Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Tennis-Serbia motivated by 2019 Davis Cup heartbreak, says Djokovic
World number one Novak Djokovic says Serbia will use the bitter memory of their Davis Cup Finals defeat in 2019 as motivation to lift the trophy for a second time this year. At the inaugural Davis Cup Finals in Madrid two years ago Serbia were knocked out in the quarter-finals after Viktor Troicki and Djokovic lost a deciding doubles rubber to Russia.
Soccer-Jesus strike sinks PSG as Man City win group
Gabriel Jesus scored a 76th-minute winner as Manchester City beat Paris St Germain 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to take their place in the Champions League knockout stages as Group A winners. PSG also advanced to the last 16 thanks to Leipzig’s win over Club Brugge but the loss highlighted their continued problems in finding an effective way to harness their star-studded attack.
Olympics-Unvaccinated Russian minors won’t have to quarantine for Beijing
Russia’s Olympic Committee chief said on Wednesday it had received assurances from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that its Under-18 athletes would not be subjected to three weeks of quarantine ahead of next year’s Beijing Winter Games. China requires athletes and team officials to be vaccinated to avoid 21 days in quarantine ahead of the Games, which run from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20. Some exceptions for medical reasons can be granted on a case-by-case basis.
Soccer-Real Madrid’s Benzema gets suspended jail term in sex tape trial
France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema was found guilty of complicity in the attempted blackmail of a former international team mate over a sex tape on Wednesday and sentenced to a one-year suspended jail term. The Versailles court also fined him 75,000 euros ($84,170) and ordered him to pay former team mate Mathieu Valbuena 80,000 euros to cover legal costs and 150,000 euros in damages together with his three other co-accused.
Ice hockey-American Coyne Schofield cuts new path for girls in sport
Kendall Coyne Schofield never wanted to be a figure skater. She preferred spending hours playing the informal game of shinny hockey with her older brother but found herself in a pair of figure skates aged three with the rest of the girls at the local ice rink when it came time for skating classes.
Soccer-Liverpool maintain perfect record with 2-0 win over Porto
Second-half goals by Thiago Alcantara and Mohamed Salah earned a below-strength Liverpool a 2-0 win over Porto to maintain their 100% record in Champions League Group B on Wednesday. Porto, who started the day second in the group behind already-qualified Liverpool, wasted numerous first-half opportunities and were made to pay a heavy price.
Rangers slam Isles as teams keep heading in opposite directions
Chris Kreider and Kevin Rooney each scored twice Wednesday night for the surging New York Rangers, who cruised to a 4-1 win over the free-falling New York Islanders in the first game between the rivals at the Islanders’ new home, UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves for the Rangers, who have won six of seven (6-1-0).
Tennis-Hosts for 2022 Davis Cup Finals to be announced next week – ITF
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) expects to announce the host cities for next year’s Davis Cup Finals before the end of this year’s event which begins on Thursday. This year’s 18-nation competition is being staged across three cities — Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck.
NFL-Rams, league settle lawsuit over team’s relocation for $790 million
The city and county of St. Louis and other parties have agreed to settle for $790 million a dispute over whether the NFL violated its relocation guidelines when it allowed the Rams to move to Los Angeles in 2016. The settlement agreement was reached with Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the National Football League, the city said in a statement on Wednesday.
Tennis-Sydney to host ATP Cup as part of bumper Australian Open warm-up schedule
Sydney will host the $10 million ATP Cup from Jan. 1-9 as part of a bumper schedule of warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, organisers said on Thursday. Governing body Tennis Australia (TA) also confirmed Melbourne would host Australian Open qualifying from Jan. 10-14 after 2021 qualifying was played abroad due to COVID-19.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)