Mickelson target Tiger's top spot

Mickelson target Tiger's top spot

Tiger Woods could have lost his world number one spot by the time he flies to Wales with the rest of the American Ryder Cup side on Sunday night - and there is nothing he can do about it.

Phil Mickelson defends the Tour Championship in Atlanta this week knowing that finishing first or second will enable him to take top spot in the rankings for the first time.

Woods failed to qualify for the 30-man event, which offers a first prize of £868,000 in addition to the £6.4million that will be handed to the overall winner of the FedEx Cup play-off series.

Paul Casey, left out of Europe's side, is currently fifth in the cup standings and will scoop the jackpot if he wins the tournament.

Luke Donald, who will be at Celtic Manor next week, Justin Rose and Martin Laird are also taking part.

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World number one Nadal confirms Queen's Club entry

World number one Nadal confirms Queen's Club entry

World number one Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will play in the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club next June.

Nadal won the event in 2008 and has gone on to reach the Wimbledon final shortly after all four of his appearances at the warm-up event.

And the Spaniard, who recently became the first man to win consecutive French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles since Rod Laver achieved the feat in 1969, is looking forward to returning.

"I love playing at the Queen's Club because it is a traditional club," said Nadal.

"Every time I have played there I have felt very welcome because of the British people and their support, and because of the tournament organisers who are so good at their job.

"After the French Open, it is very important for me to feel the grass under my feet as soon as possible."

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Wenger says Wilshere will be great

Wenger says Wilshere will be great

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hailed the performance of starlet Jack Wilshere in their 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

"We know that he's an outstanding football player," Wenger told Sky Sports.

"But he can get tackles and give tackles, he's tough. I believe he has an outstanding future.

"He just needs to keep well, humble and enjoy his game."

"He's much ahead," Wenger said. "But I believe as well that talented players play early. All the big players play early, at the age of 18 they start to play at the top level.

"He can handle it. If he can handle it mentally what happens to him there is no problem, he will be a great player."

"We have to check, that is the only disappointment of the night, because Gibbs had a very good game," said the Arsenal manager.

"We hope we do not get bad news tomorrow morning.

"It is a metatarsal again, it is the one next to the one he had broken, the second one, so we hope we have good news tomorrow morning, because that would be a massive blow to us."

"I felt that we dominated completely," Wenger said.

Wenger explained that Nasri had previously resisted taking penalties after fouls on himself.

"He had a superstition to think that when a penalty is made on you not to take it," Wenger said. "But I tried to prove to him that that's solely based on fear.

"He realises now that it was a bad superstition."

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Ujfalusi banned for Messi tackle

Ujfalusi banned for Messi tackle

Atletico Madrid defender Tomas Ujfalusi has been handed a two-match ban following his sending-off against Barcelona on Sunday.

The tackle saw Lionel Messi leave the pitch on a stretcher.

It looked ominous for Messi as he was carried from the pitch but initial fears of a serious injury were allayed following tests on Monday, when it was confirmed there was only ankle ligament damage but no break.

The Argentina international is set to miss at least two games with the injury.

Ujfalusi's challenge has been widely condemned in Spain and there had been suggestions the Czech defender could face a ban of up to 12 matches.

However, the Spanish Football Federation tonight suspended him for two games, meaning he will miss this week's fixtures against Valencia and Real Zaragoza.

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Gibbs likely to play domestic cricket in Australia

Gibbs likely to play domestic cricket in Australia

South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs has said that he could play domestic cricket in Australia this season, and added that he is in talks with Queensland to turn out in the Twenty20 Big Bash.

Gibbs has quit first-class cricket and is looking to keep playing as he bids to win a place in the Proteas squad for next year's World Cup.

"With all the (first-class) SuperSport (Series) games here from December and our Pro20 series only starting at the end of January, it's one of the options. I'd like to stay busy, but everything is still up in the air right now," he told Sport24.com.

The 36-year-old played for Yorkshire in the English T20 tournament, while also turning out for Glamorgan in previous seasons, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Gibbs also said he hopes to continue to represent his country.

"Definitely (I still want to play). It's one of the things that still keeps me going and the blood pumping," he said.

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Murray appointing new coach ahead of ATP world tour

Murray appointing new coach ahead of ATP world tour

British No.1 Andy Murray, who sacked his coach in July, has said that he is no closer to appointing a new coach ahead of his return to ATP World Tour action next month.

He had hoped to find a successor to Miles Maclagan before the China Open in Beijing, which begins on October 4.

"The situation is the same as it was before the US Open. I'm still looking into it and trying to find the best person that can help me. I'm going to have to be patient with it, take my time a little bit and I'm sure I'll find someone that will help me," Murray said.

"I haven't spoken to anybody yet but I've spoken to the guys that I work with and I've spoken to my mum about the people that I might like to work with," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

"I've got to try and find out the availability, how many weeks people are willing to do and make the decision based on all the information," Murray added.

Maclagan oversaw Murray's rise to the top of the game after linking up with the Scot in 2007.

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afridi says "Only people who are guilty of allegations feel pressure"

afridi says "Only people who are guilty of allegations feel pressure"

Pakistan's One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has said that his team is not under any pressure, as only "guilty" people feel the pressure if allegations are levelled against them.

"Why should we feel under pressure? We haven't done anything wrong. We are not guilty of any wrongdoing," The Nation quoted Afridi as saying, when asked in an interview whether the Pakistani team had come under pressure after spot-fixing allegations and a string of losses earlier in the series.

In what seemed to be a veiled attack on the England team, Afridi stressed, "Only People who feel guilty take pressure."

England captain Andrew Strauss had earlier said that he felt disappointed after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt alleged that England deliberately lost their third ODI against Pakistan at the Oval.

"I'm pretty deflated, really. It has been a long and arduous and difficult 24 hours and to lose a game of cricket at the back end of it, which we were in a good position to win, is very disappointing," Strauss had said after his team's defeat at Lord's.

Afridi, believing that constant claims of corruption against his team were a conspiracy, said, "The way so many people are joining the bashing of Pakistan cricket shows that a conspiracy is on to finish our cricket... But we won't allow it. As far as I and my team are concerned we will give our best on the field and play our role in saving Pakistan cricket from all such conspiracies."

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