Archive November 7, 2025

Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie reached his first final of 2025 with a three-set victory over Lorenzo Sonego at the Moselle Open.

Seventh seed Norrie, 30, had been taken to the distance in each of his first three matches in Metz and, in two of those, had fought back from a set behind to win.

That was the case again as Italian Sonego took the first set of their semi-final, before Norrie completed a 4-6 6-2 6-4 win in exactly two hours.

Norrie, ranked 27th in the world and 15 places higher than Sonego, saved two break points early in the second set.

In little trouble on his own serve after that – helped by an 83% first-serve percentage for the match – Norrie created a host of opportunities to break his opponent and eventually did so in the 10th game of the decider to clinch victory.

Norrie’s run to the final in Metz has capped an excellent second half of the year for the British number two.

He was in danger of dropping out of the world’s top 100 earlier this year, being ranked as low as 91st in May.

Meanwhile, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is through to the final in Athens courtesy of a 6-3 6-4 victory against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann, who is ranked 117th in the world.

Djokovic, 38, is aiming to win the 101st tour-level title of his career and his second of 2025, having won in Geneva in May.

The Serb will play either Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti or American Sebastian Korda in the final.

Musetti needs to win the tournament in Greece to qualify for the ATP Finals.

If he does not, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime will take the eighth and final spot at the season-ending event in Turin, which starts on Sunday.

Super League Basketball has reached agreement with basketball’s world governing body Fiba to oversee the the sport’s domestic competitions in Great Britain – lifting the ban on its men’s national team.

Last month, Fiba suspended the British Basketball Federation (BBF) over governance issues and barred the men’s team from international competition.

A Fiba taskforce had been set up in August to investigate “regulatory non-compliance” within British basketball.

In April, the BBF awarded a 15-year licence to run a new professional men’s competition – the Great Britain Basketball League – to GBB League Ltd (GBBL).

The BBF said GBBL, a consortium led by the American businessman Marshall Glickman, would provide £15m funding in the first two years.

However, the existing nine SLB clubs claimed the tender process run by the governing body was “illegal and unjust” and refused to join the new league.

Fiba said in a statement it has now entered into a “direct recognition agreement” with SLB to “ensure the stability and continuity of the top-tier men’s basketball in Great Britain” during the period of the BBF’s suspension.

“This agreement provides a framework for the organisation and governance of domestic competitions while safeguarding regulatory integrity,” said the statement.

“Fiba, through the task force, will continue to work closely with BBF and all relevant stakeholders, including UK Sport and the UK Government, to support BBF in becoming a self-sustainable organisation and to ensure the long-term stability and growth of men’s basketball in Great Britain.”

Fiba’s decision means a ban on Britain’s men’s team competing on the international stage has been lifted.

Interim independent chair of SLB Sanjay Bhandari said it had been a “challenging period for the sport” but was pleased to have “reached a solution that gives our clubs the confidence they deserve”.

“Fiba’s recognition is transformative and means that our plans to drive SLB forward as an ambitious, high-growth sports organisation can progress at pace,” he said.

Preston North End forward Milutin Osmajic has been given a nine-game ban after he was charged with racially abusing Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri.

The incident happened during Preston’s goalless draw with Burnley in February and the 26-year-old will now miss up to and including their game against Stoke City on Boxing Day.

The Montenegrin has also been fined £21,000.

Osmajic, who “strongly refuted” and denied the allegations was charged by the Football Association in March with a hearing taking place in September.

The FA said that following the hearing, an “aggravated breach”, where using abusive and/or insulting words which included reference to colour and/or race, was found to be proven.

In response, Preston said they were “extremely disappointed” at the decision and reaffirmed their opposition to all forms of discrimination.

“We note that the outcome was determined on the ‘Balance of Probabilities’ rather than one that is ‘Beyond Reasonable Doubt’,” the club added.

“We also note that The FA determined that this decision offers no moral judgement, was not premeditated nor any comment about his general character.

“Milutin has always pleaded his innocence of the charge and continues to do so. We continue to be fully supportive of our player.”

Beyond reasonable doubt is typically the burden of proof in criminal cases, while balance of probabilities is the civil one that would be used in such workplace disciplinary decisions.

February’s Championship fixture was delayed for several minutes in the second half when the Tunisian reacted furiously to something which appeared to be said to him by Osmajic, while Hannibal then spoke at length to referee Andrew Kitchen.

Two weeks later, the teams faced each other in the FA Cup fifth round with Osmajic scoring Preston’s second goal and gesturing towards the Burnley fans during his celebrations.

Hannibal was left out by Burnley boss Scott Parker for the tie, which Preston won 3-0, while the Clarets refused to shake hands with Osmajic during the pre-match preparations.

It is the second lengthy ban that Osmajic has been given in as many seasons, having received an eight-game suspension in 2024-25 for biting Blackburn Rovers’ Owen Beck in September 2024.