ildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis at Miami OpenYellow or green: Roger Federer’s comment on tennis balls’ colour adds fuel to fireThis was Roger Federer at his hard-to-beat best, a performance so unlike the pair of uncomfortable five-setters he labored through to begin the U. A roundup of World Cup qualifying games in Africa on Saturday:GROUP BMahrez was given permission by . Yacine Brahimi’s long-range shot put Algeria back in the game early in the second half. captain Michael Bradley said after the stunning 2-0 loss to Costa Rica at Harrison, New Jersey. The aspect that caused Nadal the most consternation was his difficulty converting break points, going 6 for 25. That was the first time in the 36-year-old Federer’s career that he opened a Grand Slam tournament with two consecutive matches that lasted five sets. The elder Zverev first broke into the top 100 in 2007 but a series of injuries, wrist, ribs and knee, left him in limbo. “The second to last lap was OK at the beginning, but then I backed out of it, hoping that I’d get one more lap,” said the 32-year-old. “It’s all still in our hands, and we’re ready to go down to the wire to get ourselves into the World Cup,” Bradley said. My expertise will be in physical preparation, mental preparation, nutritional and I will look at all.