Third-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic strolled into the final of the Chennai Open on Saturday after demolishing Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-4 6-3.
Six-time Australian Open champion Djokovic pulled out of a tournament in Abu Dhabi last week because of continuing problems with his right elbow and wore a sleeve over the joint during his round robin match against the Austrian.
Bulgarian police detained 45 fans of Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb for acts of violence before their team's Europa League match against Bulgarian champions Ludogorets on Thursday.
Olympique de Marseille were the fall guys on a hectic opening night of Europa League group stage action as German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory on Thursday.
While it's usually the hooligans who make the headlines, we turn our attention to the peace loving fans of the Euros.
Borna Coric and Marin Cilic put Croatia in complete control of the Davis Cup final on Friday, leaving hosts and defending champions France facing what looks like mission impossible.
World number one Rafael Nadal and fourth seed Andy Murray bagged two wins apiece on Friday to set up a mouth-watering Monte Carlo Masters semi-final. Nadal, gunning for his fifth consecutive title in the principality, swept past Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-3 in his quarter-final while Murray battled past Russian eighth seed Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 6-4.
The Serie A side progressed from Group D with a game to spare after beating Dinamo Zagreb 2-1. Galatasaray, the 2000 winners, Standard Liege, Twente Enschede and Ukraine's Metalist Kharkiv also reached the last 32, joining favourites AC Milan, CSKA Moscow, Manchester City and St Etienne who had already qualified.
It was not so much the maths, though Liverpool's nine-point advantage over defending champions City, with one point less over Leicester City and Chelsea, is a significant gap, especially as Juergen Klopp's side have lost one league game in 18 months.
A round-up of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
Euro 2016's round of 16 gets under way on Saturday after the completion of the group stages. With shocks aplenty, we saw some major upsets and heartbreaks in the preliminary round. Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com takes a look at the top five disappointments of Euro 2016 so far...
World number one Rafael Nadal chalked up his 11th victory in a row on Saturday, defeating unwell Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final of the World Indoor Tournament. The Spaniard next plays Britain's Andy Murray, who destroyed Croatian Mario Ancic 6-1, 6-2.
Second seed Novak Djokovic beat error-prone Croatian Marin Cilic 6-2 7-6 in a rain-interrupted final to win his third title of the season at the China Open on Sunday.
World number one Serena Williams raced into the quarter-finals of the Paris Open with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Croatian qualifier Karolina Sprem on Thursday. The American top seed, who won the tournament in 1999 and 2003, will face France's Emilie Loit for a semi-final spot on Friday.
Croatia are to face a disciplinary hearing over their Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Italy during which a swastika cross was imprinted on to the pitch.
Indian wildcard Somdev Devvarman toppled world number 25 Ivo Karlovic to reach the semi-finals of the Chennai Open on Friday.
Bahader had previously told media he was 75, which he attributed to "rounding up".
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Turkey and Rumi: What a holiday for the Lipstick In A Burkha actress.
Bob and Mike Bryan kept alive the United States's hopes of reaching the Davis Cup semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win over Croatian pair Roko Karanusic and Lovro Zovko in the doubles on Saturday. The Bryan brothers had to win the doubles to extend the tie into a third day after the United States came off second best in Friday's epic singles matches, which had both gone to five sets.
Bob and Mike Bryan kept alive the United States's hopes of reaching the Davis Cup semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-1 6-3 win over Croatian pair Roko Karanusic and Lovro Zovko in the doubles on Saturday.
Australian Nick Kyrgios was expelled from the tournament after going wild in the third set of his match against Casper Ruud.
Big Croatian Mario Ancic dispatched ninth seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Queen's Club ATP tournament.
Roger Federer, who will be chasing an 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open later this month, breezed through to the Brisbane International men's semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-1 thumping of Australian Marinko Matosevic.
Polish fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska was the highest women's casualty at the Miami Open on Saturday, blown away for the second time this year by Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Coric, who had failed to win a match in his last two appearances in Beijing and Shenzhen, saved two break points at 3-3 in the second set and clinched the first four games of the decider to record his 32nd match win of the season.
Mahesh Bhupathi was on Friday accused of non-payment of dues by the production company that was involved in the broadcast of his star-studded league International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) but the Indian tennis ace said he is not responsible for the situation.
Despite splitting the point the Indian ace shares the lead with the Czech Grandmaster.
Rafael Nadal continued his quest for a maiden Paris Masters title when he survived a second set blip to beat Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas
Croatia will play their Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Italy behind closed doors after their fans caused more trouble during the 5-1 win over Norway, UEFA said on Wednesday.
David Beckham and goalkeeper Paul Robinson have been dropped for England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia.
The French flag flew proudly in Montreal on Monday as Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils advanced to the second round of the Rogers Cup.
Top seed Roger Federer needed less than an hour to dispatch Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors tournament on Thursday -- treating his home fans to another masterclass.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Andy Murray overcame a sluggish start to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Romania's Victor Hanescu on a bad Tuesday for French players. The fourth-seeded Briton was 2-1 down in the opening set after dropping serve in the third game but he woke up to take four games in a row. He clinched victory when Hanescu netted a forehand on the fourth match point.
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-1, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the Cincinnati Masters and bring the Spaniard's 32-match unbeaten streak to a halt. Serb Djokovic will meet Andy Murray in the final after the 21-year-old Briton overcame giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic in the day's other semi-final.
Following are comments, quotes and reactions from the French coach, players.
Carlos Moya has confirmed his participation for the Chennai Open in January.
It was no surprise that Croatia cavorted on the pitch in celebration with fans and family long after beating England in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Wednesday night, but a wiser head might have ushered them quietly to ice bath and bed.
Some England soccer fans sobbed while others looked to the future with confidence
