Rafa wins £10k over doping slur

RAFAEL NADAL yesterday won his legal battle against former French government minister Roselyne Bachelot following her accusation that he sat out a ‘silent ban’ for a doping offence in 2012. He was awarded £10,700 in damages, well short of the £90,000 he was seeking, because the judge did not feel the allegation had adversely affected his commercial worth. The world No 1, who has never failed a drugs test, strenuously denied her accusation, made on French TV last year in the wake of the Maria Sharapova suspension, and sued Bachelot for defamation. Nadal (right) had provided medical and testing records to show that his six-month absence five years ago was due to knee problems. Roger Federer kept up his 100 per cent record at the Nitto ATP Finals yesterday when, in a repeat of this year’s Wimbledon final, he defeated Marin Cilic 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 at London’s O2 Arena. Jack Sock last night became an unlikely semi-finalist when the feisty American, a late qualifier in eighth place, upset Alex Zverev 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to set up a match against the unbeaten Roger Federer. Meanwhile, after nearly 11 months Czech police have called off the investigation into the stabbing of 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in her apartment, saying they had exhausted their chances of gaining a conviction.