Ronaldo closes in on 1000, Djokovic stunned, Germany crowned: Winners and losers of the week

What a week it has been in sport.

From Cristiano Ronaldo continuing his relentless pursuit of 1,000 career goals to a massive cricket upset in Namibia, the past seven days have given us plenty to talk about.

There was also a perfect start continuing here in the UAE, history being made at the Hockey World Cup and one of the biggest shocks of the US Open.

Of course, not everyone will look back at the week quite so fondly.

Here are the Gulf News winners and losers from another packed week of sport.

Winners

Cristiano Ronaldo

Another week, another goal for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 41 year old was visibly unhappy after being substituted during Al Nassr's remarkable comeback against Al Ettifaq earlier in the week. His response? Score the winner in the very next game.

Ronaldo got the decisive touch to Mohamed Simakan's goal bound effort as Al Nassr beat Al Taawoun 2 1 to maintain their perfect start to the Saudi Pro League season. It was career goal No. 978 for the Portuguese superstar.

There was some debate over whether Simakan's shot was already going in, but the goal belonged to Ronaldo. He is now just 22 away from that magical 1,000 mark.

Mariano Navone

Imagine walking onto Arthur Ashe Stadium to face Novak Djokovic and leaving having produced the biggest victory of your career.

That is exactly what Mariano Navone did.

The Argentine recovered from two sets to one down to stun the 24 time Grand Slam champion 7-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a marathon lasting four hours and 36 minutes.

It was Djokovic's first opening round defeat at a Grand Slam since 2006 and brought his latest attempt to win a record 25th major to a stunningly early end.

For Navone, it was a night he will probably never forget.

Al Jazira

Three games. Three wins. You cannot ask for much more than that.

Al Jazira continued their perfect start to the ADNOC Pro League season with a convincing 3-0 victory over Ajman at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.

Igor Eduardo opened the scoring just before half time before an own goal from Yuri Matias doubled the advantage. Bruno De Oliveira then completed the victory in the 86th minute.

It is still very early in the season, but Al Jazira have started exactly as they would have wanted.

Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United desperately needed a response after their shock opening weekend defeat to newly promoted Hull City. Bruno Fernandes provided it.

United actually fell behind against Ipswich Town at Old Trafford before their captain took over.

Fernandes scored a hat trick as United came from behind to win 5-2 and pick up their first Premier League victory of the season under Michael Carrick.

After all the criticism that followed the defeat to Hull, this was exactly the response United needed. And once again, Fernandes was right at the heart of it. FPL owners who captained him might be ecstatic.

Namibia

Namibia are developing quite a habit of beating South Africa.

The hosts produced one of the biggest cricket upsets of the week as they defeated the Proteas by 18 runs in the opening match of the T20I tri series in Windhoek.

Jan Frylinck led the way with 60 from just 38 balls as Namibia posted 163 for nine before restricting South Africa to 145 for nine.

Remarkably, Namibia have now faced South Africa twice in T20 internationals and won both matches.

With Namibia preparing to co host the 2027 ODI World Cup alongside South Africa and Zimbabwe, this was another reminder of just how dangerous they can be.

Germany men's hockey team

Germany are world champions again. No, not in football. That was indeed a joke.

The Germans successfully defended their FIH Hockey World Cup crown after edging Spain 1-0 in a tense final in Wavre.

With the match still goalless late in the third quarter, Michel Struthoff popped up with the decisive goal to send Germany to their fourth men's World Cup title.

They also became the first men's team to win back to back Hockey World Cups on two separate occasions, having previously done it in 2002 and 2006.

Not many teams get to call themselves back to back world champions. Germany can.

Losers

Novak Djokovic

If Mariano Navone is one of the biggest winners of the week, Novak Djokovic unfortunately has to be one of the biggest losers.

The Serbian arrived at the US Open still chasing that elusive record 25th Grand Slam singles title. Instead, his tournament was over after just one match.

Djokovic struggled physically during his five set defeat, dealing with vomiting, cramps and problems with his back and shoulder as Navone eventually ran away with the final two sets.

At 39, defeats like this will inevitably bring more questions about how many opportunities he has left to get to No. 25.

Never write Djokovic off, but this one will hurt.

Tottenham

Two Premier League games. Two defeats. Zero goals.

Not exactly the start Tottenham would have imagined after spending heavily during the summer.

Spurs were beaten 2-0 at home by Newcastle United, with Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa scoring in the second half.

They were booed off at the final whistle and Roberto De Zerbi already has plenty to think about. He even said that they can't buy mentality from the market. Strong words.

Viktor Hovland

This one will hurt.

Viktor Hovland entered the final round of the Tour Championship with a three shot advantage over Scottie Scheffler and a golden opportunity to win his second FedExCup title.

But while Scheffler produced a brilliant four under 66, Hovland struggled to a two over 72. A three shot lead turned into a three shot defeat as Scheffler walked away with the Tour Championship and the $10 million prize.

Hovland still collected $5 million for finishing second, so it was hardly a disastrous week. But after being in control heading into Sunday, this was a huge opportunity missed

Liverpool

Liverpool are still waiting for their first Premier League victory under Andoni Iraola. They had to come from behind twice to rescue a 2 2 draw against Nottingham Forest at Anfield, with Alexander Isak and Victor Munoz cancelling out goals from Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs White. It is obviously far too early to panic, but Liverpool have title ambitions and home games like this are the ones they will expect to win. After also drawing at Newcastle in their previous league game, Iraola is still searching for that first Premier League victory as Liverpool manager.