World number one pair Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic have not dropped a set in their four wins at the Davis Cup Finals

Novak Djokovic could not prevent Serbia missing out on the Davis Cup final after he and Filip Krajinovic lost in the decisive doubles against Croatia.

Djokovic beat former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the singles, levelling the semi-final tie after Croatia’s Borna Gojo won against Dusan Lajovic.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, the world number ones, put Croatia into the final with a 7-5 6-1 win in Madrid.

Croatia will play either the Russian Tennis Federation or Germany on Sunday.

With the expertise of Mektic and Pavic proving crucial against the two Serb singles players, Djokovic said it illustrated the need for his nation to find a strong doubles pairing if they are to win the Davis Cup for a second time.

“We definitely need to improve our doubles part of the team. We need to have a doubles team that is constantly playing together,” said Djokovic, who was instrumental in Serbia’s 2010 win.

“Otherwise it’s going to be a Mount Everest for us to climb every time we play like this.”

Croatia won the first singles rubber when world number 279 Gojo fought back to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 against Lajovic, stretching his 100% record to three victories in a dream Davis Cup Finals for the 23-year-old.

Djokovic levelled the best-of-three tie by earning his 19th consecutive Davis Cup singles victory, fighting off eight break points against Cilic before winning 6-4 6-2.

That teed up a intriguing doubles match which featured the world’s best pairing and its leading singles player.

Mektic and Pavic, who won the Wimbledon and Olympic titles in a dominant 2021 season, had won all three of their Finals matches in straight sets and again showed their quality to do the same against the Serbs.

A tight first set swung the Croats’ way with the first break of the match in what proved to be the final game, then an early break in the second put them in command.

Djokovic was left kicking his bag in frustration as the Serbs trailed 3-1, sensing that it would be difficult for him and Krajinovic to fight back.

So it proved. The doubles specialists quickly won the next three games to put the 2005 and 2018 champions into a fourth final.

The Russians, with top-five players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev in their team, were the pre-tournament favourites and face Germany in the second semi-final on Saturday (12:00 GMT).

Germany are without world number three Alexander Zverev, who did not want to play in the revamped 18-nation Davis Cup Finals, but reached the last fou by beating Great Britainr in the quarter-finals.

The rehabilitated Moshood Abiola Stadium has been handed over to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development after repairs works were completed, Saturday PUNCH reports.

The repair work which is being handled by Aron Nigeria Limited is sponsored by billionaire Aliko Dangote.

Aron Executive Director Stakeholder Management and Corporate Communications of the Group, Mansur Ahmed, who represented Dangote, handed the rehabilitated stadium to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Friday.

The rehabilitation work was carried out on the main bowl pitch and scoreboard.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Dare lauded the Aron and Dangote Group for completing the project in record time, despite constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is a thing of joy to have this stadium come back to life. It is an iconic stadium, it is the national stadium, Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

“By the words of the experts here and those that have toured the facility, we have the latest grass here – Paspalum grass – one of the best, when we talk about football pitches across the World. Something exactly similar to what we have in Qatar, that will be used for the World Cup next year.

“We thank Aliko Dangote for opening his doors to us, and accepting to adopt the Moshood Abiola Stadium when we came up with our ‘Adopt-a-Pitch’ proposal. “We salute his commitment that culminated in the completion of the project today, inclusive of maintenance for at least two years,” Dare said.

Ahead of the 2022 African Men’s Handball Championship scheduled to hold in Morocco, all 30 players invited by the technical adviser of the senior men national handball team, Coach Rafiu Salami, have arrived at camp.

The 30 players arrived in Abuja for camping after the executive board of the Handball Federation of Nigeria approved the list of players for preparation for the Nation’s Cup that is in its 25th edition.

The Africa Men Handball Championship, which will hold from January 13 to 23 2022, is the African qualifying tournament for the 2023 World Men’s Handball Championship in Poland and Sweden.

KS Vive Kielce player, Faruk Yusuf and Israel-based Obinna Annih top the list of the invited players.

The coach also extended invitations to several players who participated at the just concluded Prudent Energy Handball Premier League.

Some of the players include Goalkeeper Sanni Bature and his Kano Pillars teammates, Stephen Sesugh and Chris Ogedengbe, Confluence Stars duo Anthony Agada and Cameroon-born Michael John, Sokoto Rima’s Abbas Mohammed among others.

Also included are overseas-based players led by Annih and Kielce Vive of Poland sensation Yusuf.

Salami will be assisted by league winning Kano Pillars gaffer, Solomon Yola and goalkeeper trainer Segun Tunji.

Nigeria has participated in eleven editions of the Africa Men Handball Nations with their best outing recorded in the 1998 edition held in South Africa where they finished 4th after losing to Egypt 35-26.

Michael Emenalo, formerly Chelsea technical director, has rejected Newcastle’s offer to become their new director of football, .

Emenalo, 56, travelled to Saudi Arabia for talks and was understood to be the club’s No 1 choice for the role, with director Jamie Reuben and Newcastle’s Saudi owners as well as first-team manager Eddie Howe keen to appoint him.

But according to the Telegraph, the club’s inability to match his ambitious plans for the relegation-threatened Magpies means he has declined a deal.

After thorough negotiations with director Amanda Staveley, in which he outlined his short- and long-term ideas to improve the club, Emenalo reportedly feels the club’s current vision does not suit him.

His rejection of their offer is not thought to be based on Newcastle’s relegation battle or lowly league position, and the relationship has remained cordial, so the club could re-approach him again in future with a more suitable proposal

The news will cause some to question where the power lies at Newcastle, with Unai Emery also rejecting an approach to become manager after a botched pursuit of the former Arsenal boss.

Newcastle could now have to look further afield to fill their director of football position and may sign someone, former Nottingham Forest director of football Frank McParland for example, on an interim basis.

With an understanding that Staveley personally approaching transfer targets is not ideal, the club wants to have a seasoned director overseeing player recruitment as they try to avoid the drop.

Emenalo is a highly respected name despite a disappointing spell at Monaco, with an eye-catching decade of success at Chelsea, in which time they won three Premier Leagues, the FA and League Cups, and the Champions and Europa League titles.

Lewis Hamilton says he is not comfortable racing in Saudi Arabia this weekend as a result of the country’s human rights record.

Saudi Arabia is hosting its inaugural race on a new street track in the coastal city of Jeddah, the first in a long-term contract.

Hamilton said: “Do I feel comfortable here? I wouldn’t say I do. But it’s not my choice to be here. The sport has taken a choice to be here.

“And whether it’s right or wrong, while we are here, it’s important we do try to raise awareness.”

F1’s decision to race in Saudi Arabia has been criticised by human rights groups.

Amnesty International has said Saudi’s record is “extremely troubling” and that the race is being used to “sports-wash” the country’s reputation.

Amnesty’s UK chief executive officer, Sacha Deshmukh, said it was “encouraging” to see Hamilton speaking out on human rights.

He added that the past three years had seen an “unprecedented human rights crackdown” in the country.

“This isn’t just about Lewis Hamilton,” Deshmukh said. “We’re calling on all within Formula 1 – the drivers, their teams, senior executives – to be prepared to speak out about human rights in Saudi Arabia, helping to undo some of the sports-washing effects of this event.”

Hamilton said he would again be wearing the helmet he wore at the last race in Qatar, which is painted with the rainbow flag in support of LGBTQ+ rights.

He described the situation for LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is prohibited and punishable by flogging and imprisonment, as “pretty terrifying”.

And in referring to the decision in 2018 to end the ban on women being able to drive, he said: “There are changes that need to be made. For example, women’s rights of being allowed to drive since 2018. It is how they are policed. Are they really [allowed], in effect? Why are there women still in prison from driving many years ago? There is a lot of change that needs to happen and I think our sport needs to do more.”

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who has also expressed his concern on human rights issues this season, organised a karting event for women on Thursday in Jeddah.

The Aston Martin driver said: “I was thinking of what I can do. In general, we have so much focus on negative examples when it comes to shortcomings of certain countries in regards to human rights and other things.”

Vettel said he “was trying to pass on some of my experiences in life and on track to do something together to grow their confidence” and said he had been “inspired” by the women who attended the event.

He added: “It’s true obviously if we look through a western-European lens there are lot of things that should be improved and have to be addressed. But it’s also true some things are changing and for those people it makes a big difference.

“It’s clear some things aren’t going the way they should but that’s our point of view. It’s also probably true that things take time and it’s progress.”

The championship picture

Hamilton heads into the final two races of the season eight points behind title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

The Dutchman can clintch the title this weekend if results go his way.

But Hamilton said he felt in good shape for the challenges of Jeddah and the final race in Abu Dhabi a week later.

He said: “I am more relaxed than I’ve ever been. I have been around a long time. I remember how it was [with] my first championship, even my second and third… the sleepless nights.

“Now I am a lot more sure about myself and have applied myself better than ever before. I can’t change the past – all I can do is prepare 100% for what’s ahead of me and I am sure I have.”

Hamilton has won the last two races in Brazil and Qatar to reduce what was a 19-point lead for Verstappen after the Dutchman won last month’s Mexican Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team have said they believe the 36-year-old has found a new level since then, which helped him produce one of his defining performances at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he won after starting the sprint qualifying session from the back of the grid.

Hamilton said: “I don’t believe I have gone to another level. Maybe I tapped into something different in Brazil. Maybe I haven’t been there before, I don’t know.

“I definitely have in my career, but I like to think I have been delivering well all year.”

The key, he said, to their recent performances had been work done by the whole Mercedes team: “How to get more out of the team, and every individual in the team. I like to think that all of us have [found another level], not just me. And that’s what’s been needed.”

Verstappen said there would be no change in his approach.

“Like I have done all season,” he said. “There is no change. It’s a new track. We have to learn the track and I just focus on the weekend to try to be as competitive as I can be.

“We’re very motivated. A track like this creates new and different opportunities. Hopefully it will be an exciting weekend and I hope we are going be competitive but it’s a bit too early to say at the moment. On the simulator it’s a very fast track so [I’m] looking forward to seeing it in real life.”

Verstappen said that whether he wins or loses, Red Bull will have had a good season to reduce the large performance advantage Mercedes had last year.

“It has just been a great year for us,” Verstappen said. “We have had some good moments and it’s been more enjoyable. Last year was pretty boring for me. I was pretty much third all the time. It is not how you like to race but it sometimes happens when one team is very dominant.

“We really turned it around well this year. We improved the car and to be in it to the end of the season is very impressive from our side.

“I will try to keep enjoying myself in the last two races. It doesn’t matter where we end up. We have had a really, really good season as a team.”

Former IAAF (now World Athletics) President, Lamine Diack, is dead.

The death of the 88-year-old occurred in the early hours of Friday and was confirmed by his son Papa Massata Diack, in an interview with Reuters.

Diack, before his death, was convicted of corruption last year.

The Senegalese led the International Association of Athletrics Federation (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015, making him one of the most powerful people in athletics.

But he was later found guilty of running a clique that covered up Russian doping in return for millions of dollars in bribes.

A French court sentenced him to four years in prison in 2020, but he was never jailed. He remained under house arrest in France and was later released on bail, allowing him to return to Senegal.

“He died at home around 2 a.m. of a natural death,” his son, Papa Massata Diack, told Reuters.

His funeral is due to be held later on Friday.

As reported by Reuters, Diack’s lawyers had previously said he was in poor health and would die in jail if sentenced.

The good run of Nigerian forward Emmanuel Dennis in the Premier League with Watford FC has earned him a nomination for the League’s Player of the Month award for November 2021

Dennis was one of six players officially unveiled on Friday on the Premier League’s official page.

Aside from Dennis, the others in the running for the prestigious award include the Liverpool duo of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota. The others are Manchester City pair of Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo as well as Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn.

While Dennis has hit the ground running since arriving at Vicarage Road from Club Brugge, he was in excellent form in November with a couple of goals and assists in the period under review.

One of the best outings for the 24-year-old in November was against Manchester United when he scored a goal and bagged two assists in the 4-1 win over the Red Devils.

Eight days later against Leicester City, Dennis was on target again and won a penalty converted by Joshua King as the Hornets were beaten 4-2 by Leicester City.

That feat at the King Power Stadium saw Dennis become only the sixth player in Premier League history to reach both five goals and five assists in 12 or fewer games.

He comes behind Eric Cantona (11), Jurgen Klinsmann (12), Arjen Robben (11), Andrey Arshavin (10) and Bruno Fernandes (9)

If Dennis is voted as the Player of the Month ahead of the other contenders, he will become the fifth Nigerian player to win the coveted award.

Austin Okocha, Peter Odemwingie, Odion Ighalo, and Kelechi Iheanacho are the Nigerians who have previously won the monthly award in the past.

Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi said he is grateful to be named among the greatest players in world football, but the Argentina forward stressed he does not attach too much importance to individual glory.

Messi won the Ballon d’Or award for a record-stretching seventh time  on Monday, beating Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho to be named the world’s best player.

The Paris Saint-Germain player added the prestigious trophy to his 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 wins after topping La Liga’s goal scoring charts last season and winning the Copa America for the first time with his country last July.

“For me, the mere fact that I can be considered or cited as one of the best players in the world is more than enough,” Messi said in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe.

“I don’t know how to say it so it won’t be misinterpreted… It’s not that I’m not interested, but I don’t attach much importance to it. It doesn’t matter to me if I’m the best or not. And I’ve never tried to be the best either.”

Messi stunned the sports world in the close season when he left boyhood club Barcelona and joined PSG on a two-year deal. He remains Barcelona’s record scorer with 672 goals.

The 34-year-old is idolised the world over but said he does not enjoy giving advice as a role model to younger players.

“I fought for my dreams. At first it was to be a professional player, then I tried to excel and reach new goals every year,” Messi said.

“In the middle of all this, there is also a part of luck. It also depends on God, I believe he chose for all this to happen to me.”