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Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in ATP World Tour Finals

Novak Djokovic returns a shot during his victory over Rafael Nadal at the ATP World Tour finals in London on Monday.
(Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
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Novak Djokovic remains the man to beat on indoor courts.

The defending champion made quick work of top-ranked Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 6-4, to win the ATP World Tour Finals in London on Monday, extending his winning streak to 22 matches and claiming the elite season-ending title for the third time.

Djokovic, who has not lost a match since his defeat to Nadal in the U.S. Open final, returned superbly from the start to move his Spanish rival around the court and prevent him from dictating the points.

Nadal hit only nine winners and was broken three times.

Nadal and Djokovic have been dominant this season. Nadal replaced Djokovic for the No. 1 ranking last month, but the Serbian player proved again he still has the upper hand on hard courts by extending his head-to-head winning record to 13-7 on that surface.

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ETC.

The Atlanta Braves announced they are leaving Turner Field and moving into a new 42,000-seat, $672-million stadium about 10 miles from downtown in 2017.

Atlanta’s mayor said the city wasn’t willing match an offer from suburban Cobb County worth $450 million in taxpayer funding.

Braves executives John Schuerholz, Mike Plant and Derek Schiller said the team decided not to seek another lease at 17-year-old Turner Field and began talks with the Cobb Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority in July.

Plant, the executive vice president of business operations, said the team has not signed a contract with Cobb County, but he’s “100% certain it will happen.”

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Joe Mauer, 30, will move from catcher to first base on a full-time basis for the Minnesota Twins, hoping to avoid a repeat of the concussion that cut short his 2013 season.

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The Boston Red Sox trio of Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew were among 13 free agents who turned down $14.1 million qualifying offers from their former teams.

Three Yankees also said no thanks: Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and Hiroki Kuroda.

The others turning down the offers were Atlanta’s Brian McCann, Cincinnati’s Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland’s Ubaldo Jimenez, Kansas City’s Ervin Santana, St. Louis’ Carlos Beltran, Seattle’s Kendrys Morales and Texas’ Nelson Cruz.

In two years of the new system, all 22 players given qualifying offers have said no.

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Travis Pastrana said he’s leaving NASCAR after this weekend’s season finale Nationwide Series race in Florida.

Pastrana announced his decision on his Facebook page. He cited a lack of sponsorship, a desire to spend time with his wife and new daughter and frustration over his struggles in NASCAR as his reasons for leaving the sport.

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One of the most popular action sports stars in the world and a 17-time medal winner at the X Games, Pastrana first tried NASCAR in 2011.

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Lionel Messi probably won’t play soccer again until 2014.

Barcelona said that the four-time world player of the year has another leg injury — his third of the season — and this time needs six to eight weeks to recover. That would rule Messi out until about Christmas, when the Spanish league takes its annual winter break.

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