Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi overcame a stiff resistance from Julian Knowle and Vasek Pospisil before moving to the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
David Ferrer has backed fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal to bounce back to winnings ways, saying the latter will surely be a major contender in all the grand slams next year provided he remains injury-free.
Iran were banned from an Olympic football qualifying match against Jordan later that year after refusing to remove their hijabs before kick-off.