Comprehensive Win Puts England 2-1 Up

England 121-3 (Trott 52no, Botha 2-22) beat South Africa 119 (Petersen 51, Anderson 5-23) by seven wickets.

England moved into a position from which they cannot lose their five-match One-Day International series against South Africa by winning the fourth match in Port Elizabeth by seven wickets.

After South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first, they were bowled out for 119 and an unbeaten half-century from Jonathan Trott guided them past their victory target in the 32nd over of the reply to put them 2-1 up with one match to play.

The problems began early for South Africa when Graeme Smith was trapped in front for two by Stuart Broad but it was Anderson who really inspired England, dismissing Hashim Amla (11), JP Duminy (6), Mark Boucher (13), Ryan McLaren (0), and Johan Botha (1) to complete his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs.

Despite a fighting half-century from Alviro Petersen, South Africa used up one ball shy of 37 overs, Petersen the last man to fall, caught by Luke Wright off Broad for 51 in 79 deliveries.

Paul Collingwood continued his fine series by taking the wickets of Wayne Parnell (1) and Morne Morkel (7) while Tim Bresnan had AB de Villiers trapped in front for 22.

Anderson returned five for 23, Broad two for 30, Collingwood two for 20 and Bresnan one for 15 and England fairly cruised to victory despite the loss of three wickets along the way.

Botha was back in the side at the expense of Roelof van der Merwe and he struck to have Andrew Strauss trapped in front for 32 and then Kevin Pietersen caught by de Villiers for three and although Collingwood made just two before he offered Boucher a catch and McLaren a wicket, Eoin Morgan, unbeaten on 28, accompanied Trott to the finish line.

The opener finished unbeaten on 52 in 77 balls having hit as many fours as Morgan managed - five. The fifth and final match is in Durban on Friday 4th December.

Katich knock puts Aussies on top

First Test, Brisbane, day one (close): Australia 322-5 v West Indies

Simon Katich fell eight runs short of a deserved century as Australia made confident progress on day one of the first Test against the West Indies. The tourists made the perfect start when fast bowler Jerome Taylor removed Shane Watson for a duck in Brisbane.

But opener Katich (92) added 126 for the second wicket with captain Ricky Ponting (55), while Mike Hussey's 66 ensured Australia finished on 322-5. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo (2-66) was the pick of the West Indies bowlers.

After winning the toss and electing to bat on a glorious wicket at the Gabba, Australia began in the worst possible fashion when Taylor trapped Watson lbw for a duck in the third over when the opener shouldered arms to a delivery which nipped back off the track.

But Katich and Ponting settled the home crowd's early nerves, although the Australia captain was the subject of the first use of the International Cricket Council's Decision Review System on Australian soil when he was given not out following a confident lbw appeal by Ravi Rampaul on 30.

West Indies jet-lagged captain Chris Gayle - who arrived in Brisbane from Jamaica on Tuesday following a visit his ill mother - asked for the decision to referred to third umpire Mark Benson, who upheld Ian Gould's decision.

Federer wins after Verdasco scare

World number one Roger Federer recovered from a poor start to beat Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the first evening session of the ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena.

Federer was broken to love in the opening game and did not fashion a break point until game 12 of the second set.

But he converted that opportunity to level the match and eased through to win the round-robin clash 4-6 7-5 6-1 and take his career record against Verdasco to 4-0.

Andy Murray beat Juan Martin del Potro in Sunday's first singles match, and he and Federer will meet on Tuesday as the early favourites to take the two semi-finals places from Group A.

Verdasco will take on Del Potro with both men knowing a win is vital if they are to maintain a realistic challenge.

The roar for his arrival showed the London crowd was thrilled to see six-time Wimbledon champion Federer back in London for the second time in 2009, but the top seed made a dreadful start.

Federer opened with a double-fault and followed up with two forehand errors and a backhand into the net as he dropped serve to love.

Verdasco has long had a reputation for the spectacular but this year has managed to harness his talent on a more consistent basis, hence his first appearance at the season finale.

The Spaniard made a major breakthrough when he served Murray off the court at the Australian Open in January before losing a five-hour epic against Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.

And it was the big serve and heavy forehand combination that had Federer in trouble early on Sunday evening as the Swiss struggled to keep the error count down, at one stage swiping his racquet in frustration at the court.

South Africa recall Herschelle Gibbs as cover for injured Jacques Kallis

Herschelle Gibbs has been recalled as cover for the injured all-rounder Jacques Kallis for the remainder of South Africa's limited-overs international series against England.

Kallis is expected to be sidelined for a month with a fractured rib, which was discovered after a scan at the weekend. Kallis missed the seven-wicket loss to England at Centurion yesterday, which put the hosts 1-0 behind in the five-match series.

It is not certain whether the 35-year-old Gibbs, who has a record of 21 centuries in 245 one-day appearances, will play in the next match in Cape Town on Friday as the two least experienced batsmen in the Proteas' top five, Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla, both scored half centuries yesterday.

Gibbs, who scored a record six sixes in one over against Netherlands at the 2007 World Cup, was initially overlooked for this series. He scored 22 in his last ODI, a loss to England in the group stage of the Champions Trophy in September.

With Kallis missing, the Proteas have a decision to make on the composition of their bowling attack this week and the left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell is in contention for a recall after recovering from an ankle injury.

The England captain, Andrew Strauss, meanwhile, believes Centurion man-of-the-match Paul Collingwood is in the form of his life. Collingwood set a record of 171 one-day appearances for England, underlining his value with two wickets and an undefeated 105.

"Players of Collie's temperament are always dangerous," he said. "They always like the difficult situations, and Collie has often played his best for England when things are a bit against the wall, but [Sunday] was just a great example of us playing the type of cricket we want to play and not making it hard for ourselves. Hopefully we can take some confidence from that and keep moving up."

England hold a 1-0 lead with three matches remaining. After Friday's game at Newlands, the remaining matches are scheduled for Port Elizabeth on Sunday and Kingsmead, Durban, on 4 December.

Murray ready for London test

Andy Murray is relishing playing in front of great home support as he looks to emerge from a tough group in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Murray was today drawn with world number one Roger Federer, US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and Spain's Fernando Verdasco in Group A for the showpiece event at the 02 Arena in London.

Group B features Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling.

Soderling initially failed to qualify for the prestigious eight-man event but was handed a place when Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick was forced to pull out through injury.

Murray has a superb record against Federer, winning six of their nine matches, and will be keen to bounce back from an early exit from the Paris Masters last week.

"In my group Federer is the best in the world, Del Potro has won the US Open and Verdasco has just had his best season to date. There are no easy matches regardless of what group you're in," the world number four said.

"At the end of your career you're remembered for grand slams, but to win something like this, you have to beat five of the best players in the world in consecutive matches if you want to lift the trophy, which is a very difficult thing to do.

"You might even have to beat a Federer or a Nadal twice, so it's a very tough thing to win.

"Obviously I look forward to playing Roger. I've played Juan a few times on the tour recently and also had a close match recently with Verdasco indoors in Valencia (which he won on his way to a sixth title of the year).

"It's a tough group but if I play well I think I have a good chance of qualifying."

Murray, whose last appearance on home soil ended in Great Britain's Davis Cup defeat to Poland, added on ATP World Tour Uncovered: "It should be great.

"The O2 Arena is pretty amazing. There's a great atmosphere and with the quality of players it should make for a great occasion and hopefully I can play well.

"You are guaranteed Roger or Rafa playing three times, no matter if they win or lose, that's the plus side. From the very first match you get to see the top eight players against each other, which doesn't happen elsewhere in the year.

"It's nice to be able to spend time at home because we do spend a lot of time travelling."

The round-robin group format will decide the four players who advance to the semi-finals, with the group winners kept apart in the last four.

All singles matches will be the best of three tie-break sets and get under way on Sunday, November 22.

The final is scheduled for November 29 with a first prize of US dollars 770,000, although that rises to more than US dollars 1.6million if the champion remains undefeated throughout.

Murray faces Federer test

Britain's Andy Murray has been drawn alongside world number one Roger Federer in the group stages of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Murray, seeded four, was placed in the same group as the Wimbledon champion at Wednesday's draw ceremony at the London Eye.

The world number four will also take on US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and Fernando Verdasco in Group A at the O2 Arena.

The group will therefore also feature a rematch of the US Open final between Federer and Del Potro, providing the Argentine overcomes an abdominal injury.

Group B will be headed by world number two and Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal.

However, he will face a tough challenge from pre-tournament favourite Novak Djokovic, a player who beat him last week en route to the Paris Masters title.

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Swede Robin Soderling, a late replacement for the injured Andy Roddick, make up Group B.

The top two players from each group will contest the semi-finals before the final takes place on November 29.

Dilshan Leads Strong Sri Lanka Reply

India 426 (Dravid 177, Dhoni 110, Welagedara 4-87) vs Sri Lanka 275-3 (Dilshan 112, Zaheer Khan 2-45).

Sri Lanka edged day two of the first Test against India in Ahmedabad, dismissing their hosts for 426 before closing the day on 275 for three in reply.

Just as on day one, four wickets fell in the morning session, including that of Rahul Dravid, who failed to add to his overnight score of 177, and Tillakaratne Dilshan became the third centurion of the match after Mahendra Singh Dhoni had scored 110 on the opening day as India recovered from 32 for four to close on 385 for six.

Dravid, Harbhajan Singh (22), Zaheer Khan (12) and Ishant Sharma (0) were the men to fall as the bowlers held sway in the morning, Chanaka Welagedara getting the key wicket of Dravid, bowled, to finish with four for 87 while Muttiah Muralitharan returned three for 97 by dismissing Harbhajan and Sharma, the former bowled, the latter stumped by Prasanna Jayawardene.

Sri Lanka made an assured, speedy start to their reply, Dilshan leading things off with Tharanga Paranavitana. The pair put on 74 inside 17 overs before Paranavitana was well caught by Dhoni off of Sharma for 35 but Dilshan pressed on, reaching his tenth Test century before he was the first of two batsmen to miscue pull shots as a returning Zaheer Khan grabbed a brace of wickets.

Dilshan (112) skewed his almost straight up in the air and Dravid took a simple catch before Kumar Sangakkara (31) got a little more bat on his, but enough only to fly to Sachin Tendulkar at long leg and he made no mistake.

Before then, Dilshan took the attack to India, mixing aggressive drives with some deft touches, striking 12 boundaries in all, including a flourising cut stroke to take him past three figures.

India felt they had a chance of closing on top, but a workmanlike unbroken partnership of 81 between Mahela Jayawardene (36) and Thilan Samaraweera (45) denied them any further breakthroughs in the final session and leave Sri Lanka 151 runs behind with seven first-innings wickets in hand.

Sri Lanka have never won a Test in India.

Nadal leads Spain in Davis Cup against Czechs

Rafael Nadal will lead defending champion Spain in next month’s Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic.

The second-ranked Nadal returns to the team for the first time since winning both singles matches against Serbia in the first round in March. Nadal missed last year’s final victory over Argentina with a knee injury.

David Ferrer is likely to be the other singles player, while Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez are set to remain partners in the doubles for the squad announced Monday by captain Albert Costa. Ferrer, recovering from a hamstring injury, hasn’t played since last month’s Valencia Open.

Nadal earned a point with his win over Andy Roddick in the 2004 final when Spain won the second of its three titles since 2000. The Australian Open champion has been battling injuries since last November, with tendinitis in both knees denying him a chance at defending his Wimbledon title, while an abdominal injury has also been a bother.

The 23-year-old Nadal has won all 12 singles matches he’s played since losing in his debut against the Czechs five years ago. The best-of-five series on indoor clay will be played at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona from Dec. 4-6.

South Africa beat England by 84 runs

South Africa 241-6 (Bosman 94, Smith 88) beat England 157-8 (Trott 51, Steyn 2-29) by 84 runs. Records tumbled and England crumbled at Centurion Park as South Africa hit more sixes (17) than ever before in a Twenty20 International on their way to a crushing 84-run win.

Graeme Smith (88) and Loots Bosman (94) established a new record opening stand of 170 before South Africa made their way to 241 for six, and in reply, England barely got going, closing on a disappointing 157 for eight.

Both South African openers favoured the leg-side, with Smith muscling six maximums in addition to eight fours while Bosman holed out to James Anderson, Luke Wright the bowler having made 94 in 45 deliveries, Smith having departed earlier with a score of 88 in 44 balls.

England finally got the breakthtough when Joe Denly's first ball was mistimed by Smith and caught by Mahmood in the deep and the turn to part-time spin worked again when Kevin Pietersen had Albie Morkel brilliantly caught by Bresnan at long-on for 14.

AB de Villiers (24), Albie Morkel (14), Jacques Kallis (7) and JP Duminy (2) were the other men to be dismissed before South Africa posted the second-highest score in Twenty20 International history.

Having batted well to set their own national record of 202 in the series-opening one-run in Johannesburg, England were always going to face a huge battle and without Collingwood in the side, for example, they did not have the weapons at their disposal to put up much of a fight.

There was plenty of endeavour from openers Denly (14) and Cook (26) but they were pedestrian in comparison to the South Africans but even the injection of some pace from England's own South African-born players, Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, was not enough as England quickly slipped way behind the required run rate.

Trott scored a fine half-century but just to illustrate how far behind England were, he reached 50 in 38 balls whereas both Smith and Bosman had required just 25 deliveries. Trott eventually fell soon after, for 51, and Pietersen's aggressive 29 in 19 balls came to an end when Roelof van der Merwe's quicker ball beat his attempted switch-hit.

Wright became the first English-born player to hit a six on the day shortly before Eoin Morgan, England's hero of the opening match, was bowled by Dale Steyn for ten but the game, by that point, had long sine been won by the home side. For the record, England needed a mere 93 to win from the final over with Matthew Prior and Rashid on strike and Rashid's miserable day got little better when he was run out by Kallis for one, leaving Prior unbeaten on ten and Mahmood on one.

Steyn had already finished by then with two for 29 when he had Wright well caught by substitute Johan Botha while Morkel also picked up a brace by having Cook and Trott dismissed while Ryan McLaren, Yusuf Abdulla and van der Merwe took one apiece.

The 84-run result was England's heaviest defeat in the format and ensured that the series was drawn 1-1 after they won the opening match by one-run on the Duckworth/Lewis method in Johannesburg. Pietersen made his return to the side and Cook captained because of a back injury to Collingwood. The two sides now begin a five-match One-Day International series on 20th November in Johannesburg.

Bhajji praises Tendulkar ahead of 20th anniversary in international cricket

Mumbai, Nov.14 (ANI): Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday congratulated batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar ahead of him completing two successful decades in international cricket. The 36-year-old, Tendulkar will join a list of 15 players whose international careers have spanned more than 20 years when he plays in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad from November 16.

Addressing reporters here, Singh said he wished Tendulkar would continue to dominate world cricket. "He (Sachin Tendulkar) is a great human being, a great player and I have been very lucky to have a friend like Sachin Tendulkar. I want to wish him all the luck. I want to congratulate him for finishing his 20 years in international cricket. He has dominated world cricket for 20 years and I hope that he will continue to dominate it," Singh said.

Tendulkar has been the face of Indian cricket since his test debut as a chubby, curly-haired 16-year-old against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989. He now holds the record for most Test runs (12,773), Test centuries (42), ODI runs (17,178) and ODI centuries (45). The countdown to Tendulkar's latest landmark has been dominating airtime in cricket-crazy India with TV channels and newspapers running specials to commemorate his achievement. (ANI)

England Women End Tour With Twenty20 Win

England Women 120-4 beat West Indies Women 119-6 by six wickets

England Women finished their tour of the Caribbean with a victory that at least prevented the West Indies Women taking a second consecutive clean sweep following their 3-0 win over South Africa.

Jenny Gunn top scored with 35 to guide England home by six wickets as they overtook the home side's score of 119 with 11 balls to spare.

Pamela Lavine had earlier hammered 61 in 49 balls to get the West Indies to a score of 119 for six but she found little support, Stacy-Ann King's 25 being the next best as Katherine Brunt and Nicki Shaw picked up a pair of wickets.

Gunn then hit six boundaries in 26 balls as England put in a much improved performance with the bat, Charlotte Edwards hitting 29.

The West Indies take the series 2-1, the same margin by which they won the ODI series earlier in the tour.

New Zealand Survive Late Charge To Seal Series

New Zealand (211) beat Pakistan (207) by seven runs

New Zealand pulled off a seven-run win in the third One-Day International over Pakistan to seal a come-from-behind series win in Abu Dhabi but they were pushed exceptionally hard by Pakistan's lower-order batsmen.

With the series level at 1-1 going into the match, New Zealand were bowled out for 211 but they hit back to eventually dismiss Pakistan for 204 after last-wicket pair Mohammad Aamer and Saeed Ajmal put on 103 before Ajmal holed out in the deep.

Spinners Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik shared six wickets as Pakistan appeared to be in pole position at the halfway stage but they were undone by another committed effort in the field from the Black Caps.

Just as they had in the second game, Salman Butt (25) and Khalid Latif (19) made an assured start, putting on 47 for the first wicket before they lost eight wickets for just 39 runs to slip to 86 for eight, and out of the reckoning.

Umar Akmal (11) and Shahid Afridi (12) were the only other frontline batsmen to reach double figures as Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee and Daniel Vettori shared the wickets around.

Vettori bowled a fine spell of two for 41, his figures bruised when Mohammad Aamer hit him for three sixes in the 35th over but if New Zealand thought that would be a final flourish, they were wrong, Aamer and Ajmal growing in confidence and they frustrated the Black Caps with a mix of excellent strokes, outrageous luck and clever cricket.

Aamer was unbeaten on 73 in 81 balls while Ajmal's 33 was a career-best while 73 set a new record high score for a number ten batsman in ODI cricket.

Earlier, off-spinner Ajmal picked up three leg-before decisions on his way to figures of four for 33 as New Zealand were unable to build on a good start having won the toss and elected to bat first.

Brendon McCullum, who hit 131 in the second game, made 76 in 78 balls before he was caught and bowled by Malik and Ross Taylor hit 44 before becoming the first batsman to be struck on the pad in front of the stumps by Ajmal, who bowled a wonderful spell.

Leg-spinner Afridi had Neil Broom dismissed, also leg before wicket and left-arm quick Aamer finished with two for 41 by removing tail-enders Mills (4) and Southee (4).

Umar Gul picked up his 100th ODI wicket when he had Aaron Redmond caught by Aamer for 21 early on in the day.

The two sides now play two Twenty20 Internationals on 12th and 13th November.

Taibu Ton In Vain As South Africa Overpower Zimbabwe

South Africa 295-5 beat Zimbabwe 250-6 by 45 runs

Tatenda Taibu scored a valiant century but it was not enough for Zimbabwe, who were overpowered by South Africa as they began their preparations for series against England with a 45-run victory in Taibu.

Debutant Ryan McLaren played a big part in South Africa asserting themselves on the match when, asked to chase 296 to win, Zimbabwe were reduced to 48 for five, the all-rounder having Justice Chibhaba trapped in front for 21 and Brendan Taylor (2) brilliantly caught by Mark Boucher.

Mark Vermeulen (8) was caught by Hashim Amla as left-armer Lonwabo Tsotsobe struck before Dale Steyn's express pace proved too much for Hamilton Masakadza (11) and Elton Chigumbura (4).

On the way to his second ODI century, Taibu put on 188 for the sixth wicket with Stuart Matsikenyeri and although the pair batted well, they were under too much pressure to push on and score quickly, Matsikenyeri's 86 going a long way to ensuring that at least Zimbabwe were not going to be embarrassed.

He became McLaren's third wicket when he was bowled, leaving Taibu unbeaten on 103 from 112 balls having hit six fours and three maximums with Graeme Cremer not out on one, McLaren claiming three for 51, Steyn two for 51 and Tsotsobe one for 41.

Half-centuries from Amla, AB de Villiers and Albie Morkel had earlier propelled South Africa to a winning score of 295 for five on a pitch that had plenty of bounce if not great pace in it.

Amla made 80 in 97 balls before the innings was given a lift by de Villiers, who made 51 in as many balls and Morkel, who thumped three sixes and three fours on his way to an unbeaten 50 in 37 deliveries.

Graeme Smith (35), Boucher (18) and Alviro Petersen (39) all made quick contributions to put the Zimbabweans on the back foot, despite three wickets from spinner Ray Price and one apiece for Chibhaba and Cremer.

The second and final match is on 10th November.

Djokovic whitewashes Hernych to reach quarter-finals

BASEL, Nov 5 (Reuters) - World number three Novak Djokovic whitewashed hapless Czech Jan Hernych 6-0 6-0 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors.

Djokovic, attempting to win his fourth ATP tournament of the season, was almost apologetic after needing only 52 minutes to dispatch the world number 59.

“It's hard to talk about a 6-0 6-0 result,” said Djokovic. “The win is what counts. He didn't play very well today, actually, he made a lot of unforced errors and didn't put any pressure on me so I just kind of cruised through the match.

“I think I'm in quite good shape. I feel physically and mentally quite good on the court. I didn't play perfect tennis today; I needed his unforced errors as well. I think his level of performance was very low today.”

Djokovic's quarter-final opponent will be Switzerland's number two Stanislas Wawrinka who had a much tougher time to beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 7-5 2-6 6-1.

In the day's most dramatic match, fourth seed Marin Cilic saved three match points in the third set tiebreak before defeating Viktor Troicki 7-6 6-7 7-6 in just over three hours.

Frenchman Richard Gasquet also saved two match points in the second-set tiebreak before rallying to edge American John Isner 4-6 7-6 6-2.

Swiss wildcard Marco Chiudinelli reached the second ATP quarter-final of his career as he defeated compatriot and qualifier Michael Lammer 2-6 6-3 6-3.

World number one Roger Federer is firm favourite to win his hometown tournament for the fourth year in a row. He faces Russia's Evgeny Korolev in Friday's quarter-final.

Peter Siddle will be fit for the first Test against WI

MELBOURNE - Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle has declared he will be fit for the first Test against the West Indies, but admitted that the team's relentless program had taken its toll as he arrived home in Melbourne after more than five months on the road.

Siddle is one of five players who have returned from Australia's tour of India with injuries or niggles, following the decision to send young allrounder Moises Henriques (hamstring) home before the fifth game in the series.

“It's very pleasing to be home, back to see family and friends and sleep in my own bed,” said Siddle upon arrival at Melbourne airport on Thursday morning.

He left home on May 27 and has been on tour ever since for the World Twenty20, the Ashes, a seven-game ODI series in England, the Champions Trophy, Victoria's Champions League Twenty20 campaign and the seven-match series in India.

He said his side soreness was not serious, and is certain he will be fit for the first of six Tests during a busy Australian summer, starting with the series-opener against the West Indies at the ‘Gabba from November 26.

“It's nothing bad. I just pulled up a little bit tight, with a bit of soreness, from the last match and they decided the best thing with the first Test coming up was just to come home and rest up and make sure I am 100 per cent fit and ready to go for that,” Siddle said.

“It has been a long tour, I guess, and the guys have been away for a long time now and we've probably played a bit too much cricket but we will see how we go and I am sure the boys will go well in the next three matches and come home with a [series] win,” The Sydney Morning herald quoted Siddle, as saying.

Australia has 13 fit players to choose from for game five in Hyderabad, after levelling the series in Mohali. (ANI)

Murray returns, wins first match in Valencia

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) - Andy Murray came back from a long-term wrist injury Tuesday by beating wild card Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of the Valencia Open.

The fourth-ranked Murray, who had not played since the U.S. Open, won 22 of 26 first-serve points and broke Gimeno-Traver five times.

The top-seeded Scot next plays Leonardo Mayer, who defeated Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-3.

Defending champion David Ferrer broke Nicolas Almagro six times on the hard court in a 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-2 win. Almagro twice won the tournament in Valencia when it was played on clay.

Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils also advanced. The fifth-seeded Simon beat Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-2, and sixth seed Monfils defeated Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2.

Pablo Cuevas rallied from 5-2 down in the second set to beat 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Also, Juan Monaco beat Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-3, 6-2.

Rout Of Zimbabwe Hands Bangladesh Series Win

Bangladesh 49-4 beat Zimbabwe 44 by six wickets : Bangladesh dismissed Zimbabwe for 44, the fifth-lowest score in ODI history on their way to a series-clinching six-wicket win in the fourth One-Day International in Chittagong.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan led the way by taking three for eight, while fellow left-arm spinners Enamul Haque picked up three for 16 and Abdur Razzak took two for ten.

Fast bowler Nazmul Hossain was given the man of the match award for his spell of two for ten which included the wickets of Hamilton Masakadza (2) and Charles Coventry (1) as Zimbabwe, who elected to bat first, collapsed to eight for four and then 32 for six.

Innings of 13 from Malcolm Waller and 11 from Stuart Matsikenyeri saved some face, but not enough to keep them in the match.

Tamim Iqbal hit 22 to get Bangladesh's run chase off to a decent start but they had a wobble of their own, losing Junaid Siddique (8), Mohammad Ashraful (0), Naeem Islam (0) as well as Tamim before Roqibul Hasan, unbeaten on nine, and Mushfiqur Rahim, on two, steered the home side to victory.

Bangladesh now lead the five-match series 3-1 leading up to the final match in Chittagong on 5th November.

Four-Wicket Win Puts Bangladesh 2-1 Up On Zimbabwe

Bangladesh eased to a four-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the third One-Day International in Mirpur to take a 2-1 lead in the three-match series.

Nazmul Hossain and Enamul Haque took three wickets apiece as Bangladesh bowled Zimbabwe out for 196 and half-centuries from Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful ensured that Bangladesh's spin-heavy line-up prevailed.

The series was locked at 1-1 and despite Hamilton Masakadza's boundary-filled 84, Zimbabwe were again unable to post a competitive score, spun out by the Bangladeshi bowlers, of whom Nazmul was the only paceman picked.

He picked up figures of three for 13 with left-arm spinner Haque returning three for 45 with the other four wickets shared between Abdur Razzak (2-41), Naeem Islam (1-13) and Mahmudullah (1-35) and the rest of the 41.1 overs bowled by Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful.

Masakadza hit 12 fours and a six in just 79 balls but the next best score for Zimbabwe was Charles Coventry's 27.

At the interval, Bangladesh raced to 54 for one, losing the wicket of opener Junaid Siddique, caught by Justice Chibhaba off of Kyle Jarvis for five.

Tamim (80) and Ashraful (63) then put on 98 for the second wicket to virtually put Zimbabwe out of the game and although both fell to spin, Zimbabwe did not have enough runs to play with and three for 38 from Kyle Jarvis was an impressive effort, but it merely delayed the inevitable, the Tigers roaring home in the 41st over.

The series now moves on to Chittagong for the final two matches on 3rd and 5th November.