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British fans love an underdog and, in Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem, they will have two to get behind at the ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 next week. Should either of them manage to overcome the likes of new world No 1 Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to win the title, it would go down as one of the most famous victories in the history of the event.Djokovic has won the past four editions; Roger Federer twice before him. You have to look back to 2009, when Nikolay Davydenko stunned Federer in the semi-final and defeated then US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the final for an upset of comparable magnitude. Before that, in 2005, David Nalbandian became the first man not to have won a Grand Slam or Masters title to lift the trophy.Inspiration is few and far between then, although Monfils and Thiem can look to Dominika Cibulkovas surprise debut victory at the WTA Finals in Singapore last month. Her win over world No 1 Angelique Kerber in the final was a fairytale, but do Monfils and Thiem have what it takes to emulate her? Dominic Thiem is an up-and-coming talent They are paired with Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic in the Ivan Lendl group at the O2, so the Frenchman and Austrian are up against it from the off.But with Djokovic faltering of late and Raonic withdrawing from last weeks Paris Masters semi-final against Murray with a leg injury, all hope is not lost. World Tour: Panel predictions See how our Sky Sports pundits think the ATP World Tour Finals will go and cast your vote At 30 years old, Monfils has plenty of experience and goes into the Tour Finals having won the Citi Open in July and recorded career-best results at both the US Open (semi-final) and Australian Open (quarter-final) this year. He also has a winning record of 3-2 over Raonic.His run in New York, in particular, should give him heart. The Frenchman did not drop a single set on his way to the last four, beating former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis and flourishing against compatriot Lucas Pouille in the quarter-final. A look at why Monfils is tennis showman However, there was the small matter of Monfils bizarre semi-final against Djokovic. The Frenchman tried every trick in the book against the Serb, with varying and sometimes hilarious results.He play-acted and fired balls almost into the crowd, but also hit some of the most spectacular winners Flushing Meadows had seen this year. He occasionally looked as if he might give up and received serve two feet inside the baseline, but then burst into life, sometimes crushing a return past the open-mouthed Djokovic.He double-faulted at 137mph, on second serve. He served 11 aces and 11 double faults. When he shook hands, having taken a set off the eventual runner-up, he was completely spent. Watch Thiems superb backhand Meanwhile, Thiem, at 23 years old, has four titles of his own this year across all three surfaces, in Buenos Aires, Nice, Acapulco and Stuttgart. He also reached the French Open semi-final.Thiems showings in Paris belied his years. The Austrian battled through four four-set matches, knocking out 12th-seed David Goffin in the quarters.But, like Monfils, his progress was stopped by Djokovic. Yet, unlike Monfils, Thiem was steamrollered by the Serb in straight sets, the Austrian picking up just seven games in the process. Monfils is capable of both the sublime and ridiculous When it comes to London, neither player will suffer the weight of expectation when they step on court, but they will find a different atmosphere to what they are used to.While Thiem will certainly not wilt under the bright lights, it is the Frenchman who is more likely to embrace the electric energy from the crowd and use it to aid his flamboyant style. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. If the fairytale follows Cibulkovas, and Monfils loses to Djokovic in the group and then meets the Serb in the final, hopefully he has taken note of Davydenkos triumph and will beat him when it really matters, at the 15th time of asking.Watch every day of the ATP World Tour Finals, from November 13-20, live on Sky Sports. Full schedule here. Also See: World Tour Finals on Sky Sports Stan the danger man World Tour Finals: The Groups Tour Finals at the O2 Vapormax Nere Senza Lacci . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Nike Vapormax Scontate .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. http://www.vapormaxscontateoutlet.it/ . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Nike Vapormax Ingrosso . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Air Vapormax Outlet . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. NEW YORK -- Mark Teixeira hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning, and the New York Yankees staved off playoff elimination at the last possible moment with a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.Boston clinched the AL East title nearly 30 minutes before Teixeira connected, thanks to Torontos 3-2 loss against Baltimore. But a five-run comeback by New York in the ninth prevented its longtime rival from celebrating on the Yankee Stadium field.The Orioles victory put the Yankees on the brink of wild-card elimination following a surprising charge late this season. New York had only one infield hit and trailed 3-0 heading into the ninth, faced with the prospect of facing Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel.Kimbrel, however, gave up a leadoff single to Brett Gardner and three straight walks, the last forcing in a run. Red Sox manager John Farrell lifted Kimbrel (2-5) for Joe Kelly, who struck out Starlin Castro and retired Didi Gregorius on a foul popup. With the Yankees down to their last out, Teixeira, planning to retire after this season, launched a 99 mph fastball on an 0-1 count to right-center.James Pazos (1-0) was the winner.ORIOLES 3, BLUE JAYS 2TORONTO -- Hyun Soo Kim hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth inning off Roberto Osuna, and Baltimore beat Toronto to move within one game of the AL wild-card-leading Blue Jays.With Toronto ahead 2-1, Jonathan Schoop singled with one out, pinch-runner Michael Bourn stole second and Kim homered on a 3-2 pitch into the visiting bullpen in right.Osuna (3-3) has five blown save chances, including two in his last three appearances.Baltimores Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 46th home run, a solo drive off Jason Grilli in the eighth. Brian Duensing (1-0) got one out, and Zach Britton finished for his 47th save.TIGERS 6, INDIANS 3, 5 INNINGSDETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning, moments before the game was halted for good, and Detroit came away with a rain-shortened victory over Cleveland to keep pace with Baltimore in the AL wild-card race.Detroit trails the Orioles by one game for the ALs second wild card, and the Tigers certainly caught a break in this one. The rain was a factor throughout the evening -- there was also a delay during the third inning -- and it was certainly coming down when Detroit began its rally in the fifth.With two on and one out, Cabrera hit a line drive over the wall in right off Joseph Colon (1-3) for his 36th homer. Blaine Hardy (1-0) won in relief of Michael Fulmer.PIRATES 8, CUBS 4PITTSBURGH -- John Jaso hit for the cycle and drove in five runs in Pittsburghs victory over Chicago.Jaso tripled off reliever Pedro Strop in the seventh inning for the first cycle in the history of PNC Park and the first for the Pirates since 2004. Jasos final hit was a fly ball to center field. At first he hesitated rounding second base, but went on and the throw from Albert Almora Jr. was up the third base line.Jaso accomplisted the feat in just four at-bats. The last Pirate to hit for the cycle was Daryle Ward on May 26, 2004, in St. Louis. The last Pirates home cycle was by Jason Kendall on May 19, 2000, against the Cardinals at Three Rivers Stadium.Against Chicago starter Jake Arrieta (18-8), Jaso singled in the second inning, hit a three-run home run in the fourth and doubled in the fifth. Arrieta went five innings and allowed 10 hits and seven runs, both season highs.Pirates starter Jameson Taillon (5-4) allowed one hit and struck out four in six innings.Chicagos Anthony Rizzo hit a solo homer, his 32nd of the season.RANGERS 8, BREWERS 5ARLINGTON, Texas -- Carlos Gomez hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and AL-leading Texas beat Milwaukee for its major league-best 49th come-from-behind victory.Texas (94-65) moved closer to home-field advantage with a 1 1/2-game lead over Boston for the best record in the American League.Jonathan Lucroy, the catcher traded from Milwaukee to Texas on Aug. 1, reached to start the eighth on a two-base error when the ball ricocheted off the glove of center fielder Hernan Perez. Delino DeShields came on as a pinch-runner, and after Mitch Moreland walked, he scored the tying run when Elvis Andrus greeted reliever Tyler Thornburg with a single to center.Gomez then hit a 418-foot homer to left, his 13th this season. It was the eighth in 31 games for the Brewers former two-time All-Star since joining the Rangers last month after being released by Houston. He had a three-run homer on Tuesday night, that one traveling 444 feet.Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer in the first for the Rangers, his 32nd.Jeremy Jeffress (1-0) worked the final two innings, winning for AL West champion Texas five daays after being reinstated by Major League Baseball from the restricted list following a drunken driving arrest last month and then a three-week stint in an inpatient rehab clinic.ddddddddddddCorey Knebel (1-4) was the loser.ROYALS 5, TWINS 2KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon keyed an eighth-inning rally and Kansas City beat Minnesota, but the Royals were still knocked out of playoff contention.The defending World Series champs were eliminated when Baltimore beat Toronto.Morales ground-rule double to right scored Jarrod Dyson, who had doubled and stole third. Gordons single scored Whit Merrifield and pinch-runner Billy Burns.Taylor Rogers (3-1), the fourth of five Twins pitchers, took the loss after allowing three runs, three hits and two walks while retiring only one of the six batters he faced.Joakim Soria (5-8) worked a scoreless eighth to pick up the victory. Wade Davis got his 27th save.METS 5, MARLINS 2MIAMI -- The Marlins walked half a block alongside a hearse carrying their ace away from Marlins Park at the start of a funeral motorcade, then peeled away with watery eyes to go back inside and play.Drained by four days of grieving Jose Fernandezs death in a boating accident, Miami didnt have much left for the New York Mets. Jay Bruce hit his 32nd home run, James Loney also homered and New York helped their NL wild-card chances by beating Miami.The Marlins loss in their home finale eliminated them from playoff contention. Despite high hopes this year, they still havent been to the postseason since 2003.Set Lugo (5-2) went 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs.Jose Urena (4-9) allowed five runs in five innings.MARINERS 12, ASTROS 4HOUSTON -- Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Seattle beat Houston to keep pressure on the other AL wild-card contenders.Canos career-best 36th home run, a drive off Doug Fister (12-13), landed in the first row of the Crawford Boxes in left field. Cano has nine homers and 25 RBI in 19 games against Houston this season.Kyle Seager added another three-run drive in the eighth, his 30th home run this season.James Paxton (6-7) allowed three runs and six hits in five innings, striking out eight.Fister gave up five runs and five hits over 1 1/3 innings in the shortest start of his big league career. George Springer and Evan Gattis homered for Houston.REDS 2, CARDINALS 1ST. LOUIS -- Adam Duvalls two-run single was all Cincinnati needed to beat St. Louis.The Reds third win in their last four games dealt a blow to the Cardinals playoff hopes. St. Louis lost ground in the race for the two NL wild cards.Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani (9-5) allowed one runner in each of the first four innings, but only once during that span did the Cardinals have anyone in scoring position. He stranded five runners, including two in the sixth, his last inning. He allowed six hits and one run.It was the fifth quality start out of six in DeSclafanis career against the Cardinals. He improved to 4-1 with a 2.13 ERA against St. Louis.Duvall drove in his 101st and 102nd RBI with his third-inning single. He has seven RBI in the series.Raisel Iglesias earned his fifth save in six opportunities with two innings of relief.DIAMONDBACKS 3, NATIONALS 0, 5 INNINGSWASHINGTON -- Shelby Miller threw five shutout innings, Jean Segura had three hits to reach 200 for the season and Arizona beat Washington Nationals a rain-shortened game.The start of the game was delayed 33 minutes by rain and was called with one out in the top of the sixth inning after waiting out a second delay of 70 minutes.The NL East-champion Nationals have lost two of three to the last-place Diamondbacks and seven of their last 11 games overall.Miller (3-12) capped an otherwise forgetful season with one of his best outings of the year, allowing five hits with one walk and striking out five to earn his first win since June 20.Gio Gonzalez (11-11), Washingtons projected No. 3 starter in the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, struggled in his final tune up before the postseason.BRAVES 12, PHILLIES 2ATLANTA -- Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer, Daniel Castro had three RBI and Dansby Swanson also drove in two runs, leading Atlanta past Philadelphia.Mike Foltynewicz (9-5) pitched two-hit ball over five innings in his first start since Sept. 12, when he left a game against Miami with a left calf contusion.The Braves won for the ninth time in their last 10 games. They have 21 victories in 34 games since Aug. 21, bouncing back from a dismal start.Adam Morgan (2-11) lasted five innings, giving up 10 hits and nine runs. ' ' '