After a sensational sprint double at the Diamond League finale, American Justin Gatlin admitted Tom Hanks' film character Forrest Gump had been an inspiration as he battled back from a four-year doping ban.

Gatlin rolled back the years to scorch to a rare 100-200m double on Friday and immediately stated he wanted to establish a rivalry with Jamaican star Usain Bolt, who has already called time on his season after a short-lived comeback from injury.

England midfielder Jack Wilshere has hit back at the “reckless” critics who claim the Arsenal star is failing to make the most of his talent.

Wilshere was tipped as England's most promising young players when he made his international debut four years, but he has struggled to live up to that billing.

Italy scored twice in the opening 10 minutes and Antonio Conte got the better of Guus Hiddink in their coaching debuts as a 10-man Netherlands was beaten 2-0 in a friendly on Thursday.

Ciro Immobile scored his first international goal three minutes in, and Daniele De Rossi added a penalty in the 10th.

Spain's rebuilding following its shambolic World Cup got off to a bad start, failing even to manage a shot on target as France coasted to a 1-0 win in their friendly on Thursday.

France had an effort from Karim Benzema ruled out for offside early in the second half and scored in the 72nd minute when winger Mathieu Valbuena set up substitute Loic Remy for his sixth international goal.

Pau Gasol scored 20 points as Spain routed Serbia 89-73 to finish the group phase of the Basketball World Cup undefeated on Thursday and remain the United States' biggest challenger.

The new Chicago Bull center helped to ensure the game was effectively over by halftime with 14 first-half points to power the hosts to an insurmountable 19-point lead.

The Philippines may have beaten only one of its five opponents and been eliminated at the group stage of the Basketball World Cup but they have won over a country that can sense the rapid progress of the sport in the nation.

The Filipinos defeated Senegal 81-79 in overtime Thursday in their last game in Group B to end the tournament on a high, though just qualifying for the trip to Spain was satisfying enough.

This is what ran through Roger Federer's mind as he stood one point from losing to Gael Monfils in the U.S. Open quarterfinals:

"You got the back against the wall and hope to get a bit lucky. And you hope to play exactly the right shots that you need," Federer explained. "Or that he completely just messes it up. Either way works, as long as you get out of it."

Money is the name of the game but the huge sums spent on football transfers are jaw-dropping, coaching icon Sir Alex Ferguson said on Thursday.

Speaking two days after a wide-ranging study showed that transfer fee inflation in Europe's top leagues has hit 16 percent, and that his old club Manchester United paid tens of millions of euros above market rates for top purchase Angel di Maria, Ferguson said that was part and parcel of the sport.

Ricky Rubio's quick hands set the tone and Marc Gasol had a game-high 17 points as Spain beat France 88-64 Wednesday to remain undefeated at the Basketball World Cup.

Rubio had five assists, three steals and two drives down the lane for layups in the first quarter in his 100th appearance for the national team, with the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard looking eager to atone for Spain's loss to France at last year's European Championship.

Ekaterina Makarova describes herself as a person who prefers "to stay in the shade."

At this U.S. Open, she finally believes she deserves to play under the brightest lights.