World number one Carlos Alcaraz eased to a 6-2, 6-4 win over Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Finals on Saturday to set up a highly-anticipated title decider with defending champion Jannik Sinner.
Sinner's retirement and world number one Alcaraz's withdrawal due to an ankle injury blows the draw wide open, with Djokovic in the hunt for a record-extending fifth title in Shanghai.
Carlos Alcaraz would rather win his first Australian Open than retain his French Open and US Open titles next year, the Spaniard said on Friday, a day after sealing the year-end world number one ranking at the ATP Finals.
IMAGES from UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Jannik Sinner has decided not to take part in this year's Davis Cup Finals with reigning champions Italy confirming his absence in Monday's team announcement, while world number one Carlos Alcaraz will represent Spain at next month's competition.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are poised to reignite their rivalry at the ATP Finals, with the year-ending championship that begins on Sunday expected to produce another title showdown between the pair in a season that has belonged to them.
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the last four of the ATP Finals with a 6-4, 7-6(4) round-robin win over two-times winner Alexander Zverev on Friday and Jannik Sinner extended his indoor hardcourt unbeaten run by beating American Ben Shelton.
Sinner has a perfect 10-0 record against de Minaur, and he is currently number two in the ATP Live Race to Turin, having qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals. Sinner has reached the last four in seven out of his previous eight tournaments this year.
Just nine days after his loss to Fritz, which snapped his 13-match unbeaten streak, the world number one defeated the American 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets, capping an incredible debut at the ATP 500 event and securing his career-best 67th season win, continuing a dream season.
The match marked world number two Medvedev's ninth win in a row at the ATP Finals and he improved his head-to-head record over Ruud to 3-0.
IMAGES from matches played across European leagues on Saturday
Bayern Munich made it 16 wins from 16 games this season to underline their credentials as early Champions League favourites, beating holders Paris St Germain 2-1 away as Luis Diaz scored two goals and was shown a red card on Tuesday.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice from the penalty spot as Real Madrid fought back from a goal down to beat Olympique de Marseille 2-1 in their opening match of the Champions League group stage, at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, on Tuesday.
The torches that will carry the Olympic flame for the 2026 Winter Games and Paralympics were unveiled on Monday in Milan and at a parallel event in the Italian pavilion at Expo 2025 in the Japanese city of Osaka.
At least 10 people were injured when a paper bomb exploded during the Turin soccer derby between Torino and Juventus on Sunday.
More than a thousand Juventus soccer fans watching the Champions League final on screens in one of Turin's main squares late on Saturday were injured when loud bangs created panic and mayhem.
Defending ATP Finals champion Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the season-ending event in Turin through injury, the Serbian said on Tuesday.
Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have clinched a spot in the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals, marking the Indian's fourth appearance in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Kumar, (division M02), claimed silver in the Novice Giant Slalom Final, further adding to India's impressive tally.
Shiva Keshavan cannot help feeling that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Alexander Zverev overcame late nerves to beat world number one Novak Djokovic on Saturday and set up a final showdown with Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals.
Shiva Keshavan was unimpressive in the men's singles luge event at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Jannik Sinner's stupendous year may have been clouded by an anti-doping controversy but on the court he is finishing the season like an express train and has won 25 of his last 26 matches.
Inter Milan missed the chance to go top of Serie A as they fell to a 1-0 loss at Juventus on Sunday.
Rohan Bopanna and Nicolas Barrientos bowed out of the Australian Open men's doubles with an opening-round loss to the Spanish team of Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar.
Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock 6-1, 7-5 defeat against Norway's Casper Ruud in his opening match at the ATP Finals
Alcaraz returns to action at this week's Cincinnati Open, where he can gain ground on the Serb and Italian Jannik Sinner.
Napoli revived their hopes of claming Serie A's final Champions League qualifying slot and dented Juventus's when they heaped more misery on the Turin side with a 3-1 comeback win on Thursday.
Rohan Bopanna and partner Matthew Ebden were defeated by the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in their opening match.
Third seed Alexander Zverev produced a near-flawless display to outclass former champion Holger Rune 6-3 7-6(4) on Saturday and return to the Paris Masters final after a gap of four years.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz made light of feeling under the weather as he dispatched Russia's Andrey Rublev in impressive fashion to revive his ATP Finals hopes on Wednesday.
All the action from La Liga and Serie A matches played on Monday
Jannik Sinner became the first Italian to win the ATP Finals title following a dominant 6-4, 6-4 victory over American Taylor Fritz.
Lewandowski strike gives Barcelona 1-0 win over Alaves
A round-up of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Empoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to advance to their first ever Coppa Italia semi-finals on Wednesday after a resilient performance helped them to hold the defending champions to a 1-1 draw in regular time.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick to help the LaLiga champions snap a two-game winless run in all competitions.
Real Madrid paid for defensive mistakes as they were held to a 3-3 draw at lowly local rivals Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
