ori def. Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6)Nishikori catches a big break: All the credit to the fourth seed for pulling off this miracle, but a game Monfils for most of the | Forum

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Memories of the biggest humiliation in Brazilian football and the return of Lionel Messi to Argentina were not enough to stop the five-time World Cup champions from beating their archrivals Thursday in South American qualifying for the World Cup. Flames Jerseys China .The Brazilians won at Mineirao stadium, and they won comfortably -- 3-0. There were no Brazilians in tears this time, unlike at the World Cup in 2014.The victory over Argentina extended Brazils successful streak under new coach Tite to five matches, giving the qualification leaders 24 points from 11 matches. Argentina has 16.Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza finds himself in an even tougher position after the lackluster performance in Brazil. His team is remained in sixth place, outside the continents four automatic spots at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.Copa America champion Chile held third-place Colombia to a 0-0 draw away, despite the absence of Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez due to injury.Second-place Uruguay beat an Ecuador side filled with reserves by only 2-1 in Montevideo. The Uruguayans have 23 points, just one behind Brazil.Elsewhere, Peru producing a shocking 4-1 win at Paraguay and is now back in the race for a place in Russia 2018. The Peruvians remain in eight spot with 14 points, one behind seventh-place Paraguay.In a match between the two worst teams in South American qualifiers, Venezuela trashed Bolivia 5-0 at home. Venezuela now is ninth place with 5 points, one ahead of Bolivia.----BRAZIL 3, ARGENTINA 0The chants of the Brazilian crowd at the Mineirao stadium showed that most Brazilians fans prefer to forget the 7-1 defeat against Germany in the same venue during the 2014 World Cup, and instead savor this victory over Argentina.The champions are back! the crowd chanted. Messi doesnt have a World Cup, the one that does is Vampeta!Brazil was so dominant it could have won by a bigger margin, but settled for a 3-0 result with goals from Philippe Coutinho (26), Neymar (46) and Paulinho (58).It could have been a different story if the referee had given a penalty to Argentina when the game was 0-0 and Neymar touched the ball with his hand in the box.The most impressive of the three goals was the opener from Liverpool midfielder Coutinho from the edge of the box.Coach Tite said that the impressive result comes after a sleepless night for him. The sleeping problem wasnt because of the memories of Brazils 7-1 loss to Germany, but because of his days at Atletico Mineiro in 2007. The club was relegated to Brazils second division with him in charge.I know that I didnt do a nice job then. I still think a lot about that, he said.Messi and his Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano, who came to Brazil in Neymars jet, were below par during the whole game.Messi likes to float on the back of the defensive midfielder, but we didnt let him play. We have a lot of merit not only in offense, but also defending, Brazil midfielder Renato Augusto said.Argentina, the 2014 World Cup finalists, remain under heavy pressure in qualifying, with its next match against Colombia. Messi used an expletive to define his teams current situation, while coach Bauza defined the defeat in Brazil as the worst in his career.We have to change, an upset Messi said.Because of the high ticket prices only 53,000 of the 62,000 seats were taken at the stadium in Belo Horizonte, located 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.---URUGUAY 2, ECUADOR 1Uruguay struggled and Luis Suarez wasnt anywhere near his best, but coach Oscar Tabarez lineup managed to hold off Ecuador 2-1 at home. Sebastian Coates (12) and Diego Rolan (45) gave Uruguay a 2-0 lead before Felipe Caicedo reduced the margin for Ecuador in the 46th.The win should give Uruguayan players some ground in their dispute over image rights. This week they wore shirts without sponsor names and prohibited banners with sponsors in their press conferences.Uruguay will next play Chile, and fourth-place Ecuador will face Venezuela.-----COLOMBIA 0, CHILE 0In the return of Falcao Garcia and in the absence of Sanchez, neither Colombia nor Chile managed to score in a quiet match in Barranquilla. Injury-prone Garcia entered in the second half, but didnt have any chances to score.Colombia, in third spot with 18 points, travels to Argentina. Flames Jerseys 2020 . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Flames Jerseys 2021 . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. The mens Rio Olympic semifinals are set, but none of the winners prevailed without significant resistance. Three of the four matches went the three-set distance and each lasted more than two hours.Heres how they played out:TOP HALFRafael Nadal def. Thomaz Bellucci 2-6, 6-4, 6-2Rafas confidence is soaring: He didnt look quite as dominant Friday, but as the match wore on, Nadal looked sharper and stronger -- signs that his championship mindset is back. Its been more than two years since Nadal has won a major. But the combination of his lethal groundstrokes and determined attitude not only bodes well for the rest of Rio, but the US Open as well.Juan Martin del Potro def. Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 7-6 (4)Del Potro more than a serve and forehand: In the opening round, del Potro stunned top-ranked Novak Djokovic in large part because of his electric forehand and serve. Against Bautista Agut, del Potro moved with precision around the court, socked backhands (his much weaker wing by comparison) and played stellar defense. Del Potro also won 46 percent of return points and broke his Spanish opponent five times. Hard to imagine a bigger fairy-tale ending to the Olympics than the 6-foot-7 Argentine, who has missed more than two years worth of tennis beecause of reoccurring wrist injuries, hoisting gold. Calgary Flames Gear. BOTTOM HALFAndy Murray def. Steve Johnson 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (2)Murray is Captain Clutch: Down a break in the third set against the American Johnson, Murray looked like he might become Rios latest upset victim. But Murray broke back and eventually sent the match into a final-set tiebreaker, which he easily won. This performance came a day after the Scot fought back after losing eight straight games against Fabio Fognini to prevail. Murray is now two wins shy of winning his second straight gold medal in singles.Kei Nishikori def. Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6)Nishikori catches a big break: All the credit to the fourth seed for pulling off this miracle, but a game Monfils for most of the match gacked at the worst possible time. On the Frenchmans third match point, in the third-set tiebreaker, Monfils threw in a weak double fault to make it 6-6. Nishikori took the final two points to prevail. But this battle lasted 2 hours, 53 minutes, and Nishikori looked gassed. Although his semifinal opponent, Murray, was on the court north of two hours himself Friday. ' ' '