Safin ends career with Paris Masters defeat

PARIS, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Former world number one Marat Safin ended his playing career with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 defeat by U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Porto at the Paris Masters on Wednesday.The 29-year-old Russian, who had saved three match points to squeeze past French qualifier Thierry Ascione in the first round of his final tournament on Monday, fought bravely against the Argentine world number five.“I knew there were not many chances I would beat him but I played pretty well, had pretty close calls,” said Safin, who was warmly cheered on by the crowd at the Bercy hall and greeted with rounds of the Mexican wave.Showing glimpses of his old form, Safin, who has not won a title since the 2005 Australian Open, challenged Del Porto by taking...

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Ronaldo ruled out of Bosnia World Cup playoff

* Portugal tests conclude Ronaldo not fit to join squad* Winger will miss World Cup playoff matches against Bosnia* Ankle injury picked up in late Sept. still not healed(adds background)By Shrikesh LaxmidasOBIDOS, Portugal, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the two-legged World Cup playoff against Bosnia, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said in a statement on Tuesday.Ronaldo has not recovered from an ankle injury and will not play in the game in Lisbon on Saturday and in Zenica four days later.“After a clinical evaluation, it was concluded that the player does not meet the physical conditions to join the national squad training for the (Bosnia playoff) matches,” the FPF said.Real Madrid’s world record signing...

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NBA: Refs' call correct after Nuggets-Bulls review

NEW YORK – The NBA says the review that overturned a winning shot by Chicago's Brad Miller was correct and handled appropriately.Referees looked at video replay for about three minutes before determining that Miller's shot came after the final buzzer, giving Denver a 90-89 victory on Tuesday night. Though a review is supposed to be completed in a two-minute period, crew chief Mark Wunderlich then asked the truck if there were any additional angles.He was provided with the overhead view that showed the ball was still on Miller's fingertips at the buzzer.NBA spokesman Tim Frank says Wednesday "the replay was handled by the book and the referee made the right decision," adding there was no issue with the officials taking extra t...

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pakistan beat japan in world cup and qualify for the world cup hockey 2010

Pakistan beat japan by 3-1 in world cup and qualify for the world cup hockey 2010. Sohail Abbas score 2 goal and Abdul Haseem khan score 1. Pakistan show his strength in starting of match Abdul Haseem Khan opened the scoring for Pakistan four minutes after the start before Sohail Abbas came into action with a 24th minute conversion of a short corner.Japan reduced the margin through Shibushi who found the target from a penalty corner in the 27th minute with Pakistan leading 2-1 at the halfway stage. Sohail Abbas widened Pakistan’s lead with another successful strike in the second period of a fast-paced match.Pakistan then missed a couple of sitters but their defence, particularly the goalkeeper, stood firm against the repeated Japanese attacks,...

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Aisam press conference before next match

" I am very happy after defeating Roger Federer in street set 6-3 6-4 . I have a dream to defeat him and which has comes mostly true. We will try to win this title. I want to defeat Federer in single match in a big Slam Of Tennis even...

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Phillies' Rollins yearns to be king of the hill, top of the heap

NEW YORK — The stage is the biggest. The lights are the brightest. The stakes are the highest. This is New York City. And this, Jimmy Rollins says, is where the Philadelphia Phillies will win the World Series, for the second year in a row, and become one of the greatest teams in the past half-century. The Yankees might be up 3-2 with Game 6 scheduled today at Yankee Stadium, but the Phillies shortstop packed his bags for two games. "Phillies in seven," Rollins says. The Phillies would become the first visiting team to throw a party at the Yankees' new $1.5 billion crib. "Wow, playing the Yankees in the World Series, and now to beat them at Yankee Stadium," Rollins says. "It doesn't get any better than th...

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