Andrey Rublev saved three match points in a deciding-set tiebreaker to beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round of the clay-court Hamburg European Open on Wednesday, as top-seeded Casper Ruud also won in three sets.

Rublev won 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7) after recovering from 4-6 down in the tiebreaker and admitted he had struggled to stay calm as he felt "tired and nervous" during the 2 hour, 53-minute match.

Weeks after luring Liverpool great Steven Gerrard to join as manager, Saudi Arabian soccer club Al-Ettifaq signed Jordan Henderson on Thursday.

The England international, who was captain of Liverpool when the club won the Premier League and Champions League titles, is the the latest star to head to the oil-rich kingdom. He will reportedly earn 700,000 pounds ($900,000) per week.

Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are considering joining the U.S. National Guard's security partnership program in a further expansion of American military ties across Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The chief of the National Guard, Gen. Dan Hokanson, was expected to announce the discussions with each country, which have not previously been reported, in remarks at the National Press Club on Thursday. The Associated Press obtained an advance copy of Hokanson's speech.

Niger's foreign minister called for mutinous soldiers to release the president on Thursday, a day after members of the presidential guard declared they had seized power in a coup over the West African country's deteriorating security situation.

While many people in the capital of Niamey went about their usual business, it remained unclear who was in control of the country and which side the majority might support. A statement tweeted by the army command's account declared that it would back the coup in order to avoid a "murderous confrontation" that could lead to a "bloodbath." It was not possible to confirm that the statement was genuine.

With millions of Americans facing broiling heat across the Southwest, President Joe Biden on Thursday plans to announce new steps to protect workers, improve weather forecasts and make drinking water more accessible, the White House says.

He'll be joined by the leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The coastal Chinese city of Shantou on Thursday joined parts of Taiwan in shutting down schools and offices as Typhoon Doksuri brings heavy wind and rain to the Taiwan Strait and surrounding areas.

Doksuri weakened further on Thursday, with sustained winds of 155 kph (96 mph) and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph), according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau. The typhoon's center will not hit Taiwan's mainland, but its outlying bands will still bring stronger winds and rains Thursday afternoon.

Wildfires reached the outskirts of Athens on Thursday as strong gusts of wind caused flare-ups around Greece, disrupting highway traffic and rail services.

The fires have raged across parts of the country during three successive Mediterranean heat waves over two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge evacuation of tourists over the weekend on the island of Rhodes.

Ukraine has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from the country's southeast as part of its weekslong counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts.

The surge in troops and firepower has been centered on the region of Zaporizhzhia, a Western official said late Wednesday.

Sometime this summer, if President Vladimir Putin can be believed, Russia moved some of its short-range nuclear weapons into Belarus, closer to Ukraine and onto NATO's doorstep.

The declared deployment of the Russian weapons on the territory of its neighbor and loyal ally marks a new stage in the Kremlin's nuclear saber-rattling over its invasion of Ukraine and another bid to discourage the West from increasing military support to Kyiv.

Another seven heat-associated deaths were confirmed over the last week in America's hottest big metro, health officials reported Wednesday, amid a blistering heat wave with daytime highs over 110 F (43.3 C) and overnight lows not dropping below 90 F (32.2 C).

Maricopa County, the most populous county in Arizona and home to Phoenix, reported that its health department has confirmed 25 heat-associated deaths this year as of Saturday since the first one was recorded in April, with 249 more under investigation.