Tennis: Japan’s Kei Nishikori will make a third straight appearance at the ATP Tour finals next month after becoming the fifth player to qualify for the season-ending tournament, organisers said yesterday. The 26-year-old world number four will join the world’s top three – Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka – plus big-serving sixth-ranked Canadian Milos Raonic in London, the ATP said in a statement. Nishikori has had a strong year so far, having won his 11th Tour title at the Memphis Open and reached the Australian Open quarter-finals as well as the US Open semi-finals.
Horse Racing: Andre Fabre may be on the lookout for a new jockey for Vadamos in the Cox Plate after Damien Oliver was handed a 20-meeting suspension yesterday. Melbourne Cup-winning rider Oliver was in action at Caulfield and was adjudged to have been guilty of reckless riding on short-priced favourite Flying Artie. Oliver moved his mount out to challenge down the back straight, severely hampering another rival, Ken’s Dream, ridden by Dean Yendall. The stewards found Oliver guilty of reckless rather than careless riding which resulted in the more severe penalty. He will return in time for the Melbourne Cup.
Rugby Union: Former Wales number eight Andy Powell has retired aged 35 after failing to recover from a knee injury, his club Merthyr have announced. The 2009 British and Irish Lions tourist helped Merthyr win promotion to the Welsh Premiership after joining from the Dragons in 2015. The 23-cap back-rower has been unable to shake off his latest injury problem though, and has been forced to admit defeat in his bid to return to action. Powell made his Wales debut in 2008 but after a game in February 2010 he was arrested for driving on the hard shoulder of the M4 in a golf buggy.
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Golf: US Open champion Dustin Johnson (picture, right) has been voted the PGA Tour’s player of the year after a hugely successful season. As well as claiming his first major title at Oakmont, Johnson won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on his next appearance and the BMW Championship during the FedEx Cup play-offs. That victory in particular took the 32-year-old to the top of the FedEx Cup standings. However, he missed out on the overall title and $10 million bonus after Rory McIlroy won the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Cycling: Germany’s Tony Martin won a record-equalling fourth men’s time-trial title at the UCI Road World Championships yesterday. Martin matched Swiss ace Fabian Cancellara’s achievement of four time-trial world titles with victory in the 40-kilometres test in Doha, Qatar. The German, winner in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and second to Bradley Wiggins in 2014, finished in 44 minutes 42.99 seconds for a commanding win. Olympic champion Cancellara was absent ahead of his imminent retirement. Belarus’s Vasil Kiryienka, the defending champion, finished second in 45mins 28.04secs.