Sportsday - Thursday 6 September as it happened

After an exciting evening in the Paralympics, that concludes our Sportsday Live coverage for today. Thank you for joining us and good night.

Great Britain miss out on a place in the men's wheelchair basketball final after losing 69-52 to Canada in the semi-finals.

After three hours and nine minutes, the indefatigable David Ferrer levels his US Open quarter-final match against Janko Tipsarevic by breaking in the eighth game of the fourth set and holding to love to take the match into a deciding fifth set.

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the North Greenwich Arena: "Canada are taking control of this men's wheelchair basketball semi-final against Great Britain and are 57-37 ahead going into the final quarter. Canada have the sharper offence and the combination of Patrick Anderson and Joey Johnson are causing much of the damage and unless GB can get their act together, it will be the bronze medal play-off against the USA for them."

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "It's F44 discus silver for British four-time Paralympian Dan Greaves, having earlier broken the Paralympics record in the third round to take the lead. Favourite Jeremy Campbell bettered Greaves's 59.01m with 60.05m to take gold."

David Weir, speaking after winning a third London Paralympic gold in the men's T54 800m final: "I had to dig deep tonight, it did hurt. I feel like I'm on top of the world at the moment.

"I dreamt about it and wished I'd come away with three gold medals, with maybe another one on the way, but you just dream of things like that. I won't believe it until I'm at home and can relax - then it might sink in a little bit more."

Weir goes for a fourth gold in the marathon on Sunday.

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the North Greenwich Arena: "Half-time at the North Greenwich Arena and it is Canada who lead Great Britain 33-27 in their men's wheelchair basketball semi-final. GB started well but Canada edged ahead towards the end of the first quarter and have held their advantage. Defending champions Australia are already into the final after beating USA 72-63 in the opening semi-final."

Jonnie Peacock, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live after winning T44 100m gold: "This is absolutely amazing. To go in front of so many people here was crazy. I hadn't been able to sleep in the three nights before this. I knew I had potential coming into this, I would have liked to have ran a little quicker but it was enough in the end.

"This will live with me forever, I could not have wished for better. It is such a relief because the last year has just been one huge build up."

Scotland under-21s keep alive their European qualifying hopes with a 3-0 win over Luxembourg at St Mirren Park.

Billy Stark's side stepped up the tempo after the break and Stuart Armstrong and Leigh Griffiths netted within five minutes of each other.

Substitute Tony Watt scored a late penalty and Scotland now travel to Austria looking for the 16-point total they are expected to need for a play-off spot.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson on BBC Radio 5 Live: "This has been most amazing night of athletics i have witnessed.

"I have been to a number of Olympics and Paralympics but the number of people shouting Peacock just did it for me. For David Weir and Jonnie Peacock this was just incredible."

Rory McIlroy lurks one stroke off the lead towards the end of the first round of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in Carmel.

McIlroy stands on seven under par through his first 17 holes, one behind early pace-setter Webb Simpson with Tiger Woods one stroke behind also through 17.

Ian Poulter finished on four-under-par 68 after an inconsistent round which saw seven birdies and four bogeys, while fellow Briton Luke Donald produced an eagle on the 15th hole to join Poulter on four under.

A relentless Janko Tipsarevic whizzes through the third set, breaking in the fourth and sixth games, to secure the set 6-2 against David Ferrer. The underdog now leads by two sets to one and is on course for the US Open semi-finals.

Live commentary is available now on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the North Greenwich Arena: "While Jonnie Peacock and David Weir were winning gold on the track at the Olympic Stadium, the GB men's wheelchair basketball team have been battling hard against Beijing silver medallists Canada here, but they trail 21-16 at the end of the first quarter. GB started well but the Canadians have taken a bit of a grip on the game and GB need to be smart."

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "What a performance! Pre-race favourite Jonnie Peacock wins the T44 100m title in a Paralympic record time of 10.90. It was billed Oscar Pistorius v Peacock, but the South African face of the Games made a poor start, finishing fourth."

Jonnie Peacock wins gold in the men's T44 100m final with a time of 10.90 seconds - a Paralympic record. South Africa's Oscar Pistorius finishes fourth.

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the North Greenwich Arena: "We are under way at the North Greenwich Arena as Great Britain's men's wheelchair basketball team go up against Canada and bid to reach the Paralympic final against Australia. The GB team won bronze in both Athens and Beijing, but if they want to reach the decider they will have to keep a close eye on Canada's Patrick Anderson, the best player in the world!"

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "It's another gold for David Weir but, oh my, was he made to work for that one. China's Zhang Lixin had the lead with 80 metres remaining, while Swiss athlete Marcel Hug was also closing fast, but the 33-year-old from Wallington just had too much pace for them in the final 30 metres. Another epic race in the Olympic Stadium. Peacock v Pistorius next."

Great Britain's David Weir wins third Paralympic gold in London with victory in the T54 800m final.

Coming up very shortly, David Weir goes for gold in the men's T54 800m final while Jonnie Peacock is in the men's T44 100m final. Tune into BBC Radio 5 live for commentary.

And it's as you were in the US Open quarter-final between David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic. Ferrer squanders four break points in the 10th game which means the second set must be decided by a tie-break, which goes the Serbian's way 7-6 (7-5) to ensure it's all square at one set all.

Olympique Marseille midfielder Joey Barton will serve the remaining nine games of his 12-match ban in France after joining the club on a one-year loan from QPR.

"According to FIFA rules... the player, who has already served three games, has been suspended for the next nine matches in the French competitions," the French league (LFP) confirm.

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "No luck for British long jump silver medallist Stef Reid in the final of the T44 200m. She ran a personal best but still finished more than two seconds behind winner Marlou van Rhijn of the Netherlands, who broke the world record."

Belgian FA vice-president Philippe Collin thinks new Chelsea signing Eden Hazard needs "a kick up the ass" in a bid to improve his game. Collin believes the midfielder needs to make improvements to his all-round game - for both club and country.

He tells Nieuwsblad: "He has technique, explosiveness and positioning. At some point he will have to work on defending, and he has no choice with that.

"But I have confidence that Belgium manager Marc Wilmots will occasionally give him a kick up his ass. The learning process is slow but good. If (Lionel) Messi should work for the team and defend, then I see no reason why Hazard should not do likewise."

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the North Greenwich Arena: "Australia remain on course to defend their men's wheelchair basketball title after reaching the final thanks to a 72-63 win over the USA. The Aussies were led by the experienced Justin Eveson with 21 points while captain Brad Ness added 16 points.

"Australia beat Canada to gold four years ago in Beijing and next up we have the second semi-final, which features the Canadians against the GB Bulldogs."

Tottenham's David Bentley joins Russian side FC Rostov on loan until January. The midfielder has previously had loan spells with both Birmingham City and West Ham.

The Paralympic spirit is in full force at the Olympic Stadium as Brazil's Yohannsson Nascimento stubbornly refuses to give up despite pulling up injured in the T46 100m.

The 24-year-old, a gold medal contender, saw his dreams ended early in the race by an apparent hamstring injury but, fighting back tears and to huge roars from the crowd, Nascimento hauled himself to his feet and limped agonisingly slowly toward the line.

The cheers grew louder as the capacity crowd sought to urge him forward through each small, painful step. He collapsed to the ground as he crossed the line and was taken off the track in a wheelchair. China's Zhao Xu took the gold medal, but there was no doubt who won the crowd's hearts.

Stuart Pearce is hopeful his England side have done enough to set up a place in the Uefa Under-21 Championship play-offs following today's 2-0 victory in Azerbaijan.

The victory sends Pearce's men five points clear at the top of qualifying Group Eight with one match remaining. That is on Monday against Norway, who need to beat England to deny their rivals a place in next month's two-legged play-offs.

Pearce says: "We are pleased to have won the match and hopefully that puts us in a situation that sees us in the play-offs. We gave our best. We've played better, but this was my strongest team available."

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the North Greenwich Arena: "Australia are in control against the USA in the first men's wheelchair basketball semi-final at the North Greenwich Arena and lead 52-45 at the end of the third quarter.

"Next up at 21:15 BST, the Great Britain team, known as the Bulldogs, take on Canada. If you want to know more about the GB team, Terry Bywater, one of their key players, gives you the lowdown on the BBC Sport website."

BBC Sport's Nick Hope at the Aquatics Centre: "15-year-old Andrew Mullin has just concluded the night's action for British swimmers in the S5 50m backstroke.

"Mullin delivered an impressive 39.54 seconds finish, but narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in a race won by Brazil's Daniel Dias in a world record of 36.29.

"ParalympicsGB finish day eight by adding five medals to their total which now stands at 36."

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "Ola Abidogun wins Great Britain's third bronze of the night. The 19-year-old from Ilford made an awful start in the T46 100m final, but burst through in the final 20 metres to take third in 11.23 seconds. Abidogun is currently on a celebratory sprint round the track - not sure if he will stop."

Spain's David Ferrer wins five games in a row and goes on to clinch the opening set of his US Open quarter-final against eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic 6-3 in 36 minutes. The fourth seed, as expected, dominating from the baseline and in control.

From BBC Monitoring: "The Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), the main players' union in Spain, is organising a tour in China for players without clubs this season, the union said on Thursday in a statement on its website.

"'This is the first time that AFE is organizing a tour outside Spain,' said the media official of the union, Juan Jose Montaner."

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "What more can you say about Hannah Cockcroft? The queen of the wheelchair sprints obliterates the field to win the T34 200m in a new Paralympic record time of 31.90 seconds. The 20-year-old from Halifax won the 100m earlier in the competition. An extraordinary athlete."

ParalympicsGB chef de mission Craig Hunter praises British athletes after they achieve their London 2012 target of winning 103 medals.

The total is one more than what was achieved in Beijing, and Hunter says: "I am delighted that we have succeeded in this aim with three days of competition still to go. It is testament to the talent, dedication and skill of the athletes who make up the team."

ParalympicsGB have also achieved their secondary target, which was to win "more medals across more sports than in 2008".

BBC Sport's Nick Hope at the Aquatics Centre: "Great Britain have their fifth medal in the pool tonight, with Heather Frederiksen claiming silver in the S8 100m freestyle.

"It follows Josef Craig's gold, a silver for Stephanie Millward and bronze medals for Louise Watkin and Susie Rodgers. It means ParalympicsGB have equalled their pre-Games target of 103 medals from London 2012.

"Frederiksen was beaten by USA's Jessica Long, who claimed her fifth title of the Games and 12th Paralympic gold of her career with a world record of one minute 5.65 seconds."

Janko Tipsarevic's early advantage soon disappears as the relentless David Ferrer breaks back and then holds to edge 3-2 ahead, ensuring the opening set of the first US Open quarter-final of the evening on Arthur Ashe is back on serve.

A championship-best score of 165 by opening batsman Sam Northeast put Kent in command against Derbyshire.

At stumps, visitors Derbyshire had reached 30 for one after 17 overs in pursuit of a mammoth victory target of 404. They will require a further 374 for victory on the final day after losing captain Wayne Madsen to a catch at second slip with only the fourth ball of their response.

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "Great Britain's Paul Blake adds T36 800m bronze to the silver he won in the 400m. The 22-year-old, who trains at the University of Bath, moved to the front after the first lap but was overtaken by Russian duo Evegenii Shvetcov, who won gold, and Artem Arefyev with 150 metres left."

Wild forehand into the tramlines from David Ferrer and the world number five has been broken in the opening game of his US Open quarter-final against Janko Tipsarevic. The Serbian builds on his lead to take a 2-0 advantage in the first set.

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "Great Britain's Ben Rushgrove takes bronze in men's T36 200m. The Bath sprinter, who has cerebral palsy, recorded a personal best time of 24.83 seconds, just missing out on silver by six one-hundredths of a second. Team-mate Graeme Ballard finishes fourth."

Liverpool's Samed Yesil scores twice as Germany under-19s beat England under-19s 3-1 in Hamburg. Sebastian Kerk scored Germany's third, with Manchester United starlet Nick Powell scoring for England.

Half-centuries by Karl Brown and Gareth Cross help relegation-threatened Lancashire to a big total on the third day of their crucial LV County Championship encounter against Middlesex at Lord's.

The visitors established a two-run first-innings lead on 448 all out thanks in part to the sixth-wicket duo, who added 77 runs in just 13 overs to reignite Lancashire hopes after being reduced to 270 for five with the dismissal of Ashwell Prince (71).

At stumps, Middlesex had reached 129 for two in their second innings, a lead of 127 heading into the final day.

Durham are the first county to be penalised by the England and Wales Cricket Board for breaking salary cap regulations.

A fine of £2,500 and deduction of two-and-a-half points in the LV County Championship and 0.25 points in both the CB40 and Friends Life t20 next year is the price Durham must pay for a category one breach.

The team salary payment regulations, introduced in 2010, stipulate that none of the 18 first-class counties should pay playing staff en masse more than £1.8m a year.

Hampshire, having been challenged to make the highest fourth-innings score in an LV County Championship match at the Ageas Bowl, face an uphill battle to stave off defeat against Essex on the final day.

Set a daunting 427 to win, Hampshire were struggling at 73 for three at stumps on day three. They require a further 354 runs to win, with seven wickets intact.

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "It's Thursday, it's nearly seven o'clock, it's time for one of the biggest nights in Paralympics athletics history.

"I'll let you guys make your minds up as to what is top of the bill. In no order of importance -GB unless stated: Peacock v Pistorius SA T44 100m (21:24 BST); David Weir T54 800m (21:16); Paul Blake T36 800m (19:24); Ballard & Rushgrove T36 200 (19:08) and Hannah Cockroft T34 200m (19:44)."

Susie Rodgers wins Great Britain's 100th medal of the Paralympics - and sets a new British record - in claiming bronze in the women's S7 400m Freestyle.

Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt says he is open to playing a charity game for his favourite team Manchester United, following a statement to that effect by the Premier League club's manager Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday.

Bolt, fresh from his second successive triple gold haul at the London Olympics and speaking ahead of his final outing of the season in the Brussels Diamond League meet, says: "I heard Sir Alex Ferguson's proposal. I'm open to everything.

"The Olympic Games are behind me, they went well, which takes off a lot of pressure. So in 2013, I could take a few more risks. Charity football matches, why not?"

Zander de Bruyn and Gary Wilson overcome a turning pitch to help Surrey set Nottinghamshire a victory target of 347 on the final day of their LV County Championship Division One clash at the Oval.

With seven of the 10 wickets to fall on day three being shared by the spin duo of Graeme White (four for 97) and Sam Wood (three for 64), the stage would now appear to be set for Murali Kartik and Gareth Batty to spin the hosts to victory.

England's Graeme Storm takes a two-shot first-round lead at the KLM Open after a seven-birdie 63 at Hilversum.

The Hartlepool native birdied two of the last three holes to nudge ahead of a tightly-packed leaderboard, which sees European Ryder Cup team members Martin Kaymer and Peter Hanson among the leading challengers.

Arsene Wenger claims spending controls in the Premier League will help establish the "real size" of clubs.

The Arsenal boss says measures such as Uefa's financial fair play rules - where clubs can only spend what they earn - should be introduced. The rules would effectively prevent wealthy benefactors injecting huge amounts of cash into a club to buy success - as has happened with Chelsea and Manchester City.

Wenger says: "You should just get the resources you generate, that will determine the real size of the club. I personally am a long-time defender of financial fair play because I believe in the strength of purely football."

Do you agree with Wenger's views? Have your say, #bbcsportsday.

BBC Sport's Nick Hope at the Aquatics Centre: "Incredible swim by GB's 15-year-old Josef Craig, who wins S7 400m freestyle gold and smashes the world record for the second time today in four minutes 42.81 seconds. Craig, who has cerebral palsy, trailed China's Shiyun Pan at the halfway stage, but took the lead with 150m to go and never looked back.

"Team-mate and pre-competition favourite Jonathan Fox finished fourth."

Four quick wickets in the closing overs of the third day puts Sussex in a strong position to beat Somerset and virtually secure runners-up spot in the LV County Championship.

MarcusTrescothick (71) was bowled off an inside edge and eight balls later Arul Suppiah was held at the second attempt by Matt Prior at second slip to give the exemplary Steve Magoffin the first of three quick wickets. Magoffin's nip-backer bowled Chris Jones and he had Kirby taken at short leg as Somerset lost four wickets for four runs.

They reached 155 for four at stumps, still needing another 241 runs to win.

BBC Sport's Nick Hope at the Aquatics Centre: "What a fantastic race in the women's SM9 200m individual medley! Great Britain's Stephanie Millward wins silver in 1:34:21, with team-mate Louise Watkin just over a second behind in third.

"South Africa's Natalie du Toit was pushed hard by Millward, but holds on to secure the 13th Paralympic gold medal of her incredible career."

England under-21s beat Azerbaijan under-21s 2-0 in their Euro 2013 qualifier, Steven Caulker and Jonjo Shelvey scoring the goals. England are top of Group 8 with 18 points from seven games and their final group game is on Monday against Norway.

Yorkshire's final home game brings a first LV County Championship win at Headingley this season to strengthen their position in second place in Division Two.

An emphatic eight-wicket win over Glamorgan is the Tykes' fourth of the season and was secured with a full day and 17.5 overs to spare.

BBC Sport's Nick Hope at the Aquatics Centre: "At least five or six strong medal prospects for GB in the pool this evening, but realistically their best chance of the much-craved gold comes in the S7 400m freestyle final.

"In this morning's heats 15-year-old Josef Craig delivered the swim of his life [4:45:79] to knock almost two seconds off the 400m world record to qualify ahead of fellow Briton and 100m backstroke champion Jonathan Fox. That final is coming up around 17:47 BST."

Liverpool's new signing Samed Yesil scores after two minutes to give Germany under-19s a 1-0 lead against England under-19s in Hamburg.

The 18-year-old, who joined Liverpool last week for £1m, has found the net 20 times in 21 appearances for his country.

Kilmarnock complete the signing of Cillian Sheridan on a two-year deal. The former Celtic and St Johnstone striker left Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia by mutual consent last month.

Kilmarnock confirm on their official Twitter page: "We are pleased to announce the signing of 23-year-old Irish striker Cillian Sheridan who has signed for the club on a two-year deal."

Liam Norwell claims five wickets as Gloucestershire move off the bottom of the LV County Championship Division Two table with a 207-run victory inside three days against Northamptonshire at Bristol.

The 20-year-old seamer followed up his three for 23 in the first innings with five for 51 in a Northamptonshire second-innings total of 224 that featured half-centuries from David Sales and Andrew Hall.

England manager Roy Hodgson insists he has no concerns over the state of the pitch for tomorrow's opening World Cup qualifier against Moldova in Chisinau.

Moldova assistant manager Ion Testemitanu this week admitted the playing surface at the 10,400-capacity Zimbru stadium was not in the best condition, but Hodgson has called on his charges to perform whatever the circumstances.

"We haven't seen the pitch yet and quite frankly we haven't spoken about it," Hodgson says. "I'm pretty sure that I have a very experienced group of players and they'll have played on many pitches, and I really don't envisage any particular problems there."

Carl Froch will never face Nathan Cleverly with the IBF super-middleweight champion's promoter Eddie Hearn describing an offer for them to meet as a publicity stunt.

Hearn said: "They could offer £10m, the fight isn't going to happen. The money's irrelevant. Anyway, the offer they made us was probably half of what I'd pay Carl for the same fight.

"I told Carl about it last night and he laughed. Carl feels sorry for Nathan and thinks he's a good young fighter. It's a publicity stunt."

Cyclist Sarah Storey, talking to BBC Radio 5 live, after winning the London 2012 road race to match the British record of 11 modern Paralympic titles:

"The records are lovely things to talk about but each race is an achievement in its own, each is hard fought. Just being able to say that you have won for your country is a great honour.

"You can never take anything for granted, there could be other riders or punctures, but I had to stay upright and make sure I finished. Sixty-four kilometres is never easy, whatever it looked like."

Francesco Stella is determined to be a hit at Rangers after winning a one-year deal with the Ibrox side.

He said: "There was then an opportunity to come here on trial and I couldn't say no. So I was here for two weeks and then signed a deal last Friday."

Manchester United's Michael Carrick wants to put the past behind him and concentrate on a "bright future" now he is back in the England squad.

"We have got some massive games ahead and I am just delighted to be here and be part of things again," he said.

Dundee manager Barry Smith has signed former Hamilton and Burnley left-back Brian Easton.

The 24-year-old was a free agent after his three-year contract with the Clarets expired in the summer.

Half-time in Baku and England U21 are still leading Azerbaijan 1-0 thanks to Steven Caulker's header.

Jenson Button on the future of his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton: "I think I'll have the same team-mate next year because this is the best place for him. It can be if you're in the same place for too long that it gets a bit stale but not here. This is a great team and a team that's always giving us a chance to fight for wins.

"Whether we've had the chance to fight for the championship that's another question but they always give you the possibility of winning grands prix and that's what a driver wants. I don't think anything will change next year in terms of driver line-ups but I might be wrong."

From BBC Monitoring: Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba turned down a written offer from Juventus in favour of remaining at Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua during the final hours of the summer transfer window, according to France Football.

Steven Gerrard on the return to the England squad of Michael Carrick: "He is a quality player who plays well week in week out for Manchester United. I am delighted to have him back in the squad because he makes us a better team."

England captain Steve Gerrard ahead of the World Cup qualifier with Moldova: "Winning breeds confidence. We want to get six points this week but the priority is Moldova and we know we have the players who can beat them. We play for top teams and you come up against a lot of teams who come put XI players back behind the ball and try to make it hard to break down."

Steven Gerrard on Moldova's defensive tactics: "It can be difficult (to break teams down). The good thing is we all play for top teams and we come up against sides that put 11 men behind the ball every week. if you're patient and don't force the issue, then it doesn't matter how you win as long as you do."

England manager Roy Hodgson on the disruption of the injuries ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Moldova: "That is international football these days. If you don't prepare for a a tough game there can very well organised then your not prepared properly. We're very aware of that. We won't underestimate them. Their bonus system will be their bonus system, we've got our own fish to fry.

"At the moment goal difference doesn't come into it. The most important thing is to get points on the board."

England manager Roy Hodgson on the number of players who have pulled out through injury: "It is a great blow to lose players you have selected but we chose a large squad to cope with that, and we certainly have more players than we need for the starting XI."

The England news conference is just getting underway.

Steven Caulker has headed in from a Jonjo Shelvey free-kick to put England U21s ahead in their game in Azerbaijan.

In the latest "Savage says", Robbie Savage discusses why Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are worth at least £100m, plus his thoughts on players who use Twitter to criticise their club and manager.

Andy Brassell looks at Cristiano Ronaldo's situation at Real Madrid and why the forward may be feeling "sad" at the Spanish club in our latest football feature.

Newcastle full-back Danny Simpson is hoping he could return from a thigh injury in as little as three weeks' time

Italy's Daniele Bennati won stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana, from Aguilar del Campo on Thursday, while Spain's Alberto Contador held on to the overall lead.

Sarah Storey has won gold in the women's individual road race.

You can hear our commentary of Chris Wright bowling Bears old boy Alan Richardson to claim the wicket that earned Warwickshire their seventh County Championship title.

Wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd has signed a permanent two-year deal with Yorkshire.

Shortly we will be bringing you the latest from the England camp as Roy Hodgson and Steven Gerrard give their final news conference ahead of Friday's World Cup qualifier against Moldova.

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey hopes he can silence the taunting texts of Arsenal team-mate Thomas Vermaelen when the Dragons face Belgium in Cardiff tomorrow night.

Ramsey said: "Obviously he has been giving me a bit of banter over the last few weeks, which I won't repeat, but we are looking forward to it and we are confident in our own abilities, we have some very good players in our squad as well.

"We are at home as well, with our home support behind us and hopefully that will help us get off to a good start."

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has declined to get involved in a war of words with his side's Russian hosts.

Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov reportedly said he had only recently been informed of Northern Ireland's existence, while Russia's new manager Fabio Capello gave only sketchy details when asked to assess O'Neill's side.

O'Neill said: "It doesn't really concern me. Our focus is solely on ourselves and how we prepare and perform on the night. I believe Kerzhakov has played in Spain for a period so hopefully his geography is a little bit better than that."

Tom Ince makes his first start for the England U21s in Azerbaijan. The team in full: Amos; Kelly, Caulker, Dawson, Rose; Zaha, Henderson, Shelvey, Lowe, Ince; Sordell.

Wigan midfielder James McCarthy will start his first competitive game for the Republic of Ireland in tomorrow's World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan.

Giovanni Trapattoni today named his starting XI, which sees a back four of John O'Shea, Darren O'Dea, Sean St Ledger and Stephen Ward line up in front of Sunderland stopper Keiren Westwood.

BBC Sussex's Kevin Smith at Hove: "It's been a good day for Somerset to date, wrapping up the Sussex innings and limiting the target to just about managable proportions.

"A target of 396 is still a tough task for them without the likes of Kieswetter, Compton and Buttler but they have no time pressures with the weather set fair and they've made a solid start.

"Inevitably, much will depend on Trescothick, who's playing well but Sussex will believe that if they can remove the Somerset captain, then victory should be within their reach."

BBC Sport's David Bracegirdle at the Oval: "Sam Wood's full first class debut (he played one day of a match as a nominated substitute last year) now includes a maiden wicket.

"Jason Roy helped him out somewhat, chipping tamely to Adam Voges on the legside but the hosts are in a strong position, leading by 235 at the interval, with five wickets still in hand."

Great Britain's Sarah Storey clearly believes that the best way to complete her Paralympic clean sweep and land a fourth gold medal of the London 2012 is to take the fight to the rest of the C4-5 road race field from the start. The 34-year-old, who yesterday added time trial gold to her two wins in the velodrome, has opened up a lead of four minutes and eight seconds on the rest of the field after 24km of the 64km course.

Kazakhstan captain Kairat Nurdauletov has warned the Republic of Ireland that his team will settle for nothing less than victory in tomorrow's World Cup qualifier in Astana.

"We would like to win. Only a victory will do. We wouldn't accept a draw. Our preparation went well. We have been preparing specifically for the Irish team. We feel very good. We want to prove that our football is improving and developing."

BBC Radio Kent's Matt Cole at Canterbury: "Kent batting Derbyshire out of the game with a ton-fifty from Sam Northeast - not bad from a batsman who started the season in the second eleven."

"Some controversy over the James Tredwell being 'parachuted' into the last two days of the game after his England exploits. He replaces fellow spinner Adam Riley."

Michael Owen accepts he may have to work hard to win a place in the Stoke side.

Owen told Stoke City Player: "There are many strikers at the club, I'm not expecting it to be an easy ride.

"I'll have to work, obviously, to play any part. I'm prepared to do that. There are a lot of top players at the club, so I'm hopefully going to fit in well with the squad and have a good season."

Vincent Kompany is proud to be part of an impressive generation of Belgian players as they prepare to face Wales in Cardiff tomorrow night.

He said: "I'm proud of all of them. There are almost too many to name now, there are so many Belgian guys now in the Premier League.

"When I signed four years ago I was the first, then (Marouane) Fellaini came just after that and (Thomas) Vermaelen. Ever since it has been a very good competition for Belgian players."

Promoter Frank Warren claims he offered Carl Froch £1m to fight WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly.

Warren told Press Association Sport: "We made a written offer to Matchroom (Froch's promoters) of £1m to Carl Froch for him to fight Nathan for Nathan's title. We could have done it at a catchweight.

"They declined. We got an email back saying he was going to continue fighting at super-middleweight, so that was that."

Harlequins' in-demand fly-half Nick Evans wants a swift resolution to contract negotiations as he mulls over lucrative offers from clubs in France and Japan.

Evans, 32, said: "Both sides are in talks at the moment and it's something we want to organise early because that suits both parties,.

"I have a few options and staying at Quins is one of them. I've been away from New Zealand a while, but I do love London. If I was to move, it would be to France or Japan."

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado has admitted he needs to change his driving style and curb his aggression.

"I have been penalised quite a lot," he said ahead of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. "We need to try to do something different to be away from the stewards.

"This is not the first time a driver is living in a bad moment."

Great Britain's 5-a-side football team slipped to a 2-1 penalty shoot-out defeat against China after a 1-1 draw.

They will be looking to avoid the wooden spoon in their seventh place play-off against Turkey on Saturday morning.

Shooter Karen Butler ended an eight-year journey of agony and hard work to finish sixth in her last event of the London 2012 Paralympics.

Butler, 45, had to fight her way back into the GB team after not competing in Athens in 2004, then missing out on Beijing with carpal tunnel syndrome in her wrist.

She said: "I feel relieved but elated. That's the experience I've been dreaming of. I've achieved my goals. A home Games is a once in a lifetime opportunity, we're never going to do this again."

Former Rochdale coach John Stankevitch is free to return to rugby league after his suspension was lifted by the game's governing body.

The former St Helens forward was last month banned by the Rugby Football League from all involvement in the game for refusing to pay a fine after being found guilty of abusing referees.

A spokesman said: "The RFL can confirm that John Stankevitch has agreed to pay the two outstanding fines."

Later on this afternoon we will bring you the latest from manager Roy Hodgson and captain Steven Gerrard as England hold their final news conference ahead of tomorrow's World Cup qualifier in Moldova.

Britain's Jonnie Peacock has the chance to cement his status as the fastest amputee sprinter in the world with victory in Thursday's T44 100m final.

The 19-year-old is the world record holder over the distance, having lowered a five-year-old mark to 10.85 seconds in June of this year.

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has moved up two places to replace teammate Mohammad Hafeez as the number-one ranked bowler in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.

McLaren's sporting director Sam Michael on the Lewis Hamilton speculation: "We are in advanced stages of negotiations with Lewis Hamilton over a new contract and until that's completed, there's nothing definitive to say.

"From the point of distraction, it doesn't happen. We're here [in Monza], Lewis is here and we're prepared. He wants to win the Italian Grand Prix and we're all geared up to do that.

"It's very independent of his contractual negotiations because these can go on for weeks and months anyway. Our focus is on the grand prix."

Paul Casey has no problem with being rated 200-1 by the bookmakers ahead of the KLM Open. The Englishman, who has struggled for form and fitness in recent months, shot 67 to move within two shots of the lead in his opening round and said: "The bookies aren't silly. They know I've been struggling." Fabrizio Zanotti and Raphael Jacquelin share the early lead at five under par.

Britain's Helena Lucas - the only woman in her class - has won 2.4 Metre one-person keelboat gold and Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell have won SKUD two-person keelboat bronze.

A lack of breeze in Portland Harbour today meant no sailing was possible ensuring that the overnight positions remained and the medals went to Great Britain.

Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio says Aden Flint was to blame for their 1-0 Johnstone's Paint Trophy first round derby defeat by Oxford.

The 23-year-old had just come on as a substitute when his collision with team-mate Darren Ward led to Alfie Potter's 88th-minute winner.

"Flint came in tonight as if he was on holiday and this is not acceptable," Di Canio told BBC Wiltshire. "He has to take the responsibility. We lost because of him."

Former Scotland boss Andy Roxburgh will stand down from his role as Uefa technical director when his current contract comes to an end. He says his last main duty will be presenting the 2012 European Championship technical analysis at a conference of national team coaches in Warsaw at the end of the month. The 69-year-old will not be retiring though, "I don't intend to hang up my coaching boots," he said.

Byron Young, Daily Mirror GP reporter

"Lewis, have you a comment to make on rumours?"

Hamilton: "Not really".

Do you know where you are driving next year?

Hamilton: "No".

Ally McCoist has defended players who have switched from the Scottish Premier League to Rangers, despite his side now playing in Division Three.

"They have been accused of going for the money, which is absolute nonsense," McCoist told Rangers' website.

"And, even if it was the case, they are quite entitled to do so because, in any other profession or walk of life, you would look after your family."

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is awaiting news of captain Fabricio Coloccini after it emerged he has suffered an injury on international duty. The Argentina Football Association confirmed the 30-year-old defender has a hamstring problem and although he is staying with the squad for the time being. A statement of the AFA's official website, afa.org, said: "Fabricio Coloccini has a hamstring injury in the femoral biceps of his right leg. He will travel with the squad to continue treatment with the team doctor."

Wales manager Chris Coleman on how to win in Gary Speed's memory: "Forget looking back, we need to look forward. I don't mean that in a cold way because everyone knows my relationship with Gary. That's what Speedo would've wanted."

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick is convinced Robin van Persie will bring the best out of the club.

"World-class players have got a presence," Carrick said. "When the ball came to Robin for his first goal on Sunday, I was so confident it was going to be a goal.

"To have someone like that in your team is satisfying because you know if you supply him with the right ammunition, more often than not, he will put it away."

Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade reveals that Alberto Aquilani's "impractical salary" made the deal to sign him from Liverpool a difficult one. The 28-year-old completed a permanent move back to Italy after he was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Brendan Rodgers. He spent the last two seasons on loan at Juventus and AC Milan respectively.

Britain's Karen Butler on finishing sixth in the R8 50m Rifle 3 Positions event: "My qualification scores were a little lower than I had hoped for but I was delighted to get to the final in seventh place. My main objective in the final was to try to move up a place and I did that so I am really pleased. As a team we have done fantastically well coming away with three medals plus two of us made finals and didn't win medals."

Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey speaking ahead of Friday's World Cup qualifier with Belgium: "This is where it starts and this was the game Gary Speed and his staff targetted and now we want to get off to a good start.

He added: "The Olympics was a good experience. Hopefully that was good preparation for me and others."

Great Britain sprinter Ola Abidogun, 19, will compete in Thursday's final of the men's T46 100m after qualifying third fastest, but Libby Clegg and guide Mikail Huggins, who won silver in the T12 100m, missed out on a place in the final of the 200m. Wheelchair athlete Shelly Woods, looking for her first medal of the Games, and Jade Jones qualified for Friday's 1500m T54 final.

Former England spin bowler Robert Croft retires from cricket.

Norwich midfielder Andrew Surman is not ruling out playing for South Africa in the future. The 26-year-old was born in Johannesburg but represented England Under-21s during their 2009 European Championship qualifying campaign. Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press he said: "I haven't ruled it out, but it is just at this moment in time I don't think it's something I need in my life, though it was a great honour to be approached."

BBC Essex's Nick Gledhill at the Ageas Bowl for Hampshire versus Essex : "An attritional morning of Hampshire trying to restrict the Essex scoring by bowling wide of the stumps. Only 60 runs added by the visitors who are 277 for 3, Owais Shah unbeaten on 160. Essex will want a lead of over 400 and a chance to bowl at Hampshire this evening. They have the stroke makers to force the pace this afternoon."

Karen Butler finishes sixth in the women's R8 50m Rifle 3 positions final. The Bristol woman qualified seventh and managed to move up a place after a strong second half of the final and finished on a total of 650.8. China's Zhang Cuiping won her second gold of London 2012 with 676.6 ahead of compatriot Dang Shibei.

Andy Murray's four-set win over has guaranteed the Scot a place at the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, held at The O2 from 5-12 November. The victory, which set up a semi-final with Tomas Berdych, means he will finish the year among the top eight players. If Murray, who won Olympic gold in August, can reach the final at Flushing Meadows then he will replace Rafael Nadal as the world number three.

BBC Sussex's Kevin Smith at Hove - lunch report: "The day was all about whether Murray Goodwin could bow out with a century and sadly for That was one of five wickets for Alfonso Thomas, who could record a career-best performance if he were to take the remaining three wickets. Chris Nash went for 126 with he and Goodwin adding 183 for the third wicket but Somerset have dragged themselves back into a game that was drifting away from them but with Sussex's overall lead over 350,the odds are still in favour of the the home side."

It is also lunch in Worcestershire, where Warwickshire need just three more wickets to claim their first County Championship title since 2004. After five for 36 in the first innings Keith Barker has taken three for 39 to leave the home side 196 for seven. You can listen to live commentary from Worcester on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.

BBC Radio Kent's Matt Cole at Kent versus Derbyshire, at lunch: "Any demons in this Canterbury pitch seem to have been excorcised by a century stand from Northeast and Nash. Their partnership unbroken in the morning session, Kent with a 235 lead and possibly batting Derbyshire out of it. But will the pitch be too placid to force a victory?"

Mark Church at Surrey versus Notts: "Still plenty of work to do for Surrey after the loss of three wickets in the morning session. They lead by 123 and have Kevin Pietersen at the crease unbeaten on 15. Another critical session of play awaits as Surrey look to get enough runs on the board to give their bowlers a chance. At lunch Surrey are 81-3."

Fast bowler James Anderson is called into the England squad for the Twenty20 series against South Africa after Steven Finn withdrew with a stiff back. The first T20 match takes place on Saturday at Chester-le-Street.

Elizabeth Hudson at the Royal Artillery Barracks: Karen Butler and the other seven finalists come out to a warm welcome for the R8 50m Rifle 3 Positions final at 12:45. The 45-year-old from Bristol qualified in seventh place on 559 points but is well behind leader Zhang Cuiping, from China, who is on 577 points and the second-placed pair Dang Shibei from China and Slovakia's Veronika Vadovicova, who are a point behind Zhang. In the final it is 10 shots with 75 seconds allowed per shot. Zhang is bidding for her third London 2012 medal after winning gold in the 10m air rifle standing and bronze in the 10m air rifle prone."

Warwickshire are closing in on their first County Championship title since 2004. They need to beat Worcestershire and they have now taken seven wickets to leave the home side 192 for seven and you can listen to live commentary from Worcester on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "Irish sprinting superstar Jason Smyth looks set to complete a sprint double in the T13 class after winning his 200m heat in 21.48 seconds - just outside his world record time of 21.43. The 25-year-old 100m champion, who is visually impaired, left is rivals trailing from 50m. The final is on Friday."

BBC Sussex's Kevin Smith at Hove watching Sussex versus Somerset: "Murray Goodwin's Sussex career has ended and to the huge disappointment of the Hove crowd, it hasn't ended with a farewell 100. He has become Alfonso Thomas's third victim and departed for 77, receiving a long standing ovation and greeted by his two young boys before he climbed the dressing room steps for the final time.

"A great player and played a massive part in the success that Sussex have enjoyed in the past decade."

Britain's Beverley Jones wins bronze in the women's F37 discus - twelve years of Paralympic hurt wiped away at London's Olympic Stadium. Just moments earlier, wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft, who won gold in the T34 100m, broke the Paralympic record in the 200m and qualified for tonight's final. She is now the clear favourite to take gold.

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "Like me, there may be a few of you out there who have tried to erase the memories of trying the triple jump at school. Putting together the hop, skip and jump in order was, for some, as complex as building a crane out of Meccano. I'm currently watching the triple jump performed by athletes wearing blindfolds."

BBC Sussex's Kevin Smith at Hove watching Sussex versus Somerset: "The second wicket partnership has been broken at Hove wth Chris Nash falling to Alfonso Thomas for 126. Nash and Murray Goodwin added 183 in 57 overs. Since then Matt Prior has just been run out after a mix-up, sacrificing himself, much to the approval of the Hove crowd who are hoping Goodwin can end his Sussex playing career the perfect way, with a hundred."

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the Royal Artillery Barracks: "Britain's Karen Butler has reached the R8 50m Rifle 3 positions final here at 12:45. Butler had struggled in the standing position phase but recovered in the final kneeling position phase to finish on 559 points and seventh place. The leader going into the eight-woman final is China's Zhang Cuiping on 577, one point ahead of her compatriot Dang Shibei and Veronika Vadovicova of Slovakia."

Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford takes to Twitter to explain his withdrawal from Friday's Diamond League meeting in Brussels: "I'm gutted but sadly my body wasn't having it. I will be doing everything I can to be ready for next weekend in Newcastle though."

Birmingham City agree a deal with Swansea City to sign striker Leroy Lita on a three-month emergency loan when the loan window reopens on Saturday. The 27-year-old passed a medical at St Andrews and could make his debut at Nottingham Forest on 15 September.

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury at the Olympic Stadium: "Back to the morning session, Great Britain has an outside chance of a medal in the women's F37 discus with Welsh athlete Beverley Jones hoping to end her duck, having come away from the last three Games with nothing. Meanwhile, Newport 19-year-old Kyron Duke competes in the men's F40 shot put. The biggest cheer of the day so far followed the announcement that British 16-year-old Olivia Breen had qualified for the final T38 20m final."

Warwickshire have now picked up four of the 10 wickets they need to win the County Championship. The Bears racked up 471-8 in their first innings and bowled Worcestershire out for 60. Following on, the home side are now 129-4. The Bears need to beat Worcestershire to win their first title since 2004 and you can listen to live commentary from Worcester.

In light of the stories about the future of Lewis Hamilton, the McLaren driver has taken to Twitter to post a variety of pictures. The first is one of a hill, captioned "The best place the think" while three others show him climbing a rock face. His fourth and final tweet shows him at the top of the mountain with the words: "Never give up. No matter how hard the situation is, always believe that something beautiful is going to happen."

Celtic's Charlie Mulgrew is the latest defender to pull out of the Scotland squad to face Serbia on Saturday through injury. Bristol City's Ricky Foster is his replacement. The Scots are struggling for cover at full-back after Danny Fox and Russell Martin were ruled out earlier.

Warwickshire have picked up the first wicket of the eight they need to win the County Championship. The Bears racked up 471-8 in their first innings and bowled Worcestershire out for 60. Following on, the home side are now 109-3. The Bears need to beat Worcestershire to win their first title since 2004 and you can listen to live commentary from Worcester.

England captain Alastair Cook is happy with the progress of his one-day team, despite South Africa drawing the series 2-2 with a seven-wicket victory in the fifth and final game of their series at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.

BBC World Service's World Football programme will tonight air an interview with Fifa president Sepp Blatter. He tells his critics to leave him alone and let him do his job, that he plans to stay on as head of world football's governing body until 2015 but he will not stand for re-election and that he will restore Fifa's credibility before he retires. You can listen to the interview on the World Service from 2330 on Thursday.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes England were right to pick his 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling for the England Under-19s rather than Under-21s. Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo: "I spoke to [the Football Association's director of football development] Trevor Booking on the thoughts of where the FA believe he is at. I said, in my opinion, of course he has got the ability to be in the Under-21s. But I believe in many ways it is right to go with the Under-19s."

England Under-21s play a European qualifier against Azerbaijan in Baku at 1600 on Thursday, while the Under-19s are in Hamburg to play Germany.

Leicester Tigers captain Geordan Murphy has told BBC Radio Leicester he is planning to retire at the end of the season. The former Ireland international has spent the last 16 years at Welford Road, but will be 35 at the end of the current campaign.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has upheld the lifetime ban imposed on David Savic for attempted match fixing. However, Cas annulled the $100,000 (£62,866) fine, saying the ban was punishment enough. The Serbian was banned by the Tennis Integrity Unit from participating in any event organised or sanctioned by any tennis governing body. Savic was ranked 659th in the world when he was banned last October for offences committed in 2010.

Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford has pulled out of Friday's Diamond League meeting in Brussels with the same injury that kept him out of Birmingham's event.

James Key has been confirmed as Toro Rosso's new technical director. The Englishman has previously worked with Force India and Sauber.

One final bit from Jordan: "He does want to move away. He is disenchanted by the way the management is at McLaren. He doesn't quite get it. He was brought there by Ron Dennis, who doesn't quite have the control he used to have. There just doesn't seem to be the management gel at McLaren."

Could Hamilton go elsewhere? Jordan suggests: "My guess is that he would not have gone to Ferrari. He and [Fernando] Alonso had a torrid time together so going there would have been eating humble pie. They did go there and negotiate and they did go to Red Bull and try to negotiate in case [Mark] Webber wasn't going to continue."

Here's more from Jordan: "[Hamilton's] new management, Simon Fuller of XIX, had a look at what's going on - it makes much more sense for them to continue the conversation they are having with Mercedes and all I did was to make it very obvious discussions have and are taking place. Particularly in light of what Bernie Ecclestone told us at the weekend that Michael Schumacher would be leaving, the door is wide open for Hamilton to go to Mercedes."

BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan has been on BBC Radio 5 live talking further about Lewis Hamilton's possible move away from McLaren. "I am convinced that this will happen," said Jordan. "There's been aggravation in this partnership for some time. It goes back to last year where Lewis felt McLaren interfered in his social activities and his travelling going to and from LA. That started the rift."

Manchester United have been at the forefront of a push for stricter financial controls in the Premier League, according to Wigan chairman Dave Whelan. "I think [Manchester] City haven shaken them up a little bit, but there should be some controls on spending," said Whelan. Uefa's new Financial Fair Play rules apply from the start of next season.

Adam Johnson will miss England's World Cup qualifying match in Moldova on Friday because of a thigh problem. The 25-year-old winger has returned to Sunderland for treatment.

Former Lawn Tennis Association performance director David Felgate has told BBC Radio 5 live that Andy Murray faces a tough test in the semi-final of the US Open against number six seed Tomas Berdych. "In some ways there will be more pressure playing Berdych, who beat said Felgate. "He can blow you off the court and dictate play. There is no way Berdych would have let [Murray] back in the match [as Marin Cilic did]."

Former England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff is planning to make his debut as a professional boxer in a bout in Manchester in November. The 34-year-old, who is yet to be granted a licence by the British Boxing Board of Control, is being trained by former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan's son Shane, and his preparations are set to be turned into a two-part television documentary.

It could also be a big day for Warwickshire. They need to take eight Worcestershire wickets to win the County Championship title for the first time since 2004. Worcestershire, who could be relegated if they lose, resume their second innings on 100-2 on day three of the four-day match, requiring another 311 runs to make Warwickshire bat again. The game continues from 10:30 and we will have updates in Sportsday Live throughout the day.

Later this evening in the Olympic Stadium, David Weir goes for 800m gold at 21:16 before South Africa's Oscar Pistorius and Briton Jonnie Peacock line up among the world's fastest amputee sprinters for one of the highlights of the Games, the T44 100m final, at 21:24. Britain could win a first medal since sailing was introduced to the Paralympics in 2000 (from 11:00) and GB's wheelchair basketball men are in semi-final action against Canada (21:00), while swimmer Jonathan Fox (17:47) will look to add to his medal haul in the pool and Karen Butler targets a shooting medal (12:45).

Day eight of the 2012 Paralympics is dawning and it promises to be another eventful day in London. Cyclist Sarah Storey could provide the big story of the day if she can complete a clean sweep of four gold medals and take her career tally to 11 - matching Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Dave Roberts - in the road race (14:32). Storey won her third title of these Games on Wednesday in the C5 women's road cycling time trial.

To complete the round-up of overnight action, former champions Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams reached the semi-finals of the US Open. Russia's Sharapova, the 2006 winner, beat France's Marion Bartoli 3-6 6-3 6-4. Three-time champion Williams breezed past Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-3.

Murray will play Tomas Berdych in the last four after the Czech Republic player surprised world number one and five-time champion Roger Federer 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 3-6 6-3. Meanwhile, Andy Roddick's career came to a close with a fourth-round exit to Juan Martin del Potro. The American, who won the title in 2003, bowed out with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (4-7) 2-6 4-6 defeat.

While the vast majority of you were sleeping, Britain's Andy Murray moved into the semi-finals of the US Open, but not without a scare. The world number four was one set and 5-1 down against Marin Cilic but came through to win 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-0.

Hello and welcome to Sportsday. We are heading straight to Thursday's football gossip column for three tales doing the rounds in the media.

Ashley Cole could leave Chelsea after only being offered a one-year extension to his contract. (The Sun) Zenit St Petersburg are hoping to complete the £25m signing of Manchester United winger Nani, 25, before the Russian transfer window closes on Thursday. (talkSPORT) Tottenham are ready to let England midfielder Jermaine Jenas, 29, go out on loan to a Championship club to ensure he gets matches. (Daily Mirror)