Roger Federer retirement a 'sad day' for sport, says rival Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer's decision to retire from tennis is a "sad day" for sport, his great rival Rafael Nadal has said, BBC reported.
Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, announced on Thursday that he would retire after the Laver Cup this month.
Only Spain's Nadal, with 22 majors, and Serbia's Novak Djokovic, with 21, have more men's Grand Slam singles titles than the 41-year-old.
"Dear Roger, my friend and rival. I wish this day would have never come," Nadal posted on social media.
"It's a sad day for me personally and for sports around the world."
Nadal defeated Federer 24 times in 40 matches during one of the most celebrated rivalries in tennis history, according to BBC.
"It's been a pleasure but also an honour and privilege to share all these years with you, living so many amazing moments on and off the court," Nadal said.
"We will have many more moments to share together in the future, there are still lots of things to do together, we know that.
"For now, I truly wish you all the happiness with your wife, Mirka, your kids, your family and enjoy what's ahead of you. I'll see you in London."
Ronaldo scores first Europa goal in Man Utd win
Cristiano Ronaldo ended his barren spell with the first Europa League goal of his career as Manchester United earned victory at Sheriff Tiraspol, BBC reported.
Erik ten Hag's men suffered defeat at Old Trafford in their Group E opener against Real Sociedad but responded by claiming all three points in Moldova.
The Red Devils opened the scoring in the first half as a lovely team move was coolly finished off by Jadon Sancho from Christian Eriksen's reverse pass.
Sancho, who was left out of the England squad earlier in the day, came close to a second but his low shot was brilliantly cleared off the line by Sheriff captain Stjepan Radeljic on the stretch.
But United did double their advantage before half-time courtesy of Ronaldo's penalty, awarded after Patrick Kpozo tripped Diogo Dalot in the box, according to BBC.
Ronaldo could have taken his tally to 700 club goals but side-footed over from the edge of the area while at the other end, Sheriff could not force David de Gea into any meaningful saves.
In the group's other game, Real Sociedad made it two wins from two with a 2-1 victory over Neil Lennon's Omonia Nicosia.
Ten-man Rangers succumb to dramatic Napoli defeat
Ten-man Rangers fell to their third consecutive heavy defeat without scoring despite a more encouraging performance against Napoli on a dramatic night in the Champions League, BBC reported.
Matteo Politano's penalty and late strikes from Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele secured victory, but only after Allan McGregor twice denied Piotr Zielinski from the spot.
James Sands was sent off for conceding the first penalty and, though McGregor saved twice following a VAR check for encroachment, he did not deny Politano.
The Italian forward put the ball low into the corner beyond the reach of the 40-year-old Rangers keeper after Borna Barisic was penalised for handball.
Substitute Raspadori finished neatly with five minutes left to end the home side's challenge before Ndombele stroked another goal home in stoppage time against a tiring Rangers backline.
Victory means Napoli top Group A with maximum points after two games, with Rangers winless ahead of back-to-back meetings with Liverpool next.
Those matches will prove another stern test for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side, but this performance will provide more hope than their recent 4-0 defeats at the hands of Ajax and Celtic, despite the scoreline.
Until going down to 10 men, this was much more like the Rangers of last season's Europa League, as they played with more energy from the start, after an emotionally-charged Ibrox paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth before kick-off.
Alfredo Morelos - starting for the first time since March - headed over after just 35 seconds as Rangers hunted Napoli high up the pitch. Scott Arfield forced a fine save from Alex Meret before the break and Connor Goldson went close shortly after the interval with a header.
Even as Napoli continued to threaten, McGregor - returning to the team due to Jon McLaughlin's injury - was set to become the hero again when he denied Zielinski after Sands felled Giovanni Simeone in the box when he was clean through, according to BBC.
Politano swept in the rebound, but was judged to have encroached after a lengthy VAR check. That meant Zielenski stepped up again, but the Pole found no more joy the second time round as he went for the same corner.
But Napoli - who also created plenty of chances before eventually breaking the deadlock - kept coming and Politano got his goal when Barisic's outstretched arm blocked a goal-bound shot, resulting in another penalty.
From there, Rangers struggled as Napoli used the strength of their bench to kill the match.
Raspadori only needed a sniff in the box to lash beyond McGregor, while Ndombele was imposing and swept home nicely after a tidy lay off from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
It was another brutal lesson for Rangers against a top-quality team, as if they needed it following a difficult opening match in Amsterdam and with back-to-back games with Liverpool to come, BBC reported.
Chelsea held to draw by RB Salzburg
Graham Potter began his Chelsea reign with a draw against RB Salzburg, leaving his side with an uphill task to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages, BBC reported.
In his competition debut, the former Brighton boss picked Raheem Sterling as an advanced wing-back but saw the gamble pay off when the forward curled into the bottom corner shortly after the break.
It was a much-improved performance from Chelsea's defeat by Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Group E game last week, which spelled the end for former manager Thomas Tuchel.
But Matthias Jaissle's well-drilled Austrian side got an equaliser on 75 minutes when Thiago Silva missed a tackle, allowing Noah Okafor to clip in Junior Adamu's low cross.
That goal highlighted the risks involved in Potter's positive approach, with Sterling and Marc Cucurella caught out of position. But the hosts could have earned victory when Reece James fired over from a free-kick and substitute Hakim Ziyech almost headed in at the back post, according to BBC.
Following AC Milan's earlier 3-1 win over Zagreb, Chelsea sit bottom of Group E after two games with the Serie A champions up next at Stamford Bridge on 5 October.
