LONDON-- Britain's Andy Murray can focus fully on next week's Davis Cup assignment in Belgium after Stanislas Wawrinka sent him packing from the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on Friday.
The concluding round-robin match at the year-ender had become a straight knockout between the two players after Rafael Nadal had already sealed top spot in Ilie Nastase Group, and Wawrinka looked the sharper as he won 7-6(4) 6-4.
Earlier, Nadal spent two hours and 36 minutes beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4 to make sure he went into Saturday's semi-final against world number one Novak Djokovic with a 100 percent record so far this week.
Wawrinka will face Stan Smith Group winner Roger Federer, who like Nadal was unbeaten in group play.
Murray and Wawrinka were both guilty of numerous careless errors, Murray in a first-set tiebreak that he led 4-2.
His Swiss opponent then wobbled towards the end and nearly let slip a 5-2 lead, having to save two break points when he served for the match for a second time at 5-4.
World number two Murray, who smashed a frame in anger in the final game, said the proximity of next week's Davis Cup final on a claycourt in Ghent had not been a factor in his defeat.
"Way too many errors. Cheap ones, as well. Disappointing," the 28-year-old, who fell at the group stage for the second year running, told reporters.
"I didn't find it difficult not thinking about the Davis Cup final, to be honest. Obviously the only positive for me this week is I've come away from it injury-free.
"Now I have a couple more days to get ready for Belgium."
Murray was straight back on court afterwards, taking out his frustration in a knockup with coach Jonas Bjorkman on a deserted centre court as cleaners picked up litter in the stands.
With Nadal already in the semi-finals and Ferrer going home after two defeats, the clash of the Spaniards had no impact on the tournament but the packed arena was treated to the longest match of the tournament so far.
It looked as though Nadal might be in for an easy ride when he won 10 of the first 11 points, breaking Ferrer twice, but his 33-year-old opponent is renowned as one of the sport's best battlers and he hit back to win a tiebreak.
World number five Nadal, who had already beaten fourth-ranked Wawrinka and Murray, buckled down though and levelled the match before breaking the Ferrer serve in the final game of the contest.
"It should be like this," Nadal, who has been transformed since a modest summer, told reporters.
"Doesn't matter if I was qualified. For me the main goal is to try to arrive in good shape next year. Today was an opportunity to play against another of the top eight players of the world.
"I think I competed well. I won a very tough match. I think a very good match in terms of quality moments."
In the doubles, Ivan Dodig and world number one Marcelo Melo beat Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic to set up a semi-final against Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea.
Second seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau will face the Bryan twins after beating French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
DUBAI-- England's Andy Sullivan carded an unblemished 66 in the second round of the DP World Tour Championship on Friday to take the outright lead after sinking a 25-foot birdie from off the green on the final hole.
Sullivan, 28, has an aggregate 12-under score of 132 at the halfway stage of the European Tour's $8 million season finale. He is a stroke ahead of Argentine Emiliano Grillo, whose second-round 64 was the lowest of the tournament.
American Patrick Reed (65) is nine-under on 135, while three players including four-time major winner Rory McIlroy and former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel are a shot further adrift. In all, 20 players are within six shots of the lead.
"It's absolutely awesome to be leading after halfway in such a massive event," Sullivan told reporters after making an arcing putt on the 18th to deafening cheers from the gallery.
The world number 53 has rarely erred in Dubai, registering a solitary bogey over 36 holes, while four birdies in the final seven holes on Friday helped him snatch the lead by the close.
"I played really good on the front nine without holing a massive amount, and then on 12 up the hill, I holed a long one there," added Sullivan. "My putter just seemed to get crazy hot from there and everything I looked at pretty much went in."
Sullivan will partner Grillo in the third round, with the South American returning to sizzling form after winning October's Frys.com Open on the PGA tour, a victory he said helped strengthen his self-belief in Dubai.
"It's pretty much like a major here," said Grillo, 23, who partnered world number three McIlroy on Friday.
"You've got the best players in the world and you've got to play really well to keep up."
McIlroy expressed his satisfaction after a second successive four-under-par 68 kept him in contention.
The Northern Irishman was steady, if unspectacular on Friday, making two birdies plus a bogey on the front nine before picking up three more shots after the turn.
"It played a little tricky out there with the wind conditions and the direction of the wind changing a little bit," McIlroy told reporters.
"It caught me out today a couple of times. Eight-under par, it's a good position going into the weekend and not too far off the lead. I'm happy with my couple days' work."
Schwartzel had on Thursday revealed his despair at his prolonged poor form that had sent him tumbling down the rankings, but he showed his class with four birdies from the 14th hole onwards to card 65.
England's Ian Poulter was one of four overnight joint-leaders, but three bogeys and a double-bogey in Friday's opening 12 holes dropped him out of contention as he carded 74 for a combined score of 140.
Justin Rose is back in with a chance after a second-round 66 moved him to 137, five shots adrift following six birdies after the turn.
"The front nine, I was playing well and not making anything of it," said Rose, who acknowledged his first-round 71 was beneficial in giving him an early start before the customary afternoon winds swept the Earth course.
"I was having to work hard not to get frustrated and then everything turned around on the back nine."
The Race to Dubai title, awarded to the player who earns the most money on the tour this season, is also up for grabs.
McIlroy, looking to win for the third year in four, led going into Dubai, while six other players including Rose could still win what was formerly known as the Order of Merit.
LONDON-- Roger Federer's enduring brilliance and his sheer hatred of losing allowed him to withstand a stunning fightback by Kei Nishikori and remain undefeated at the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday.
The 34-year-old Swiss maestro was on auto-pilot when he led 4-1 in the second set, having snatched an absorbing opener, but needed every shot in his formidable armoury to eventually claw out a 7-5 4-6 6-4 victory.
Japan's Nishikori had looked the more likely winner after reeling off five consecutive games to take the six-times former champion into a deciding set, but his stirring efforts proved in vain as Federer squeezed home.
Federer topped Stan Smith Group with a 100 percent record -- the ninth time in 14 consecutive appearances at the elite event he has won all three of his round-robin matches.
World number one Novak Djokovic, beaten emphatically by Federer on Tuesday, joined the Swiss in the semi-finals when he beat Tomas Berdych 6-3 7-5 in the evening match at the O2 Arena.
The Serb, bidding for a fourth straight title at the season-ender, could have qualified with a three-set defeat, but took no chances in a businesslike display to finish runner up in the group and set up a clash with a resurgent Rafael Nadal.
Federer will play either Andy Murray or Stanislas Wawrinka who complete the round-robin matches in the Ilie Nastase group on Friday.
Nishikori bowed out, having only managed to beat Berdych, but he got a ringing endorsement from the 34-year-old Federer.
"It's amazing what he's able to produce on the court. Today was another showcase of that, how he's able to return second serves, staying on top of the baseline...drilling forehands and backhands up the line. It was impressive," Federer said of the 2014 U.S. Open champion.
Seventeen-times grand slam champion Federer had already sealed a semi-final spot before walking on court on Thursday, but there was never a chance of him letting up.
He jumped into a 3-1 lead before 26-year-old Nishikori began striking the ball with real venom, breaking twice in a row.
Federer squared the set at 4-4 with some rock-solid baseline play wearing down Nishikori.
Nishikori had a point to set up a tiebreak at 5-6 but after a superb cat-and-mouse rally, Federer threaded a backhand down the line. Federer pounced on set point, forcing an error.
Federer was in full flow in the second set, leading 4-1, but Nishikori refused to slink away quietly and took the next five games with some delightful shot-making.
His crucial break at 4-4 came courtesy of an ugly forehand swipe from Federer who hit the ball several metres out with the court at his mercy.
Federer looked tired and tetchy early in the third, even offering an expletive, but crucially hung in from 0-40 down to hold serve, before breaking to move 4-1 ahead.
Again Nishikori stormed back to 4-4, but this time Federer steadied down, found four first serves in the nick of time, then broke for the match with a winning smash.
With a maximum of two matches left in a season which has already brought six titles, Federer said he is in the mood to go out on a high.
"I've got the perfect schedule. I'm off before the semis, which is huge. Now you're looking at potentially a maximum of two more matches and the season's over then," he said.
"It's going to be tough in the sense to win. But for the body, I'm in an ideal situation looking at the semi-final."
In doubles action defending champions and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan saved five match points against Jamie Murray and John Peers -- 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 16-14 to scrape into the semi-finals.
JACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville Jaguars used a 63-yard punt return by Rashad Greene followed by a short touchdown pass from Blake Bortles to Julius Thomas to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 19-13 win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday.
Greene, playing in his first game since returning from injured reserve, returned a Tennessee punt to the Titans 5-yard line with 3:34 left in the game.
On the first play, Bortles connected with Thomas from five yards out. Jason Myers, who kicked four field goals in the game, added the extra point to give the Jaguars a 16-13 lead.
On Tennessee's next play, Phillip Supernaw fumbled after making a catch and the Davon House recovered for the Jaguars at the 29-yard line.
The Jaguars could not move the ball and Myers added his fourth field goal.
Tennessee had one final opportunity with quarterback Marcus Mariota moving the team from his 20 to the Jaguars' 23-yard line with five seconds left. But on the last play of the game, Jaguars defensive end Andre Branch sacked him.
The first half was a battle of field goals as neither team could reach the end zone in the first 30 minutes.
Tennessee got on the scoreboard first, taking their opening drive to the Jaguars' 29-yard line, where it stalled. Ryan Succop converted on a 47-yard field goal to give the Titans the early lead.
After going three-and-out on their opening series, the Jaguars put together a 73-yard drive to the Tennessee 13-yard line, but a third-down pass was thrown away by Bortles.
Myers then hit on a 31-yard field goal.
Tennessee answered by marching to the Jaguars' 32, but a third-down pass by Mariota was incomplete. Succop then converted on his second field goal of the half, this one from 49 yards out to make it a 6-3 Titans lead.
Jacksonville's best chance to reach the end zone came late in the half.
A 38-yard pass to wide receiver Allen Robinson gave the Jaguars a first down on the 13-yard line. Two running plays netted 7 yards to the 6-yard line, but Bortles was sacked by linebacker Brian Orakpo for a 9-yard loss.
Myers then tied the game at 6-6 with a 32-yard field goal.
It was more of the same in the third quarter. For the third time in the game, the Jaguars drove into the red zone but had to settle for a field goal.
They took the opening drive of the half from the 20 to the 7-yard line. But three consecutive runs by running back Denard Robinson gained just 5 yards, and the Jaguars had to settle for another Myers field goal.
It gave Jacksonville its first lead of the game at 9-6.
Tennessee then became the first team to make it to the end zone. The Titans put together an 81-yard march, including two pass-interference penalties against the Jaguars for 48 yards, in five plays.
Mariota surprised the Jaguars by keeping on a run around left end from 23 yards out for the touchdown, giving the Titans a 13-9 lead with 5:22 left in the third quarter.
BENGALURU-- AB de Villiers' 100th test fizzled out into a tame draw on Wednesday with cyclonic rains and a wet outfield wiping out a fourth successive day in the second test between India and South Africa at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The match had already seen three rained-out days on the trot and the morning drizzle prompted the match officials to call off play around lunch time, with only 81 overs of the test bowled.
India dominated what little play was possible on day one, bowling out South Africa for 214 before openers Shikhar Dhawan (45) and Murali Vijay (28) raised 80 runs without being separated.
"It's a pity that we lost four days of the test match after being in such a strong position," rued home captain Virat Kohli whose team will go into the third test at Nagpur from Nov. 25 with a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
"Other than that, we have a lot of positives that we can take from day one, the biggest being Shikhar's knock of 45-odd, him getting back into the flow and among the runs.
"He is an impact player, he has done the job for us in the past and he is a very dangerous player. To have him back in confidence is always a boost for the team," said Kohli who is leading India in his first home series.
Counterpart Hashim Amla was happy for De Villiers whose fluent 85 was the lone bright spot in the visitors' poor batting display even though the Proteas skipper felt the match could have gone either way.
"We did not do that very well but I think the game was poised. You just never know on day two or three how the game would have panned out," Amla said.
Beaten inside three days on a turning track in the series opener in Mohali, South Africa betrayed spin vulnerability in Bangalore as well with eight of them succumbing to the Indian spinners in their first innings.
Amla said the team would strive to play better cricket in Nagpur.
"We got a long layoff for these rained-out days, everybody's very keen to get back on the park. We are looking forward to Nagpur and hopefully play some better cricket."
