TENNIS

Facing match point at 5-1 down in the third set, Rafael Nadal gave himself about a one-in-a-thousand chance of turning things around against Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals.

Those odds turned out to be more than good enough for the top-ranked Nadal.

Nadal saved that match point with a perfect drop shot and then rallied to beat Medvedev 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (4) Wednesday at London, keeping alive his chances of advancing from the group stage.

“Today is one of those days that one out of 1,000 you win and it happened today,” Nadal said. “In that moment (facing match point), what you think is probably in five minutes you are in the locker room, because that’s the more normal thing. In that moment, you play with not much pressure because you are almost lost.”

Nadal looked headed for a second straight loss at the season-ending tournament but won five games in a row to go 6-5 up in the deciding set. In the tiebreaker, Medvedev missed a routine forehand to hand Nadal a match point and then sent a backhand just wide. That shot was initially called in but was overturned by Hawk-Eye after Nadal challenged the decision.

The win gives Nadal a 1-1 record after two round-robin matches, while Medvedev fell to 0-2.

In the late match, Stefanos Tsitsipas beat defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 for his second straight win, a result that guarantees him a place in the semifinals.

• Bob and Mike Bryan say they will retire after the 2020 U.S. Open, closing a professional tennis partnership that includes a men’s doubles record of 16 Grand Slam championships.

The 41-year-old American twins announced their plans at the season-ending ATP Finals, which they qualified for but decided not to enter.

The Bryans have won 118 titles in all, including 39 at ATP Masters tournaments.

Their resumes also include winning the 2007 Davis Cup and the 2012 London Olympics doubles gold medal for the United States, along with 10 year-end finishes as the No. 1 doubles team in the rankings.

Bob Bryan had hip surgery in 2018, but he rejoined his brother on tour this year, when they won two ATP titles.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR: Matt Tifft has parted ways with Front Row Motorsports to focus on his health after suffering a seizure at the track late last month.

Tifft felt ill before practice at Martinsville Speedway and has not been in the car since his health scare. Tifft said then that tests showed a brain tumor he had removed three years ago has not returned. Tifft had a brain tumor removed in 2016 but returned to race the next year. He said in January he had been stabilized to the point he needed only annual checkups.

Tifft said he can’t commit to racing full time in 2020. The team has not announced the driver lineup for next season.

SOCCER

MLS: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 38, and the LA Galaxy are officially parting ways after two seasons.

The Swedish superstar scored 56 goals in 52 MLS games after joining the Galaxy in March 2018. After debuting with a dramatic two-goal performance as a substitute in a win over Los Angeles FC, Ibrahimovic was an elite, steady scorer for the five-time league champion club.

But the Galaxy won just one playoff game in his tenure, and he lost the MLS MVP award this year to LAFC’s Carlos Vela, who scored an MLS-record 34 goals to Zlatan’s 30.

•  The Chicago Fire have parted with Coach Veljko Paunovic after four seasons.

Paunovic, 42, was 41-58-37 with Chicago along with one playoff appearance. He was let go after leading the Fire to a 10-12-12 mark this season. The Serbian took over for the fired Frank Yallop after leading Serbia’s under-20 team to the FIFA U-20 World Cup championship in 2015.

Assistant coaches Marko Mitrovic and Eric Gehrig, goalkeeper coach Aleksandar Saric and other staff were also let go.

• David Beckham’s new MLS team will play its first home match against his former club.

Inter Miami officials announced that the club’s home debut will be March 14 at 2:30 p.m. against the LA Galaxy. That means Inter Miami will begin its inaugural season on the road, since the 2020 MLS season is set to begin in late February.

BASEBALL

ITALY: Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza says he has agreed to become manager of Italy’s national baseball team.

The 51-year-old Piazza, who was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, is of Italian ancestry. He tweeted he will manage Italy at a European tournament in 2020 and at the 2021 World Baseball Classic.

Piazza was Italy’s hitting coach at the 2009 and 2013 WBC tournaments.