Liverpool sealed the signing of Newcastle defender Jose Enrique on Friday with the Spaniard describing the transfer as "one of the happiest days of my life".

Enrique joins Liverpool on a long-term deal after the Reds paid Newcastle a reported transfer fee of £5.5 million (6.3 million euros).

Some top players have shown signs of rust at the Rogers Cup, and Roger Federer was the latest.

The third-ranked Swiss star was upset by 13th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1 in the third round Thursday night. Federer, who turned 30 on Monday, was playing for the first time since losing to Tsonga in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

Football players from Spain's top two divisions, including millionaires like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, have decided to go on strike at the start of the season, the head of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) announced Thursday.

The decision was taken after the AFE and the Professional Football League (LFP), which represents clubs in the two divisions, failed to reached a deal on wage guarantees for clubs that go insolvent, Luis Rubiales told a news conference.

Germany and Italy produced the standout performances in Wednesday's friendlies, giving both ideal boosts ahead of next month's Euro 2012 qualifiers.

A vibrant and youthful Germany gave further evidence that they are the rising force in international football by deservedly beating Brazil 3-2 - heaping more pressure on the South American giants' coach Mano Menezes.

Troubled striker Adrian Mutu has been expelled from the Romanian national team for life after spending a night drinking with a team-mate ahead of a friendly against San Marino, coach Victor Piturca said.

West Bromwich defender Gabriel Tamas, who was with the Cesena striker at the time, shared the same fate, Piturca said late Wednesday after Romania beat San Marino 1-0.

With names like Sachin Tendulkar already being linked to a racing franchise concept, India's usually overshadowed motor racing fraternity is banking on the arrival of Formula One to spark a surge in domestic interest in their sport.

As workers put in overtime to get the Buddh International Circuit into shape, officials are growing in confidence that the Oct. 30 Indian F1 Grand Prix will change the face of motor racing in this country of 1.2 billion where all sports take a backseat to cricket.

Tottenham's opening match of the Premier League season against Everton on Saturday has been postponed following disorder in the London neighborhood that sparked trouble across England.

There are ongoing safety concerns in the area around the north London club's White Hart Lane stadium, which has seen police resources stretched.

Rafael Nadal is out at the Rogers Cup after a shocking 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) defeat in the second round against Croatia's Ivan Dodig on Wednesday night.

With the tiebreaker in the final set tied 5-5, Dodig — ranked 41st in the world — ripped a 135 miles-per-hour ace past Nadal, then finished the upset by hammering a backhand that the second-ranked Spanish star couldn't handle.

Top-ranked and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki was upset 6-4, 7-5 Wednesday by Roberta Vinci in a second-round match at the Rogers Cup.

Wozniacki, who has won a WTA-leading five titles this year, led 5-1 in the second set. However, the No. 22-ranked Italian stormed back with three break points to complete the upset.

Serena Williams breezed into the second round of the Rogers Cup with a straight sets win over Alona Bondarenko on Tuesday, while second seeded Kim Clijsters retired from her match with abdominal muscle injury.

Williams, a winner of 13 Grand Slam tournaments, beat Ukraine's Bondarenko 6-0, 6-3 to set up a second-round meeting with Germany's Julia Goerges.