Felix Auger-Aliassime beats Alexander Zverev to reach ATP semi-finals – as it happened

The defending champion, Jannik Sinner, extended his winning streak at the ATP Finals with another victory over Ben Shelton. The Italian is yet to drop a set after three round-robin matches and his 6-3, 7-6 (3) win against Shelton made it 29 successes in a row on indoor hard courts.It was a familiar feeling for the American Shelton, who fell to 0-3 on his debut at the tournament having lost to Sinner for the eighth time in a row and fourth this year.“When you come here and win all three round-robin matches you have to play a very high level, some great tennis, which I’ve done,” said Sinner, who shrugged off the loss of a match point at 5-4 in the second set to dominate the tie-break, on Sky Sports.“I felt like serving, I’ve done very well in important moments, brought me to this point

England pumped up for chance to end 13-year wait against All Blacks

For better or worse it has been lashing down in south-west London. Good news for restocking the reservoirs but rather less so for dry-ball rugby. Had England played New Zealand 24 hours earlier it would have resembled a game of outdoor water polo and, although the matchday forecast is less biblical, a decidedly damp, grey afternoon awaits.Is it some kind of celestial clue that England’s on-field drought against the All Blacks might be about to break? It is now 13 years since the last men’s victory over New Zealand at what was once called Twickenham, so long ago that Maro Itoje was still at school. Troublemaker by Olly Murs (featuring Flo Rida) topped the UK charts and the nation was basking in a warm, fuzzy post-London Olympics glow that was supposed to last indefinitely

Sean Bowen looks real McCoy at Cheltenham in emulating legend’s never-say-die ride

On an afternoon for the National Hunt diehards here on Friday, as Storm Claudia battered racegoers and runners alike, one rider’s refusal to be cowed by either the elements or circumstance was a beacon in the gloom.There were distinct echoes of Tony McCoy’s famous never-say-die ride on Wichita Lineman as Sean Bowen niggled, coaxed and cajoled the novice chaser Wade Out around two circuits of Cheltenham, and it was only in the final moments of a race that took nearly seven minutes to run that Bowen’s mount appeared to have any realistic chance of winning.Wade Out was last of the four remaining runners heading out onto the final circuit, and from there he scarcely jumped a single fence with any fluency or speed. Several times, he appeared to be dropping away, only for Bowen to roust him back onto the coattails of his three rivals.His final flat spot came on the run down the hill, and this time, it seemed that it was surely all over for Wade Out, as One Big Bang and Isaac Des Obeaux were clearly going much better as they eased clear

Your Guardian sport weekend: ATP Finals, Albania v England and NFL

Will Magee kickstarts the football weekend with our unmissable gateway to all the action, with breaking news and updates. The Premier League takes a break for the international programme and he’ll be looking forward to some key fixtures – Greece v Scotland, Switzerland v Graham Potter’s Sweden, Liechtenstein v Wales – as well as developments from the England camp as they prepare to face Albania on Sunday. Why not join the conversation?Round nine in the Women’s Super League brings a Manchester derby. Four points separate the rivals, with City at the summit on 21 and United in third. Andrée Jeglertz’s City – with no midweek European fixture to tax their powers of recovery – are on the hottest of streaks and seeking an eighth straight win in the league

The Beta Blacks: Alpha days are gone for New Zealand and their aura with it

Thursday afternoon, and the All Blacks are out on the training ground around the back of the Lensbury hotel on the banks of the Thames, it’s a warm autumn day, and the mood is pretty free and easy. Will Jordan is practising catching high balls, Beauden Barrett is taking shots at goal, the forwards are packing up after running some drills, head coach, Scott Robertson, is chatting happily with the media before his press conference. Someone asks if his team are looking to make a statement against England on Saturday, the sort that reminds everyone exactly how good they are.“A statement performance?” Robertson says, perplexed. “We’re just looking for a result

Ill-advised Benn-Eubank Jr rematch another example of boxing’s cynicism

Boxing has always been a deeply cynical business. The overwhelming objective for most promoters, and many fighters, is to rake in as much money as quickly as possible without any undue concern about looking crass or desperate.Anyone who has spent just a little time in the company of boxers will understand that they deserve whatever cash they can make out of such a hard and dangerous activity. But promoters have ransacked the pockets of boxing fans through the decades while peddling anything and everything from Joe Louis’s “Bum of the Month” club to this week’s proposal that Anthony Joshua may make tens of millions of dollars if he steps into the ring to face Jake Paul, the former YouTuber, next month.Saturday night’s rematch between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr is a little different