Chardy, who as world number 145 is the lowest-ranked player left in the draw, defeated sixth seed David Nalbandian in the second round and will now play Nicolas Almagro, who beat Andy Murray, for a quarter-finals berth.

BBC: SPORT | Tennis | Nadal & Djokovic into round four

However, some fine performances for the Blues - especially in their victorious EDF Energy Cup campaign and their run to the Heineken Cup semi-finals - saw Halfpenny get a Lions berth.

BBC: Halfpenny joins Lions squad in SA

While all the other African nations involved in the qualifiers will be vying for spots in both tournaments, South Africa will only be chasing a berth in the Nations Cup finals to held in Angola.

BBC: SA to play in World Cup qualifiers

Boeheim answered the challenge by guiding the team to a school-record 34 wins, just missing his fourth berth in the Final Four when the Orange lost to Ohio State in the East Regional finals in Boston.

WSJ: Syracuse's Boeheim a master of focus amid strife