Briefs | Tennis: Britain's Andy Murray knocked out of ATP World Tour Finals

Tennis

Murray is knocked out of ATP World Tour Finals: Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina squeaked into the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 Thursday — the slimmest possible margin to advance and knock Britain's Andy Murray out of the tournament in London.

Del Potro and Federer advance after a three-way tie in Group A. Del Potro, Federer and Murray finished the round-robin stage with two victories and identical 5-4 set records; Murray was eliminated after winning the lowest percentage of games. If Del Potro had lost one more game against the top-ranked Federer, Murray and Federer would have advanced.

The complicated tiebreaker system left even the players uncertain about who had advanced when the last match ended.

"I asked Juan Martin myself at the net, 'Did you make it or not?' " Federer said. "He said, 'I don't think so.' ... Of course, you got to feel sorry for the guy who didn't make it."

Del Potro said he had to wait 25 minutes before getting confirmation he advanced.

"But, well, I qualified," he said.

Murray beat Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3).

In Group B, Robin Soderling of Sweden has already clinched a semifinal spot, while Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia are in contention entering today's matches.

Rafael Nadal of Spain was eliminated after two consecutive losses.

Golf

McIlroy, McDowell combine for a better-ball 58: Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell shot a better-ball 58 to give Ireland a three-stroke lead over Argentina after the first round of the World Cup of Golf in Shenzhen, China.

Argentina's Tano Goya and Rafael Echenique were at 11-under-par 61, with Japan another shot behind. The U.S. duo of Nick Watney and John Merrick was tied for 15th at 67 after four birdies by Watney.

Aiming to win Ireland's third World Cup, McDowell and McIlroy each birdied six holes on the 7,251-yard Mission Hills Golf Club course. McIlroy eagled the par-5 15th hole.

Soccer

UEFA opposes IOC on Olympic players' eligibility: European soccer leaders have unanimously backed a proposal to limit participation in future Olympic Games to players under age 21.

The International Olympic Committee wants to keep the status quo of under-23s plus three overage players, which allows some countries to bolster their teams with superstar talent and enhances the appeal and credibility of the Olympic tournament.

But UEFA's strategy council of clubs, national associations, leagues and players' unions unanimously agreed the men's Olympic tournament should be changed to an under-21 event.

FIFA and the IOC have been struggling to reach an agreement on player eligibility since rules nearly prevented superstar Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona in Spain from leading Argentina to the gold medal in Beijing last year. In that instance, it was a "club versus country" dispute.

The IOC executive board is to meet from Dec. 9 to Dec. 11.

Chile faces possible World Cup expulsion: Chile could be kicked out of next year's World Cup in South Africa by FIFA unless the Chilean team Rangers drops a court case by Thursday contesting its disputed demotion to the second division of the national league.

Chile, which has not played in the World Cup since 1998, is one of five South American nations that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup. Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay also have qualified.

"If Rangers don't drop the case, then FIFA could expel [the national federation] because they can't expel a club," Harold Mayne-Nicholls, president of the Chilean federation, said. "This could bring consequences that would be deadly for Chilean football."

French league calls off match because of swine flu: The French soccer league has called off Saturday's match between Monaco and Montpellier because three unidentified Montpellier players have contracted swine flu. A new date for the match will be decided next week.

Last month, Marseille's match against Paris Saint-Germain was called off six hours before kickoff because PSG players Ludovic Giuly, Mamadou Sakho and Jeremy Clement had swine flu.

Canadian Football League

Calvillo repeats: Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, 37, was honored as the CFL's outstanding player, the second consecutive year he has won the award and third time overall in his 16-year career.

Montreal faces Saskatchewan on Sunday in the Grey Cup in Calgary, Alberta.

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