught Bautista Agut wrong-footed with a winner into the empty court on his first chance.
He will next play either Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff or Australian Alex de Minaur for a place in the final.
Nine-time champion and top seed Roger Federer had already made sure of his spot in the ...

Opelka fires 31 aces on way to Basel semi-finals

Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their impressive run as they progressed to the semifinals with another stunning win but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal at the USD 700,000 French Open here on Friday.
The Indian duo, who had claimed their maiden Super 500 title at the Thailand Open in August this year, shocked World No 8 Danish pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-13 22-20 in a thrilling quarterfinal match that lasted 39 minutes here.
Satwik and Chirag will now take on either the Japanese fifth seeds Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe or the third seeded Chinese combination of Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen.
Earlier, a fighting Saina was knocked out after she went down in straight games to Korea's AN se Young in the women's singles quarterfinals.
The 29-year-old Indian, who had claimed the Indonesia Masters in January this year, lost 20-22 21-23 to world no 16 Young after a 49-minute thrilling contest.
It was her first ...

Satwik-Chirag sail into semifinals, Saina knocked out of French Open

Formula One's world champion-elect Lewis Hamilton has been scarred for life by racist abuse that he experienced as a young driver, Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff said on Friday.
"When Lewis was younger he was the only black kid among the white kids, and I know he was racially abused on the track," said Wolff.
"If that happens to an eight-year-old, or a 10-year-old, it just leaves scars that will not go away."
Speaking ahead of Hamilton's attempt to win his sixth world championship at Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix, Wolff said the Briton -- F1's only black driver -- has gained a mature perspective after surviving discrimination to rise from karting to the summit of motorsport.
"If, as a child, you have had to overcome abuse and discrimination, on one side it makes you a stronger personality, but on the other side it also leaves scars," Wolff added.
"Today, Lewis has a good and mature perspective, but the scars are certainly there. That is not the only motivating factor for him -- those ...

Hamilton scarred for life by childhood racial abuse, says Wolff

Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has supported BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's claims to hold Day/Night Tests.
The Hyderabad Cricket Association president is happy that skipper Virat Kohli is also on the same page with the BCCI president.
"It is good if captain is agreeable like Dada. It is a good experiment. You will get to know if public will like it or not. It should be implemented," Azharuddin said during the felicitation ceremony.
Azhar, who was Ganguly's first international captain, is happy to see him grow in his role as an administrator.
"I am very happy Ganguly has become the BCCI president. He's one of the finest persons and an outstanding human being. One of the best players we won so many tournaments. He played cricket in his terms and as BCCI president too I hope he will play that on his term also," he said.
Azhar, who made his Test debut at the Eden Gardens with a century and later had some memorable moments at this ground including captaincy saving hundred and ..

Azhar supports Ganguly's bid to conduct Day/Night Tests

Former champions ATK got off to a flying start at home, banging in five goals past debutants Hyderabad FC in their Indian Super League clash at the Saltlake Stadium here on Friday.
ATK probably sealed the deal in the first 45 minutes itself taking a 3-0 lead with David Williams scoring a brace in the 25th and 44th minutes.
ATK's star Fijian recruit Roy Krishna also got his name on the scoresheet with a goal in the 27th minute before Edu Garcia completed the humiliation, striking twice in the 88th and 90th minutes.
The Antonio Lopez Habas-coached side thus returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion after suffering a 1-2 reversal in their opening game in Kerala on October 20.
The home side pressed hard from the start and it was Michael Soosairaj who returned unlucky in the 19th minute when his shot ricochetted off the far post from 15-yards out.
Finally they got a well-deserved lead when Javier Hernandez slided an excellent through ball towards Williams, who took one touch and then ...

ATK pump in five past Hyderabad in ISL

Former India batsman VVS Laxman wants his former colleague and newly-elected BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to revive the National Cricket Academy, which he said was key to nurture future stars.
Laxman, who is also a consultant for CAB's special project 'vision 2020', was one of the special invitees along with Mohammed Azharuddin at Cricket Association of Bengal's felicitation ceremony for Ganguly.
For the past few years NCA, which was supposed to be the feeder line of Indian cricket, has actually become a rehabilitation centre, which even Ganguly acknowledged after taking over.
"If you ask me one thing, it would be how Sourav can revive the NCA. The greatness of this Indian team is their bench strength," Laxman said.
Making his point clear, Laxman cited example of South Africa's recent Test series humiliation at the hands of India.
"You look at this South Africa side and it is the most depleted I have seen. This is because their domestic structure is not strong. The reason why the ...

Laxman wants Ganguly to revive NCA

The BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Friday said that Indian skipper Virat Kohli is open to the idea of playing day-night Tests and it could be a reality in near future.
He had a meeting with Kohli in Mumbai on Thursday where the idea was floated.
"I must say that Virat Kohli is agreeable to it. There are reports that he does not want to play day-night Tests which is not the fact. So once the captain of India is agreeable to it, life becomes a lot easier. We will see how we can push it. The game needs to forward," Ganguly said during the sidelines of his felicitation by the CAB at the Eden Gardens.
The former India captain had been a vocal advocate of pink ball Test in order to bring back the spectators to the stadium.
"We all are thinking about this and we will do something about it. I am a firm believer in Day Night Tests. I don't know when will that happen. But till the time I am around, I will be pushing for it," Ganguly said.
However it must be mentioned that if Ganguly's tenure .

Virat has agreed to play Day/Night Tests: Ganguly

Paris Saint-Germain injury-hit striker Neymar was left out of the Brazil squad announced Friday for friendlies next month against Argentina and South Korea.
Neymar was ruled out for four weeks in mid-October with a hamstring injury he suffered playing for his country in a 1-1 friendly draw against Nigeria.
A day after that October 13 outing in Singapore PSG reported that an MRI scan showed that their star player had suffered "a grade two lesion" in his left hamstring.  Brazil face Argentina on November 15 and South Korea four days later.

Injured Neymar misses Brazil friendlies

The fresh season of the I-League, which has officially been pushed below cash-rich Indian Super League (ISL), will begin from November 30 but the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is yet to confirm the broadcaster for the upcoming edition.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the League Committee here on Friday.
Some of the prominent teams playing I-League are defending champions Chennai City, Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan, East Bengal along with Real Kashmir FC.
The meeting was attended by AIFF senior vice-president Subrata Dutta, who is also the chairman of the League Committee, general secretary Kushal Das, CEO Sunando Dhar besides League committee members Souter Vaz, Anil Kumar and Chirag Tanna. AIFF technical director Isac Doru was also present.
"I-League 2019-20 will commence on November 30, 2019 and the official broadcaster will be confirmed within a week," the AIFF media release stated.
A maximum of three foreign players can be replaced by a club during the entire season and 

I-League to start from November 30

Members of the Bangladesh cricket team joined a training camp for next month's tour of India on Friday, formally ending their strike for better pay and benefits.
The players called off their strike late on Wednesday as the Bangladesh Cricket Board accepted most of their demands, including a 50 percent pay hike for first-class players, expansion of national pay contracts and a share in BCB's revenue.
Announced by national Test and Twenty20 captain Shakib Al Hasan, the strike had cast doubt on Bangladesh's tour of India featuring three Twenty20 internationals and two Tests.
Shakib had to skip the opening training session due to illness but other players joined the session, attended by South African head coach Russell Domingo.
Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori also joined as Bangladesh's spin bowling coach on Friday, replacing India's Sunil Joshi.
Vettori, the Black Caps' record wicket-taker who retired in 2015, will work for 100 days leading up to next year's World Twenty20 in ..

Bangladesh train for India tour after ending strike

Nine ultra runners, comprising five men and four women, will represent India at the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) World 24 Hour Championships to be held at Albi, France this weekend.
In all, 45 countries are participating in the championships this year, and leading runners from across the globe, including USA's Camille Herron -- the women's World record holder in 24 hour race -- will be competing at Albi.
"AFI is happy to see the standards of Indian performance improve in ultra running events year after year," AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said.
"We started sending teams to IAU World Championships since 2017 only and has already made a mark when we won an individual and team bronze at the 24 hour Asia Oceania championships in Taipei in December, 2018."
The team had attended a camp in Bangalore in August as part of its preparation for the event. The support crew includes three ultramarathon runners and a leading sports medicine specialist.

Indian ultra runners all set for 24 Hour World Championships

Indian boxer Deepak entered the men's light flyweight finals but Olympian K T Irfan missed out on a bronze medal after finishing fourth in the 20km race walk event at the 7th CISM World Military Games here on Friday.
Deepak outboxed Azerbaijan's Alizada Salman 5-0 in the semifinal bout in an unanimous decision. He will face Kazakhstan's Zhussupov Temirtas in the 49kg finals on Saturday.
In men's bantam weight, Chirag (56kg), however, lost 1-4 to Mongolia's Kharkhuu Enkh Amar in the semifinals.
Earlier, Irfan clocked 1:25:09s to finish the race in fourth spot.
China's Xu Hao clinched the gold with a timing of 1:22:18s, while the silver and bronze medals went to Ukraine's Shumik Victor (1:23:18s) and Slovakia's Uradnik Miroslav (1:24:16s) respectively.
Irfan, who has a personal best as well as national record of 1:20:21s which he registered during his 10th place finish in 2012 London Olympics, has already qualified for next year's Tokyo Summer Games by finishing fourth in the 20 km ...

Military World Games: Boxer Deepak enters final, race walker K T Irfan misses medal

Leander Paes is set to return to the Indian Davis Cup squad since April 2018 after making himself available for the upcoming tie against Pakistan when country's top players and non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi have refused to travel to the neighbouring nation, citing security concerns.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) recently began the visa process for its players even as they are insistent on a neutral venue.
While the national federation is awaiting a final response from the world governing body ITF on the venue for the November 29-30 tie, it has already sent names of the players and support staff members for securing visa.
AITA secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee told PTI that Paes has confirmed his availability for the tie in Islamabad.
"ITF wanted us to start the visa process, so we sent a few names, including Leander's. The tie will be played on grass and Leander, on grass, is very formidable. We will select a final team soon, nothing is finalised as yet," ...

Paes set to return to India's Davis Cup squad after one year

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma carded an even par 71 in the second round to lie tied-24th at the Portugal Masters here on Friday.
The 23-year-old Indian had turned in a four-under 67 after an eagle-birdie finish on the opening day.
Sharma was then three-under through five holes in the second round, when he slipped and gave away three bogeys and a double bogey in next nine holes. He then gained a stroke at the 17th to lie four-under after 36 holes.
From being Tied-12 after the end of the first round, Sharma went down to Tied-24th when he finished the second round.
A good number of players are yet to finish their second round at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course.
In the first round, Sharma had four birdies and an eagle on Par-5 17th and had two bogeys on ninth and 16th.
In the second round after three straight birdies from third to fifth, he bogeyed sixth, 12th and 13th and also dropped a double bogey on 14th. Birdies on 11th and 17th were small compensation for the dropped ...

Sharma lies tied 24th after round 2 at Portugal Masters

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday that full-time appointments concerning the national team's coaching staff and selectors needed to be made urgently.
Speaking on the team's return from a three-Test trouncing in India, Du Plessis said uncertainty over key positions was "a massive red flag".
Cricket South Africa fired coach Ottis Gibson, his back-up staff and the selectors after a poor World Cup campaign.
They announced a new structure headed by a director of cricket and a team director.
Former one-day international player Corrie van Zyl and 37-year-old Enoch Nkwe were appointed in an interim capacity, with Nkwe in charge of the team in India.
Du Plessis said he was committed to continuing as captain despite going through what he described as "the toughest period in my cricket journey".
But he said his own position and those of the other key posts "needs to be resolved as soon as possible".
"The most important thing right now is clarity," he said.
"Someone needs to make 

Proteas captain Du Plessis calls for coaching 'clarity'

Newly-installed Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted his team will face a stern test during next month's tour of Australia, but vowed his players will go for victory.
Azam last week replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was dumped as skipper and left out of the squad following the shocking 3-0 rout of the Twenty20 side -- ranked number one in the world -- at the hands of an inexperienced Sri Lanka earlier this month.
Sarfaraz was also removed as Test skipper and was replaced by Azhar Ali.
Pakistan will play three Twenty20 internationals in Sydney (November 3), Canberra (November 5) and Perth (November 8). The two Tests will be in Brisbane (November 21-25) and Adelaide (November 29-December 03).
Azam, who will be country's youngest skipper in Twenty20 cricket at 25, said Australia will pose a huge challenge.
"Every tour is tough and Australia is always a challenging place because of the extra bounce, but we will go for wins as we always do," he said a day before the team's departure.
Azam, the .

New Pakistan captain Babar up for Australia challenge

India's Joshna Chinappa had a tough time against unseeded Haley Mendez of US before prevailing in her opening match at the CIB PSA women's World Squash Championship at the Great Pyramids here.
The Indian won 9-11, 12-10,8-11, 11-6, 11-6 in a match played late on Thursday.
The 12th seeded Joshna admitted she was a touch nervous in the start and with Haley playing well things turned tough. However, the Indian showed her fighting qualities to catch up and dished out a steady game towards the end to make it a comfortable finish.
Another Indian, Sunayna Kuruvilla, went down in the first round against Nele Gilis of Belgium. Sunayna started off well, winning the first game but thereafter it was the Belgian all the way. Nele won 8-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5.
The Egyptian men's Open is also being held simultaneously and the interest for India here is Vikram Malhotra and Saurav Ghosal. Ghosal has a bye into the second round. Earlier Ramit Tandon went down in the opening round to Leo Au of Hong Kong. .

Page 546 -