Nadal locks up world No. 1 rank
Rafael Nadal will finish the year as the top-ranked player for the fourth time.
The 31-year-old Spaniard assured himself the No.1 ranking by beating Hyeon Chung 7-5, 6-3 yesterday in the second round of the Paris Masters.
The 16-time Grand Slam winner had not finished the year at the top since 2013, with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray doing so after that.
Nadal, who is tied for a record 30 Masters titles with Djokovic, has never won the tournament in Paris. He will next face Pablo Cuevas.
Third-seeded Marin Cilic won 6-4, 6-3 against Borna Coric in an all-Croatian match. Cilic, who had 13 aces, will next play 14th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, who eased past Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-1.
Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev lost to Robin Haase 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, and No. 9 John Isner beat Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (2), 6-7 (11), 6-3.
Haase next plays No. 13 Juan Martin del Potro, who eased past Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-2. Del Potro needs to win in Paris to have a chance of reaching the Finals in London.
No. 11 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s bid to reach London is over following a 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss to Julien Benneteau. Benneteau plays No.7 David Goffin, who won 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 against Adrian Mannarino.
Lucas Pouille kept alive his slim chances of qualifying for London with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Feliciano Lopez, but No. 12 Kevin Anderson’s chances took a dent after a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 loss to Fernando Verdasco.
Also, No. 16 Jack Sock had 14 aces in a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) win against Kyle Edmund and faces Pouille in today’s third round . . . .
U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens will lead the United States against Belarus in the Fed Cup final this month.
The U.S. Tennis Association announced captain Kathy Rinaldi’s roster yesterday. Joining Stephens for the best-of-fivematches final on an indoor hard court in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 11-12 are two-time Grand Slam semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe, Shelby Rogers and Alison Riske.
Colleges: Golden players
Worcester State junior quarterback Noah Blum and UMass kicker Logan Laurent were awarded Gold Helmets by the New England Football Writers Association at their weekly luncheon.
Blum connected on 28-of-36 passes for 364 yards and a school-record-tying five touchdowns in a 48-0 win over Mass. Maritime. Laurent booted three field goals, including a game-wining 36 yarder in the second overtime to help defeat Appalachian State, 30-27.
Misc.: Russian winner DQ’d
A Russian gold medalist at the 2014 Sochi Olympics was disqualified based on evidence from an investigation into a state-backed doping conspiracy.
The International Olympic Committee said cross-country skier Alexander Legkov was disqualified from all his events in Sochi.
Legkov won gold in the individual 50-kilometer freestyle race in a Russian podium sweep on the last day of competition. Legkov also took silver in the 4x10-kilometer relay event.
Russian cross-country ski federation president Yelena Valbe said the ruling will be appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport . . . .
English clubs shone in the Champions League, as Tottenham humbled Real Madrid and Manchester City beat Napoli to secure their places in the knockout stages with two games remaining.
Tottenham ended Real’s five-year unbeaten run in the Champions League group stage with a storming 3-1 at Wembley. Dele Alli scored twice on his return from a three-game suspension. Man City muscled its way to a 4-2 win over Napoli as Sergio Aguero took the club’s all-time scoring record with his 178th for the club.
Liverpool made it three wins from three for English clubs with a straightforward 3-0 victory over Slovenian outsider Maribor.