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BARCELONA — The Davis Cup will provide a special farewell to retiring tennis great Rafael Nadal at the November final eight, said tournament director Feliciano Lopez on Tuesday. 

The 22-time Grand Slam winner is part of David Ferrer's Spain squad for the finals in Malaga which begin on November 19.

Lopez said the Davis Cup was "lucky" to host Nadal's final tournament and wants to offer the departing superstar a farewell that lives up to his glittering career.

"It's confidential of course, but we're planning to do something very special for him, we have to celebrate his career and his legacy," Lopez told reporters.

"There's a lot of things that we're planning but for now I cannot share any more details with you, but we're planning something very special.

"We are going to try and live up to his legacy and his enormous career and I hope we're going to do something very special for him."

Lopez said many stars of tennis and other sports wanted to come to Malaga to witness the denouement of Nadal's career.

"I know that almost everyone in the world wants to be present for his farewell... Novak Djokovic posted on Instagram that he wants to be there, also Andy Murray wants to be there," continued Lopez.

"I don't know if we're gonna have seats for everyone, but as you can imagine all the tennis players that played in his time, they want to be there.

"Other athletes from different sports, of course from Spain and everywhere in the world, they want to be there as well, so it's going to be very special for Rafa."

Lopez did not think the "World Cup of Tennis" will be overshadowed by Nadal's retirement.

The tournament director said Nadal himself was keen to make sure that was not the case in Malaga.

"The Davis Cup itself is so important and I don't think this celebration is going to overshadow the competition, especially as Rafa doesn't want any of that," he explained.

Lopez said there was "no doubt" Nadal is the best Spanish athlete of all-time and considered it a "nice coincidence" he will finish his career at the Davis Cup, after a vital win in the competition back in 2004 helped launch his career.

Nadal, 18 at the time, defeated Andy Roddick in a thrilling singles battle to help Spain claim the competition at the final against the United States in Seville.

'True blessing for tennis' 

Tickets for Spain's last eight match against Netherlands were snapped up quickly and Lopez joked they could do with "two stadiums, not one", with some being resold for thousands of Euros online as the tennis world tries to catch a last glimpse of Nadal.

Nadal could be paired with French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, who is also part of the Spain team called up.

World No.1 Jannik Sinner is part of defending champions Italy's team and Lopez hailed his budding rivalry with Alcaraz.

"They are a true blessing for tennis," he added.

"Roger [Federer] and Rafa are gone, and Novak we don't know how much he has left in the tank... we're very lucky in the tennis industry and world that we have Sinner and Alcaraz leading this new generation of players."

Lopez said preparations for the Davis Cup had not been affected by the recent devastating flooding in the east of the country, and along with the Billie Jean King Cup and the International Tennis Federation, they have made a donation to the Spanish Red Cross.

"It's terrible and horrible to see this happening," said Lopez.

"Luckily this is not affecting the preparations in Malaga.

"Of course we will try to use our platform to raise awareness and we will try to raise money for everyone affected in Valencia."

AMMAN —  Wihdat and Hussein fans hope their teams can keep up their winning performances as they resume Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Champions League Two Round 4 matches as of Tuesday.

As standings begin to take shape in the 21st edition of the competition, Wihdat will host Tajikistan’s Istiklol in Amman on Tuesday hoping to build on their 1-0 away win. Wihdat are now second on goal difference in Group C after earlier holding UAE’s Sharjah 2-2 and beating  Iran’s Sepahan Isfahan 2-1. In other group matches, Sharjah beat Sepahan 3-1 and Istiklol 1-0 while Sepahan beat Istiklol 4-0.

In Group D, Hussein will play an away game against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi Wednesday hoping to repeat their earlier 2-1 win and qualify to the next round. Hussein are now second on goal difference after they beat Kuwait Club 2-1 and lost 3-1 to UAE’s Ahli Dubai. In other group matches, Ahli beat Kuwait 4-1 to take the group lead, Nasaf upset Ahli 2-1 and Kuwait held Nasaf 0-0.  

Asian clubs are playing in 8 groups with the top two in each group moving to the quarters of the second tier Asian event that has replaced the AFC Cup. The top tier Asian clubs competition is now branded Asian Champions League Elite.

LONDON — Dominic Solanke scored twice as Tottenham blitzed Aston Villa in the second half on Sunday, winning 4-1 to move just two points behind their rivals for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Shortly after the break, Brennan Johnson cancelled out Morgan Rogers’ first-half opener for Villa, before a cascade of home goals late in the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Solanke produced a delicate dinked finish to put Spurs ahead in the 75th minute and scored another from close range before James Maddison added gloss with a sumptious free kick deep into stoppage time.

The result lifts Ange Postecoglou’s men to seventh in the table on 16 points — two behind Villa, who missed the chance to climb into third spot.

The Spurs boss, whose side lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace last week, said his men had shown they had “other gears” in the second half, praising Solanke for his performance.

“His goals are unbelievable but his general play, his work-rate, I can’t speak highly enough of him,” he told Sky Sports.

“Seven days is a long time in football.

Seven days ago I was a grumpy old so and so. We have to say true to the course we’re on.

“We made sure not to feel sorry for ourselves and are back to the team we want to be.”

Villa players wore training tops reading “Fuerza Valencia” during the warm-up, in solidarity with the victims of the deadly floods in Spain, the home country of Villa boss Unai Emery, who has managed Valencia.

Spurs had plenty of the ball early on but showed little penetration, despite the return of captain Son Heung-min from injury.

Rodrigo Bentancur’s shot from distance midway through the half landed on the roof of the net.

At the other end, Jacob Ramsey’s shot was deflected over the bar by Radu Dragusin before Amadou Onana headed against the post.

But seconds later Villa were ahead after Spurs failed to deal with Luca Digne’s corner, Rogers poking home in the 32nd minute after Guglielmo Vicario made an initial save.

It was the only shot on target either side mustered in the first half, continuing Spurs’ habit of conceding first and emphasising their problems dealing with set pieces.

Spurs could have been in deeper trouble had Ollie Watkins not skewed his shot wide shortly before half-time.

Postecoglou opted not to make changes at half-time and his side were level in the 49th minute when Johnson steered home Son’s inviting cross at the far post.

Minutes later Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got a strong right hand to keep out Solanke’s close-range effort as Spurs found rhythm and intensity.

Villa captain John McGinn flashed just wide before Son was substituted — much to his surprise — as Postecoglou introduced Yves Bissouma and Richarlison.

The game became scrappy but Spurs seized the initiative when Dejan Kulusevski found Solanke, who finished cutely over the diving Martinez in the 75th minute.

Minutes later Villa lost the ball in midfield and Spurs broke at pace, with Pape Sarr feeding Richarlison, who crossed for Solanke to fire home.

Substitute Maddison made it 4-1 in the 96th minute, netting his 50th Premier League goal.

The defeat made it a miserable 53rd birthday for Emery, who had won on his past two visits to the stadium.

“When you are losing you have to try and get one step forward to try and change the result,” he said.

“But we know how difficult it is against Tottenham — 4-1 is a tough result but the match we played was more or less in line with the expectation I had before the match.

“We are disappointed, frustrated but we are accepting it.

We know our way, it is 38 matches, the league is very tight.”

AMMAN — Hussein irbid secured a commanding 3-1 victory over Wihdat in a closely contested match at Al Hassan Stadium on Friday, further solidifying their position in the CFI Professional Football League .

The match started with Hussein taking the lead in the 16th minute: Right-back Adham Qurashi scored the opener after receiving a well-timed pass from Aref Haj. Wihdat responded quickly, equalising just five minutes later when Ibrahim Sabra capitalised on a rebound from goalkeeper Yazid Abu Layla in the 21st minute.

In the second half, Hussein regained the lead after five minutes, when a foul in the box resulted in a penalty. Aref Haj stepped up to take the spot-kick and made no mistake, restoring Hussein's advantage. The two sides continued to push forward, and in a decisive moment, Sisa added a third goal with a powerful long-range shot, bringing the final score to 3-1.

With this victory, Hussein climbs to the top of the league standings with 22 points, maintaining an unbeaten record after nine rounds while Wihdat now sits at 17 points.

KINSHASA — Alfred Mamba was just 12 when boxing great Muhammad Ali descended on Kinshasa, at that time the capital of Zaire, in October 1974 in a bid to regain his heavyweight title.

Mamba watched as his father -- a boxing referee -- helped carry flags into the arena ahead of the fight between Ali and fellow-American George Foreman in the early hours of October 30.

The memory of the event, better known as The Rumble in the Jungle, has stayed with him for 50 years.

"It was an impossible atmosphere, we have never seen an atmosphere like it," he excitedly tells AFP on the sidelines of the amateur Africa Boxing Championships in Kinshasa.

The Rumble in the Jungle, which inspired Norman Mailer's book "The Fight" and the Oscar-winning documentary "When We Were Kings", has passed into boxing myth.

Financed as a big public relations event by Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, the fight took place in the 20th May Stadium, now called the Tata Raphael Stadium and was screened in over 100 countries.

The giant concrete structure was packed to the rafters with some 60,000 spectators, singing, dancing and chanting in anticipation of the match.

'Screaming'

"People were screaming at every possible moment, it was really great," Mamba recalls wide-eyed.

As he speaks he flicks through black and white paper photos from the legendary event that would turn the tide on Ali's career.

Foreman, an Olympic gold-medallist at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, was the favourite - the 25-year-old had won his first 37 fights after turning professional.

He started out the stronger but Ali, now 32 and employing his famous rope-a-dope tactics, turned the tables and landed a left hook and straight right that sent Foreman to the canvas in the eighth round.

Foreman tried to get to his feet but the referee signalled the end of the fight and a knockout win for Ali.

It was a triumph for Ali who reclaimed the title that had been stripped from him in 1967 when his decision to refuse the draft to fight in the Vietnam War landed him a three and a half year suspension.

"People really wanted Muhammad Ali to win the fight," says Mamba.

There was no clear reason why the locals leaned in his favour but, according to magazine The Africa Report, Ali created one.

When Foreman arrived in Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of Congo - with his two German Shepherd dogs, a breed favoured by the Belgian colonialists, Ali said Foreman was a Belgian, and the crowd backed him.

"When Muhammad Ali gave the [final] punch everyone screamed," says Mamba.

'Ali was Congolese'

Martin Diabintu, also a referee in the amateur boxing competition in Kinshasa, tells AFP that the locals considered Ali "like a brother".

"Ali was Congolese," he says simply.

The fight was due to take place on September 25 but had to be delayed after Foreman suffered a cut in training.

That only cranked up the anticipation around the world and, more particularly, in Kinshasa.

"Everyone wanted to see this fight, everyone wanted to assist in the fight," says Mamba.

Boniface Tshingala, another referee at the amateur boxing competition alongside Mamba and Diabintu remembers people queueing for kilometres outside the stadium.

Hours before the fight started "there were people massed around the stadium from all four corners of the capital", says Tshingala.

"Outside the stadium it was full to bursting. Everyone wanted to come in."

Tata Raphael Stadium, which has since hosted sporting events including the Francophone Games in 2023, has been updated somewhat in the half-century since The Rumble but the memories remain vivid.

"We commemorate the fight even today," says Diabintu, who was also a former boxer. "We call it 'the fight of the century'."

Now 64, Diabintu was just a teenager when Ali and Foreman came to Kinshasa. He was so eager to watch the fight he walked 10 kilometres from his home to the stadium.

"I came on foot. After I finished school I came to see the combat," he says.

As well as exciting his curiosity the event had an even greater impact on his life as he progressed from boxer to coach to referee.

"It's this event that pushed me into boxing."

All three former boxers describe pride at the DRC having hosted the event that still resonates fifty years later.

"People didn't believe that DRC could organise this fight [but] we succeeded 100 per cent," says Mamba proudly.

LOS ANGELES, United States — Kevin Durant and Devin Booker combined for 63 points as the Phoenix Suns sent LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers tumbling to their first defeat of the season in NBA action on Monday.

Booker bagged 33 points and Durant 30 to give the Suns a thrilling 109-105 win at Phoenix's Footprint Center, avenging the Lakers' 123-116 win over the Suns in Los Angeles on Friday.

The Lakers arrived in Phoenix buoyed by an impressive 3-0 start to the campaign under new head coach J.J. Redick.

They looked poised to keep that run going after making a blistering start, sprinting into an early 26-8 lead in the first quarter thanks to 16 points from the in-form Anthony Davis.

Phoenix responded to edge ahead 50-48 before the Lakers hit back with a 35-point third quarter to regain the lead, only for the Suns to turn the tables in the fourth, outscoring Los Angeles 33-22 to seal victory.

Davis led the Lakers scorers with 29 points, adding 15 rebounds and three assists, while Austin Reaves finished with 23 points.

James, however, had a rare off-night, finishing with just 11 points from 3-of-14 shooting.

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer saluted his team's grit in hauling themselves back from their early 18-point deficit.

"The toughness, the edge that the guys are developing and growing, the competitiveness," Budenholzer said. "When you can take a punch like that in the first quarter, lean on your defense to get back into it -- having that edge on defense tonight really stood out."

Celtics roll on 

The reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics produced a dominant second-half performance to preserve their unbeaten start to the season with a 119-108 defeat of the Milwaukee Bucks at the TD Garden.

The Bucks edged into a slender 56-53 half-time lead thanks to 16 points from Damian Lillard and 13 from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

But Boston came roaring back after the interval, combining for seven three-pointers to outscore the Bucks 37-26 and open up an eight-point advantage heading into the final quarter.

Jaylen Brown then led the Celtics home to safety with nine points in the fourth quarter to put the game to bed as Boston improved to 4-0.

Brown led the Celtics scorers with 30 points while Payton Pritchard caught the eye with 28 points off the bench that included eight three-pointers.

Jrue Holiday added 21 points while Jayson Tatum chipped in with 15 points

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla singled out Pritchard for praise after the win.

"He kept us in it in the first half -- he's just finding different ways to impact games," Mazzulla said. "Tonight it was shooting and his defense, sometimes it's his passing -- the kid's a competitor. I just love watching him play."

The Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, ensured they remain unbeaten on 4-0 at the top of the Eastern Conference after a gritty 110-104 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks led by as many as 13 points at one stage in the third quarter, but Cleveland trimmed that advantage to just four points heading into the fourth.

Darius Garland then took over in the final frame, pouring in 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs completed their comeback, outscoring the Knicks 36-26 to seal victory.

Garland finished with 34 points while Donovan Mitchell added 25.

Elsewhere on Monday, Paolo Banchero erupted for 50 points as the Orlando Magic defeated the Indiana Pacers 119-115.

Banchero added 13 rebounds with nine assists while Jalen Suggs provided offensive support with 25 points.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana's scoring with 26 points and the Pacers looked to be in command after outscoring the Magic 39-22 in the third quarter.

But the Magic finished strong in the fourth, outscoring Indiana 26-17 to grab the win.

In Toronto, meanwhile, Nikola Jokic poured in 40 points as the Denver Nuggets snatched a thrilling 127-125 overtime victory against the Raptors.

Jamal Murray forced overtime with just 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation, his reverse layup tying it at 114-114 before Jokic took over in overtime with seven points to guide Denver to victory.

LOS ANGELES, United States — Tyrese Maxey scored 10 of his 45 points in overtime to carry the Philadelphia 76ers to their first victory of the NBA season on Sunday, a hard-fought 118-114 triumph over the Indiana Pacers.

Philadelphia had struggled in their first two games with former NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid sidelined by injury and newly acquired nine-time All-Star Paul George’s Sixers debut delayed by a knee injury.

But Maxey made sure they got into the win column, shrugging off early shooting struggles to come through when it mattered.

Maxey made just two of six shots in the first half and missed his first seven attempts in the third quarter before finding his touch and drilled a 10-foot jump shot with 2.3 seconds left that gave Philadelphia a 79-78 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Maxey scored 14 points in a fourth quarter that featured 10 lead changes. It went to overtime when Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton drained a three-pointer to tie it at 105-105 with 3.5 seconds left and Maxey was off target with a three at the buzzer.

Maxey made a three-pointer to open overtime and the Sixers never trailed. His big night came after he shot just 29.6 per cent from the field over the first two games.

“I wasn’t so much disappointed in my offence the last two games, our offense as a whole — it was our effort,” Maxey said. “I was letting my offence affect my effort defensively.

“Today I was just going extremely hard defensively, kind of got going and we benefitted from that.”

Caleb Martin added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Kelly Oubre had 14 points and eight rebounds and Andre Drummond scored nine points with 17 rebounds.

Haliburton led the Pacers with 22 points — one of seven Indiana players to score in double figures.

The Portland Trail Blazers and Brooklyn Nets notched their first victories of the young season, Portland downing the New Orleans Pelicans 125-103 and Brooklyn fending off Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks 115-102.

Jerami Grant scored 28 points and Anfernee Simons added 27 as all five Portland starters scored in double figures. DeAndre Ayton scored 17 and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who never trailed in the second half.

CJ McCollum led the Pelicans with 27 points with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram contributing 14 apiece.

Portland’s win came two days after the Pelicans pulled off a two-point victory after trailing the Blazers by double digits at halftime.

In Brooklyn, Cam Thomas scored 32 points and Dennis Schroder added 29 to power the Nets in their first win under Spanish coach Jordi Fernandez.

The Nets emerged from a back-and-forth third quarter with an 83-78 lead and pulled away in the final frame with help from 11 points from Thomas.

Two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Damian Lillard added 21 points for the Bucks, who have lost two straight after winning their season opener.

LONDON — West Ham piled more pressure on beleaguered Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag with a dramatic 2-1 win on Sunday as Cole Palmer inspired Chelsea to a victory by the same scoreline over Newcastle.

Tottenham were beaten 1-0 at Crystal Palace, who picked up their first win of the season.

Liverpool can go back to the top of the table with victory away at Arsenal in the biggest clash of the Premier League weekend later on Sunday.

Ten Hag was left to rue a familiar lack of ruthlessness as United's fourth league defeat in nine games will spark further speculation on how long he will be given to turn the Red Devils' fortunes around.

The visitors should have been out of sight by half-time at the London Stadium.

Alejandro Garnacho hit the woodwork inside two minutes and Edson Alvarez also headed off his own crossbar.

But it was Diogo Dalot who missed the biggest chance when the Portuguese international somehow fired over with the goal gaping after rounding Lukasz Fabianski.

Under-fire West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui showed his disgust with the Hammers' first-half display by making three substitutions at the break.

Crysencio Summerville was one of those introduced and he slid in to open the scoring against the run of play on 74 minutes.

Casemiro brought United level nine minutes from time with a header from point-blank range.

But there was late drama when VAR intervened for a foul on Danny Ings by Matthijs de Ligt.

Jarrod Bowen smashed in the resulting spot-kick to take West Ham above United, who sink to 14th in the table.

Chelsea had been beaten in the Premier League for the first time since Enzo Maresca's first match in charge at Liverpool last weekend despite an impressive performance.

The Blues got back to winning ways with Palmer at the heart of their best work.

The England international had a goal marginally ruled out for offside inside the first five minutes.

Palmer was the creator for the opening goal, despite not being credited with the assist, as his sumptuous ball over the top freed Pedro Neto, who picked out Nicolas Jackson to slot in his sixth goal of the season.

Newcastle are now winless in five league games as the pressure mounts on Eddie Howe ahead of a rematch against Chelsea in the League Cup on Wednesday.

The Magpies did get back on level terms before half-time as Alexander Isak tapped in Lewis Hall's cross at the end of a well-worked move.

Palmer took just two minutes into the second period to make the decisive impact with a driving run forward and powerful finish that beat Nick Pope at his near post.

Newcastle should have left London with a point, though, as Isak botched a huge chance to level 15 minutes from time after rounding Robert Sanchez.

Palace began the day in the relegation zone but were good value for the three points at Selhurst Park as Tottenham's struggles on the road continue.

Eberechi Eze's deft flick teed up Jean-Philippe Mateta to fire home the only goal.

Eze had a second ruled out for offside in the second half, but Tottenham, without injured captain Son Heung-min, were toothless in attack.

Spurs have won just once in five away league games this season as they slip to eighth, four points off the top four.