As Sebastian Vettel nurses his hangover, Bernie Ecclestone can raise a toast to the F1 gods after a weekend to savor in Malaysia gave the sport a reason to smile again.

Crisis loomed like the black clouds over Sepang after the German Grand Prix's axing, deafening complaints from teams and a soporific first race in Australia.

Fernando Verdasco upset second seed Rafael Nadal 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 Sunday in a third-round matchup of Spaniards to advance at the ATP and WTA Miami Open.

Nadal, a four-time Miami runner-up, leaves the Masters Series hardcourt event without a title again this year after his 11th appearance.

Sebastian Vettel stunned Mercedes' world champion Lewis Hamilton on Sunday with an audacious Malaysian Grand Prix victory which set the Formula One season alight.

The Ferrari man took advantage of an early safety car as he hit the front and held off Hamilton and Nico Rosberg after pitting only twice, compared to three for the Mercedes pair.

The Netherlands and Italy needed late equalizers to earn draws in Euro 2016 qualifying on Saturday, while Gareth Bale inspired Wales to a fine win in Israel that left them top of their group.

The Dutch were heading to a first competitive defeat on home soil since October 2000 after Burak Yilmaz put Turkey ahead in Amsterdam, but a 92nd-minute shot by captain Wesley Sneijder deflected into the net off Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to spare Oranje blushes and secure a 1-1 draw.

Qatari side Al Sadd released a statement on Saturday denying that a deal had been concluded to sign Barcelona and Spain great Xavi Hernandez.

In a statement on their website, Al Sadd said the deal was "still under negotiation", adding that "the FC Barcelona player is currently in Doha with his family to know more about the country he would live in if he were to decide to join the club."

Argentina rested superstar Lionel Messi but were still too powerful for El Salvador in a 2-0 friendly win over the Central American minnows at Fedex Field here Saturday.

A deflected Ever Banega strike on 54 minutes and a curling free-kick from debutant Federico Mancuello three minutes from time secured a straightforward win for the World Cup finalists as they build towards June's Copa America in Chile.

A goal by Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and an impressive performance from goalkeeper Jesus Corona lifted Mexico to a 1-0 friendly win over Ecuador on Saturday.

In front of 90,000 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum -- a venue where Mexico enjoy strong support -- Hernandez scored the lone goal in the 14th minute, ending his four-month scoring drought.

The Golden State Warriors secured the top seed in the NBA's Western Conference on Saturday with a record-setting victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Stephen Curry scored 25 points and Klay Thompson added 21 in the 108-95 victory, which guarantees the Warriors the best record in the west and home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

Barcelona confirmed that left-back Jordi Alba is only expected to be sidelined for 10 days after carrying out tests on a hamstring injury picked up in Spain's 1-0 win over Ukraine on Friday.

"Tests performed by the FC Barcelona medical services on Saturday morning have revealed that Jordi Alba has a grade 1 injury to the adductor muscle in his right leg," the club said in a statement.

Serie A champions Juventus have played down the extent of a knee injury suffered by Claudio Marchisio after the midfielder was sidelined by Italy medical staff who claimed his season was over.

Marchisio was ruled out of Saturday's Euro 2016 qualifier away to Bulgaria after undergoing an MRI scan which revealed a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament inury. He was expected to be out for up to six months.