Serena Williams and Roger Federer are considered by many as the GOATs (greatest of all time) of the sport

Undivided devotion is usually associated with team sports. Travelling hundreds of miles to watch your heroes, supporting them through thick and thin. Naming a kid after a favourite player. Getting a tattoo. 

Such shows of allegiance and love have not traditionally been associated with tennis players.

Yet Roger Federer and Serena Williams – two superstars who retired this month – have attracted devotion like few others.

And it felt fitting that two people born 49 days apart, who enjoyed era-defining parallel careers, called it a day within weeks of each other.

“These two players are irreplaceable. I don’t think there is any question about that,” said John McEnroe, another legendary tennis figure.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion who turned 41 this week, waved farewell amid emotional scenes at the US Open.

Three weeks later, 20-time major winner Federer, also 41, did the same at the Laver Cup in London.

Both occasions were full of pomp and ceremony, celebration and reflection. But most of all love.

The adoration is largely down to their huge success on the court, but also because of their personalities and star quality.

“It is going to be a big void to fill, no question,” said Merrick Haydon, managing director of international sports marketing agency Revolution’s London office. “Some fans will stay with the game forever because tennis is like all sports: when you’re in it you’re in it.

“But there are going to be some who will drop away. 

“There is no doubt some won’t wake up at 3am to watch matches and may not plan vacations around a tennis major like they used to.”

Before all of Williams’ matches in New York there was a buzz outside Arthur Ashe Stadium, with many fans wearing Serena T-shirts in homage to a player who has been a huge inspiration, particularly to African – American women. 

Printed slogans included ‘Serena. The Woman. The Myth. The Legend’ and ‘Unapologetic Greatness’. Others simply said ‘GOAT’.

The devotion inspired by Federer was clear at the O2 Arena. 

The Fed Heads – an international travelling troupe arriving from places including Switzerland, Japan, Greece, Poland, Thailand and India – were a palette of red and white. 

Caps, T-shirts, scarves, flags, even home-made earrings. And almost all emblazoned with one set of initials: RF.

Federer-loving mother and daughter Kaori and Sakiko Hosokawa, who travelled from near Tokyo, said tennis will not be the same without him. 

“Roger makes my life very wonderful and valuable,” said Kaori. “He’s the reason I started watching tennis.”

Others claimed they would watch less tennis in the absence of the superstar pair.

“The only reason I watch tennis is because of Serena and Venus, seeing them do their thing,” said Williams super-fan Jennifer Chenier from Houston, Texas.

The semi-final was the first time Djokovic and Medvedev had faced each other this season

Novak Djokovic reached the final of the Astana Open after his opponent Daniil Medvedev withdrew because of injury on Saturday.

World number four Medvedev had won the first set in the semi-final in Kazakhstan.

But just moments after Wimbledon champion Djokovic had taken the second set on a tie-break, Medvedev withdrew. 

With the score at 4-6 7-6 (8-6), Medvedev called it quits, with Djokovic saying: “I’m shocked, really.” 

The Serb added: “He looked completely fine, but maybe the last seven eight, points I saw him move slower.”

The 21-time Grand Slam champion will face Stefanos Tstisipas in Sunday’s final as he bids for a 90th ATP title.

Tiafoe to face Fritz in Japan final

Frances Tiafoe will face fellow American Taylor Fritz in the final of the Japan Open in Tokyo.

Tiafoe sealed the opening set of his semi-final in comfortable fashion but did not win a game in the second against South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo.

He then raised his game before completing a 6-2 0-6 6-4 victory.

Fritz was involved in a hard-fought match against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the other semi-final, but emerged a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 winner.

Verstappen is the 17th man to become a multiple F1 world champion

Max Verstappen cliched a second title in extraordinary circumstances after dominating a Japanese Grand Prix truncated by heavy rain. 

Verstappen headed Sergio Perez in a Red Bull one-two after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who crossed the line second, was penalised for cutting the track and gaining an advantage on the last lap.

There was confusion after the race as to whether Verstappen had done enough to tie up the championship, because it was not immediately clear whether full points would be awarded for a race that ran just over half distance.

But governing body the FIA said that reduced points only applied if a suspended race could not be resumed. 

Even Verstappen asked: “Are you sure?” when he was told he was champion, reflecting the historical precedent that reduced points are awarded in such circumstances. 

But it seems that this protocol was inadvertently left out of the rules when they were rewritten over last winter following the controversial Belgian Grand Prix, when a result was declared despite no racing taking place.

There can, however, be no question marks about the validity of Verstappen’s championship, after he secured his 12th victory of the season in the same manner as he has taken control of the championship, by being a class apart from everyone else in his Red Bull car.

The race was marred by a controversy over officials deploying a recovery vehicle on to the track while cars were still running after a crash on the first lap.

Drivers and team bosses united to call the decision from race control “unacceptable”, eight years after Jules Bianchi lost his life after crashing into a tractor on track 

The race was stopped shortly afterwards, leading to a two-hour delay while officials waited for the persistent rain to ease sufficiently for racing to resume.

When it finally did, Verstappen and Leclerc initially pulled away from the rest of the pack, but as the laps ticked by Ferrari’s tyre problems reared their head.

Leclerc dropped back from Verstappen and Perez began to reel in the Ferrari. Leclerc held him off for several laps and looked to have done enough, only to lock up at the final chicane on the last lap and cut the corner.

Leclerc held Perez off to the line, but was deemed to have gained an advantage by going off track and was demoted back behind.

Behind them, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon held off Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes for the entire race, with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel doing the same to Fernando Alonso’s Alpine.

Alonso made a stop for fresh tyres with just 15 minutes of race time remaining and dropped to ninth, reclaiming sufficient ground to finish the race right on Vettel’s tail, but unable to pass.

Mercedes’ George Russell climbed up to eighth from 13th, after being delayed by being stacked behind Hamilton in the pits when the field changed from wet to intermediate tyres, and the final points when to Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

The main advocates of the Super League are not giving up.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, defended the project last Sunday and was followed by his Juventus counterpart Andrea Agnelli and then Barcelona chief Joan Laporta. A court decision in 2023 will be crucial in determining the project’s future.

“There are no football clubs among the ten richest entities in the world, we must be doing something very wrong in old Europe,” Perez explained.

Perez led a group of 12 major European clubs into the Super League project in April 2021 but it vanished a few days after it was announced after pressure from fans and authorities.

The only clubs that have tried to keep alive a league that would be direct competition for the Champions League are Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.

Perez compared European football with tennis.

“What is the point of depriving the fans of the big matches? Nadal and Federer met 40 times. Nadal and Djokovic, 59, is it boring? Liverpool and Real Madrid have faced nine times in 67 years,” he told the Madrid’s members assembly.

The Super League project came back to life in July, when litigation for an alleged abuse of a dominant position by UEFA was brought to the European Union Court of Justice, at the request of a Madrid judge to whom the Super League chiefs turned.

‘Healthy and beautiful’ 
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin responded to Perez.

“Once again he has shown that his idea is to close everything off, without games against smaller teams,” he told a news conference in Rome.

On Thursday, in a letter to shareholders, Agnelli, reaffirmed his “commitment” to the project and proposed “establishing a direct link with sponsors who dare to take business risks, and control of economic resources.”

On the same day, Barcelona presented their accounts and Eduard Romeu, their financial vice-president, said “considering the Super League again would be positive.”

That was followed by a Laporta interview with Sonora, reported by Marca, on Sunday.

“A Super League would be an improved Champions League, with a better format, it would surely be the most attractive competition in the world,” said the Barcelona president.

However, Laporta said he would prefer not to have a closed format for the competition. “We have to have an open Super League, where there’s meritocracy,” he said.

“I think that the big clubs always playing each other would be tiring,” he added. “Those who like football among us, would end up tired. It’s healthy and beautiful that a smaller team can beat a bigger team.

“To back the underdog is very nice. You see a Euros won by Greece, and it’s beautiful. And when Leicester won (the Premier League) in England it was special.”

Success or failure? 
Opponents of the project have also spoken out.

On Friday, UEFA and the European Commission announced the renewal of their cooperation agreement which “aims to use European football as a force for positive change” until 2025.

To counter the Super League, UEFA announced a sweeping overhaul of the Champions League in May to start in 2024, with 36 teams instead of 32 and an eight-match mini-championship instead of the traditional group stage.

The television rights will be sold for a projected 15 billion euros (14.6 billion dollars) for three years (2024-2027).

“Sales of the new format in the US are up 150 percent. In the UK and France, not so much. It shows that the new format is very successful even before it starts,” said Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, one of the big European clubs that was not in the initial Super League agreement.

“Football must develop but in a way that respects all clubs – small, medium and large,” added Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of the European Club Association (ECA) and vice-president of UEFA.

The judicial process continues, which may be key in the conflict’s ultimate resolution. The final decision is expected near the beginning of 2023.

Former international, Felix Owolabi, has expressed worry over the dwindling fortune of Nigerian football. 

Speaking to sports writers in Lagos Owolabi lamented that the right people are no longer allowed to manage sport in the country. 

“Up till now, I still wonder why we cannot get things right in the country, especially when we have the talents and knowledgeable personnel, who can run our football well. We have not even given ex-internationals opportunity to contribute their quota, yet footballers are the reason people queue to become football administrators.

“There are some people in the society who are making life difficult for us in the country simply because they have the backing of godfathers: the politicians. These people have enough dollars to throw around and make those saddled with electing candidates sell their conscience.

“I can recall the process that led to my discovery at the grassroots. And eventually, I was opportune to play for the national team. Can one say the same thing of our league players? No! Now, what is happening is that the players at home are being neglected for foreign based? That is why, at times, I wonder what we do with 30 foreign-based players we invite for the Super Eagles without any input from our local league. This is a sad development as far I am concerned,” he said.

The former Eagles’ winger added, “so, how do you expect those players coming from outside to train under two to three days and expect them to play as a team and give you a good result? That is what we see in our today’s Eagles. It is not possible to assemble them in a short time and expect them to perform wonders.

“This is why the media should help this country by critically analysing the excesses of these politicians in football and sports administration. I think these politicians should stay away, concentrate on their politics and allow the best practice for the success of our football.

“What I have found out is that the media has pitched tent with some of them. Journalists even find it convenient to describe these politicians as sports administrators. Our football may soon go extinct if nothing is done to address this anomaly in our football,” he stated.

Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been ranked No.1 by The Ring magazine in the latest rankings while rival Tyson Fury misses out after he gave up his belt when he announced he was retired in August.

Joshua suffered his second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in September, which has put him out of the heavyweight world title picture for the first time in several years.

Meanwhile, Fury declared he had retired from the sport after his successful title defence against Dillian Whyte, but has now announced he will return on December in Cardiff.

Fury’s on-off retirement from the sport appears to be the reason he has been left out of the Ring Magazine rankings with the likes of Whyte and Luis Ortiz making the top 10 ahead of him in fifth and sixth respectively. Joshua tops the pile having recently fought for the title belt against Usyk, which was put on the line for their rematch after the ‘Gypsy King’ ditched the title.

The Ring Magazine belt is not a typical world title like the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO, but regarded as a prestigious trophy handed out only when the best fight the best

Although Fury has now confirmed suspicions that he’s not really retired after all, Ring have not yet decided to re-rank him. It appears this will not happen until he fights again on December 3.

Nigeria’s top-ranked female tennis player, Marylove Edwards, will look to defend her title when she takes on Oiza Yakubu in the final of the 2022 Lagos Tennis Cup at the centre court of Lagos Tennis Club, Onikan, on Sunday.

Edwards reached the final of the tournament after she brushed aside Toyin Asogba 6-2, 6-0 in the second semi-final of the women’s event on Saturday.

The 17-year-old sensation had defeated eighth seed Blessing Omotayo 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the competition on Thursday.

After her semi-final game she said, “It was a weird match, but happy to get through.

“In these kind of matches, it’s not always going be pretty, it’s not always going be your best stuff, but a win is what matters.”

Yakubu on her part, booked her spot in the final spot after breezing past second seed Aanu Aiyegbusi 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets.

In the men’s event, Uche Oparaoji advanced to the finals for the third consecutive time with a two-set victory of 6-2, 7-5 over Godsgift Timibria.

Oparaoji will now face Peter Lawal, who got the better of Abayomi Philip 6-2, 6-4.

The champions in both categories will earn N500,000 each, while the runners-up will get N250,000. Each player is to receive N50,000 to help with welfare, while a stage one exit earns a player an additional N50,000.

He describes tennis as a hugely popular sport in the country.

“Tennis in Nigeria was hugely popular and we are hoping that with the Lagos Tennis Cup and the Abuja Tennis Cup we can create a platform to discover and inspire the next Nduka Odizor,” he concluded.

The Lagos Tennis Cup, which debuted in 2021 is part of a new addition to the national tennis calendar called the Nigerian Tennis Majors, and which also includes the Abuja Tennis Cup.

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has revealed that the trilogy fight against his rival, Kamaru Usman, will be held in March of next year after he dethroned the former champ at UFC 278.

In August, Edwards pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history when he knocked out the former Welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king with a thundering head kick with less than a minute left in the fight while he was down in rounds.

It was the first knockout defeat that Usman would suffer since he started in MMA in 2012.

“To have it back in Birmingham in Villa – I grew up in Aston as well where the Park is so that would be amazing. I don’t think there’s a roof though at Villa, so it would probably be a bit difficult to do in early next year around March.”

After Leon Edwards became the new Welterweight champ, there was some talk about a potential Jorge Masvidal grudge match as the two have had a long history between them. But it seems as if those talks are going to be put to the side, so Kamaru Usman can rightfully get an immediate rematch.

Nigerian clubs encounter their toughest tasks yet as they go up against North African sides

Three Nigerian clubs will, this weekend file out at different venues against top-rated North African clubs as they seek to qualify for CAF Inter Club groups. 

The games are dicey for the Nigerian clubs, who host the first legs in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Lagos.

Rivers United, the NPFL defending champions, will be up against CAF Champions League and Morocco’s league defending champions, Wydad Athletics in Port Harcourt.

Plateau United are in Abuja and line up against Esperance de Tunis while Kwara United will host Confederations Cup winners, RS Berkane at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.

All these games are scheduled to be held on Sunday, 9 October.

However, the big question is if these clubs won’t suffer the same fate as Remo Stars in the hands of the North African sides on Sunday.

Rivers United vs Wydad Athletic

The recent promise of N28 million by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike is the biggest motivation for the NPFL champions, whose last competitive game was in September.

Their test is against CAF Champions League winner, Wydad, who are already involved in the 2022/2023 Moroccan Botola season.

Meanwhile, Rivers United have failed to scale the two North African hurdles in their last two qualifications.

The most recent was the loss to Al Masry of Egypt, via away goals rule at the Confederation Cup third preliminary round.

Rivers won 2-1 at home only to suffer a lone goal loss on the road.

The second was against the Al Hilal Club of Sudan who defeated Rivers United 2-1 on aggregate at the Champions League.

With this precedence, Rivers United face not just a top side but a favourite to reach the group stage. Wydad has not missed out on the CAF Champions League group stage in the last three seasons.

The last time they visited Nigeria was against Lobi Stars at the Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, and it ended 1-0 in favour of the visitors from Mohamed Nahiri’s 20th-minute finish.

Therefore, Rivers United will bank on some of their players, like Joseph Onoja, Ebube Duru, and Kenechukwu Agu.

Wydad, who won their last two games in the Botola league will entrust their goal-scoring to Bouly Junior Sambou, who has scored two goals so far this season, and Yahia Attiyat Allah.

Plateau United vs Esperance de Tunis

Plateau at the MKO Abiola Stadium will make the most decisions of their campaign in the CAF Champions League against Esperance de Tunis on Sunday.

Esperance, just like Wydad, have made it to the CAF group stage game in the last three seasons.

As it stands, Plateau United are the underdogs to Esperance defeated Nigerian side, Sunshine Stars on home soil, in 2012.

Esperance aren’t just known for their cohesive style of play but as an all-attacking team.

Kwara United vs RS Berkane

After their performance in 2007, Kwara United has reached the second round of the CAF Confederations Cup where they will play against RS Berkane at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos.

Meanwhile, the Moroccans are not in great form right now, having lost their last two games in the league this season.

Berkane are the defending champions and have continental pedigree, which means Kwara United will need a wide goal margin against Berkane to be on a better keel for the second leg.