Saudi Arabia's quest for a fourth Asian Cup lay in tatters on Monday after they sacked beleaguered coach Jose Peseiro in the wake of an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Syria in their opening game.

The Portuguese, a former assistant to Carlos Queiroz at Real Madrid, had been under intense pressure after he failed to get Saudi Arabia to last year's World Cup.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said for the first time on Friday that he 'expects' the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be held in winter rather than the traditional summer months of June and July.

Qatar was controversially awarded the right to host the tournament last month despite summer temperatures in the Gulf emirate soaring to over 40 degrees Celsius.

A stomach injury to Serbia's Ana Ivanovic has handed Belgium a place in the mixed-teams Hopman Cup final on Saturday.

The Serbian pairing of Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic were top seeds and topped Group A by winning two of their three round-robin ties, with Belgian duo Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans second despite beating the Serbs on Thursday.

With Arjen Robben set to return from injury, Bayern Munich officials can't wait for the Bundesliga and Champions League to resume after Germany's winter break.

Robben hasn't played since the Netherlands' World Cup final loss to Spain because of a hamstring injury, but is back in training at a camp in Qatar and is expected to play in the team's friendly against local club Al-Wakrah on Saturday.

Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein stunned powerful South Korean Chung Mong-Joon by unseating him as a FIFA vice-president on Thursday while Mohammed bin Hammam won another term as AFC chief.

Chung, the controlling shareholder in industrial giant Hyundai Heavy Industries, a major FIFA sponsor, had been in the job since 1994 and was widely expected to retain the role.

Wilson Chandler scored 31 points while Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton each added 28 points to spark the New York Knicks past NBA overall leader San Antonio Spurs 128-115.

The Spurs saw their four-game win streak snapped and fell to 29-5, still three games atop Dallas in the Southwest division and leading the league.

Real Madrid's Brazilian midfielder Kaka is in "perfect shape" following the knee surgery he underwent in August, the Belgian doctor who performed the operation said in comments published Wednesday.

"Kaka needed to have the surgery, he could not play with the pain he was feeling and the treatment he has had since the operation has been perfect," sports daily Marca quoted Doctor Marc Martens as saying.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insisted on Tuesday that his club will not make a bid to sign David Beckham in the January transfer window.

Beckham is keen to return to the Premier League on a three-month loan from the LA Galaxy during the MLS off-season as he tries to show England coach Fabio Capello he is still worthy of a place in his squad.

American tennis legend John McEnroe said Tuesday that there were no likely challengers who could break Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's stranglehold on the game's top tournaments.

"Federer and Nadal are two of the greatest players that have ever lived," McEnroe told reporters ahead of the exhibition Hong Kong Tennis Classic.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has included Kaka in his squad for the first time this season, selecting the Brazil playmaker in his squad for the Spanish league derby against Getafe.

Kaka has not played for the Spanish club since undergoing surgery on his left knee on Aug. 5.