Never fazed, rarely flummoxed, Novak Djokovic is so collected in best-of-five-set matches — even when falling behind, as he has done repeatedly at the U.S. Open.

No opponent, or the prospect of what's at stake, has been too much to handle. Not yet, anyway. And now he's two wins away from the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969, along with a men's-record 21st major championship overall.

Brazil has triggered a FIFA regulation in a bid to prevent eight players from competing for their respective clubs in the English Premier League this weekend.

They had been called up for World Cup qualifiers but didn't travel after Premier League teams had objected to their players going to South American nations, which are red-listed by the British government because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leader Brazil and second-place Argentina will return to action in World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as fallout from the chaos of their suspended game on Sunday continues.

Just minutes into their match on Sunday, a Brazilian health official entered the pitch to remove four Argentina players he considered should be in quarantine due to COVID-19 protocols. FIFA has opened an investigation, and soccer bodies of both countries have questions to answer.

Brazilian football legend Pele said Wednesday he is doing well after undergoing surgery for a suspected colon tumor.

"I am recovering well," Pele, 80, said in a message posted on social media. The surgery was carried out Saturday in Sao Paulo.

Portugal eased to a 3-0 victory in a World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on Tuesday that sent them top of Group A, but they are still short of automatic qualification.

The Portuguese hold a two point advantage over Serbia, who will be kicking themselves after a late own-goal allowed hosts Republic of Ireland to secure a 1-1 draw.

Reigning champions France beat Finland 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday thanks to Antoine Griezmann's double strike to snap a five-game winless streak while Scotland kept their hopes alive with a 1-0 win in Austria.

In other action, Portugal and the Netherlands stayed on track to reach the finals in Qatar next year, with Memphis Depay grabbing a hat-trick for the Dutch in a 6-1 demolition of Turkey.

Japan will not host the FIFA Club World Cup later this year because of virus restrictions that could cap spectator numbers, a report said Wednesday.

The annual football tournament, at which the champions from the six global confederations compete along with the host nation's top team, was due to be held there in December.

Some of the world's largest broadcasters including American network NBC are being asked by human rights groups to cancel plans to cover next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Winter Games are scheduled to open on Feb. 4.

The request comes in an open letter from rights groups representing minorities in China, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong residents and others.

Former France attacker Franck Ribery has joined Salernitana on a one-year deal, the promoted Serie A club said on Monday.

Questions swirled on Monday after Brazilian health officials dramatically halted a World Cup qualifier against Argentina over  alleged Covid-19 quarantine breaches by the visitors.