Federer, who beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, said Nadal must win the US Open if he is ever going to be considered one of the game's greats.

In a series of friendlies played over the start of the weekend, Japan overcame Paraguay's challenge to beat them with a solitary goal. Colombia - who couldn't qualify for the 2010 World Cup - beat Venezuela 2-0, while Australia played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Switzerland.

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi progressed to the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals of US Open with a straight-set win over German-Finn pair of Michael Kohlmann and Jarkko Nieminen. The 16th seed Indo-Pak pair defeated their opponents 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the season's last Grand Slam.

In an unprecedented crackdown, the ICC on Friday (September 3) suspended the three Pakistani players implicated in a 'spot-fixing' scandal under its anti-corruption code of conduct, prompting an angry Pakistan to call the decision "unethical" and a conspiracy to keep the country out of international cricket.

Rugby is gaining popularity in India. The Indian rugby team has had some good results in the recent months winning the English Inter Club Rugby tournament in England. The Indian team was in the United Kingdom as part of their 10-day training programme before the Commonwealth Games.