Kei Nishikori of Japan returns a ball to Richard Gasquet of France during their singles semi-finals match at Japan Open, Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan, October 6, 2018. (Photo: Reuters)

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Medvedev beat 19-year-old Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-3 in the earlier semi-final.

* MotoGP leader Marc Marquez celebrated his 50th pole position at the inaugural Thailand Grand Prix on Saturday, holding off Valentino Rossi late in a pulsating qualifying. Four-times world champion Marquez lapped the Buriram circuit in one minute 30.088 seconds on his Honda, pipping Yamaha's veteran Rossi by 0.011 seconds on a scorching hot day.

* Anastasija Sevastova defeated US Open champion Naomi Osaka 6-4 6-4 in the China Open semi-finals on Saturday and will take on Caroline Wozniacki in Sunday's title clash. Sevastova, managing a stomach muscle problem and not quite at 100 percent, controlled the contest by winning three out of eight break point opportunities to knock out the error-prone Japanese player.

* Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton seized a record-extending 80th pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, timing his sole flying lap to perfection while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel will start eighth. The Mercedes driver, in dominant form all weekend at the Suzuka circuit, pumped in a one minute 27.760 second lap on the super-soft tyres while it was still only just spitting with rain.

* Defender Pontus Jansson headed a late equaliser for Leeds United, earning them a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford and taking them a point clear at the top after the early match in the Championship on Saturday. Leeds' draw left them on 23 points, a point clear of Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and two ahead of West Bromwich Albion.

* The 3rd Asian Para Games opened in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday with a spectacular "We Are One" opening ceremony performance. About 3,000 athletes from 43 countries and regions in Asia will compete in the 8-day competitions from October 6-13.

* The International Olympic Committee on Friday gave this year's Coaches Lifetime Achievement Awards to Hungarian canoeing coach Katalin Rozsnyoi and Austrian skeleton coach Andreas Schmid.

* Badminton legend Lee Chong Wei has been cleared to return to Malaysia on Sunday after undergoing treatment for nose cancer abroad. Badminton Association of Malaysia president Norza Zakaria said in a statement on Saturday that Lee had been given green light to return by his medical team.

* World No. 16 Kyle Edmund went down 7-6 (6), 6-4 to No. 34 Nikoloz Basilashvili in the semifinals of the ongoing China Open in Beijing on October 6. Basilashvili will play No. 1 seed Juan Martin del Potro in Sunday's final, after his semifinal opponent Fabio Fognini withdrew.