There wont be a battle in Paris for the world No. 1 ranking between holder Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Andy Murray this weekend. Djokovic all but passed the honor to Murray through intermediary Marin Cilic in the Paris Masters 1000 quarterfinals Friday evening.Cilic made a late-season charge to qualify for the season-ending eight-man ATP World Tour Finals. He has rediscovered the big serve and atomic forehand that earned him the 2014 US Open title. While those tools were unable to earn him a win against Djokovic in 14 previous tries, they were sufficient on this occasion, as Cilic clobbered Djokovic, 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Friday.The feat that left Murray two wins from the No. 1 ranking with Djokovic unable to do anything about it.Murray collected the first of those wins just a few hours after Djokovic flamed out, beating back an early challenge by Tomas Berdych to advance to the semifinals, 7-6 (9), 7-5. Should Murray win his semifinal, he will be the new No. 1 when the rankings are issued Monday, the 26th player to achieve the honor since the computer rankings were introduced in August 1973.Djokovic still leads Murray in their rivalry by a lopsided margin, 24-10. Their struggle has been played out on a smaller canvas, overshadowed by the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal and even the Djokovic-Nadal conflicts. Federer is 35, Nadal 31; Djokovic and Murray are both 29 and were born just weeks apart.Nadals absence (because of a slump combined with injury) has been a key element in Murrays rise. But so has the mysterious, recent decline in Djokovics once ferocious focus, which has come since securing his long-sought career Grand Slam last June at the French Open. Djokovic hasnt been the same player since, so much so that its hard to put it down entirely to a success hangover.Djokovic also admitted after Wimbledon that he was dealing with challenges in his personal life. More and more, Djokovic has relied increasingly on the language found in self-help manuals, and this week he left his coaches behind to show up in Paris with Pepe Imaz, an adviser with the sensibilities and philosophy of a new age Svengali.A few moments in the two matches involving Djokovic and Murray on Friday spoke volumes on the state of their games. In his quarterfinal, Djokovic broke Cilic to take a 5-4 lead and serve for the first set. He promptly gave the break right back with back-to-back double faults -- his first two of the match. The wince-worthy lapse set the stage for his ensuing collapse.By contrast, Murray and No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych both looked sharp in the first set of their match. In the tiebreaker, Berdych lit into Murray and built a 6-1 lead and five consecutive set points. But somehow, Murray -- with a little help from a rattled Berdych -- survived them all, as well as two more later in the 20-point breaker, and went on to win in straight sets, 7-6 (9), 7-5 .All this does not bode well for Djokovic. Perhaps he will decide it was foolish to leave behind his two primary coaches, Marian Vajda and Boris Becker, at such a critical moment. Maybe hell reconsider the impact of his involvement with Imaz and his Amor y Paz (Love and Peace) tennis philosophy.Or maybe hes just tired of it all, burned out after having gorged on Grand Slam titles and establishing himself as one of the all-time greats. He might feel he has earned the right to smell the roses and do a little navel-gazing, contemplating the personal evolution he often has cited.Is it possible that down deep Djokovic didnt really want to get to the Paris final, where hed likely face the snarling Scot whos playing like Braveheart? Djokovic beat Murray like a tom-tom in five Australian Opens, four times in the finals. Payback is a word that can send a chill down anyones spine.Then again, we had a glimpse of the old, self-sabotaging Murray in the Berdych match, after Murrays heroic tiebreaker. He jumped all over Berdych early in the second set and secured a break. But he allowed Berdych to break him back at the witching hour for 5-all. Murray then allowed Berdych to slip out of a 0-40 deficit, and even though Murray did eventually break Berdych, he then failed to hold a 40-love lead when serving for the match and had some anxious moments before he closed it out.Those were mere hiccups compared to Djokovics failure to make it to the semifinals. Djokovic might have left the No. 1 ranking behind. Will Murray have the poise and self-assurance to claim it? Cheap Wholesale Air Max 95 . 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GENEVA -- FIFA has found a difficult opponent to President Gianni Infantinos plan to expand the World Cup to 48 teams.A group of 220 of Europes top clubs called on Infantino on Thursday not to increase the tournament from its 32-team format.The European Club Association said the number of games played each season has already reached an unacceptable level.In the interest of the fans and the players, we urge FIFA not to increase the number of World Cup participants, ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.Rummenigge wrote to Infantino ahead of a possible Jan. 10 decision on expansion by the Infantino-chaired FIFA Council.Infantino wants 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup, adding 368 players in the 16 extra squads who would be committed to national team duty for at least one month.The FIFA president is already trying to please clubs with expansion options -- including 16 groups of three teams -- that retain the current maximum of seven World Cup games per team.A bigger and more lucrative World Cup would help fulfill Infantinos election promises to FIFAs 211 member federations. He campaigned on adding eight teams to make a 40-team tournament and more than doubling development grants to $5 million for members from each World Cup.Still, Rummenigge, who FIFA appointed deputy chairman of its new football stakeholders committee in May, urged Infantino to put football first.Politics and commeerce should not be the exclusive priority in football, said Rummenigge, the Bayern Munich chairman.dddddddddddduropean clubs are likely to be the employers of the majority of players at the 2026 World Cup.The ECAs research before the 2014 World Cup said European clubs employed more than 76 percent of players picked to go to Brazil. Only 13 of the 32 teams were European.Bayern and Manchester United topped a table of clubs providing players to the tournament with 14 players each in Brazil.The Rummenigge-led ECA has been a tough negotiator with FIFA since it was created in 2008, driving talks to win a share of World Cup revenues with an insurance program for injured players and a cash share through a daily rate paid for each players participation.FIFA paid into a $40 million fund to compensate clubs whose players took part in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That rose to $70 million in Brazil and will be $209 million for each of the next two World Cups, in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.The 2026 World Cup, potentially to be hosted across North America, is the first opportunity FIFA and Infantino have to increase the tournaments size.More teams and bigger broadcasting revenues would inevitably lead to clubs calling for an increased compensation fund. ' ' '