Reuters Sports News Summary

The 21-times major champion overcame a barrage of aces from Fritz, outlasting the Indian Wells winner despite having a bad day in his own opinion, and produced fewer errors at the Pala Alpitour to move to within one win of matching Roger Federer's record at the season finale. Soccer-France striker Benzema out of World Cup with injury France striker Karim Benzema has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar after suffering an injury in training, the French football federation said on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-With stadium beer ban, World Cup fans look for sip of hope

Soccer fans who travelled thousands of kilometres to get a glimpse of the sport's most prestigious event savoured their first sips of beer at the launch of a fan festival on Saturday, a rare place where they can drink alcohol at the World Cup. In a last minute U-turn, two days before the tournament's opening match, international soccer governing body FIFA said on Friday that alcoholic beer would not be sold at Qatar's World Cup stadiums.

Saudi crown prince MbS to attend Qatar world cup on Sunday

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Doha late on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup on Sunday, the Amiri Diwan of Qatar said. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have improved ties after a resolution early last year to end a political row that had led to Saudi Arabia, along with UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, boycotting Doha for over three years.

Soccer-'I feel gay', FIFA chief attempts to empathise with marginalised

FIFA President Gianni Infantino raised eyebrows on Saturday when he attempted to show empathy with marginalised groups by telling reporters in Qatar 'I feel gay ... I feel like a migrant worker'. Infantino opened the traditional pre-World Cup news conference on Saturday with a lengthy monologue lambasting the critics of Qatar hosting the tournament because of the country's human rights record.

Factbox-Soccer-U.S. v Wales World Cup 2022: kick-off time, venue and stats

The United States play Wales in Group B of the World Cup in Doha on Monday. When: Monday, Nov. 21, 2200 local (1900 GMT/1400 ET)

Tennis-Djokovic sets up meeting with Ruud in ATP final championship

Norwegian Casper Ruud is all that stands between Novak Djokovic and a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title, after the Serbian former number one beat American Taylor Fritz 7-6(5) 7-6(6) in the Turin semi-final. The 21-times major champion overcame a barrage of aces from Fritz, outlasting the Indian Wells winner despite having a bad day in his own opinion, and produced fewer errors at the Pala Alpitour to move to within one win of matching Roger Federer's record at the season finale.

Soccer-France striker Benzema out of World Cup with injury

France striker Karim Benzema has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar after suffering an injury in training, the French football federation said on Saturday. The Ballon d'Or winner, who has been struggling with a muscle problem, was forced to leave defending champions France's training session earlier on Saturday.

Motor racing-Retiring Vettel comes alive in final F1 qualifying

Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel rolled back the years as he starred in his final Formula One qualifying session at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 35-year-old, who is calling time on his career after Sunday's race, looked absolutely inspired as he attacked the floodlit Yas Marina track and scythed through slower moving traffic, dragging his far-from-top-tier Aston Martin to a ninth place grid spot.

Tennis-Mental health not helped by tough tour demands, says Federer

The demanding schedule on the ATP and WTA circuits can have a negative impact on the mental health of players, tennis great Roger Federer said on Saturday. The 20-time grand slam champion retired from the sport in September after travelling around the world a number of times during a career that spanned almost a quarter of a century.

Alpine skiing-Shiffrin starts the season with her 75th World Cup win

Mikaela Shiffrin won the first race of the Alpine ski season in Levi, Finland, to secure the 75th World Cup victory of her career on Saturday. World Cup champion Shiffrin won the slalom in front of Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson (+0.16), with Petra Vlhova (+0.20) from Slovakia taking third place.

Al Qaeda urges Muslims to shun World Cup, stops short of threats

Al Qaeda's regional branch urged Muslims around the world to shun the soccer World Cup in Qatar, though it stopped short of threatening attacks or promoting violence in connection with the event, according to a statement reported by a monitoring group. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the militant group's Yemen-based branch, criticised Qatar for "bringing immoral people, homosexuals, sowers of corruption and atheism into the Arabian Peninsula" and said the event served to divert attention from the "occupation of Muslim countries and their oppression".