Here is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Tennis-Emotional Nadal finds fire for his biggest comeback
An exhausted and emotionally drained Rafa Nadal walked gingerly to an exercise mat in the players’ gymnasium at the Australian Open and collapsed on it in a heap. Not surprising given that the 35-year-old had just spent five hours and 24 minutes on the Rod Laver Arena court, bathed in sweat, rallying after two sets to edge world number two Daniil Medvedev – a 10-year-old opponent his younger brother.
China’s superfan counts down to the Winter Olympics
Beijinger Zhang Wenquan is looking forward to this week’s Winter Olympics more than most people in the Chinese capital. Zhang, who works in logistics for a construction company, has been obsessed with the Olympics and has been collecting memorabilia from around the world for 20 years.
Tennis-Nadal returns for the ages to claim Grand Slam record
Rafa Nadal roared after two sets to edge Daniil Medvedev in a classic Australian Open final and claim a record 21st Grand Slam title just months after fearing his glorious career was over. With Novak Djokovic off with the expulsion and Roger Federer recovering from knee surgery, the Spaniard great now has a Major title lead over his ‘Big Three’ rivals after surviving a 2-6 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-4 7 -5 thriller at Rod Laver Arena.
Coach: LeBron James absent “as long as the swelling is there”
Lakers superstar LeBron James has returned to Los Angeles to begin treatment for his left knee, coach Frank Vogel said Sunday. Vogel said an MRI on James’ knee revealed “general swelling”.
Tennis-Dreams shattered, Medvedev laments the loss of the crowd
As Daniil Medvedev began to absorb the reality of the most grueling loss of his career, the Russian was disheartened by the lack of support he received in the Australian Open final. During half of the decisive match against Rafael Nadal, Medvedev appeared to have a second Grand Slam title on his racket as he beat the winners from the baseline in front of the aging champion.
Smarter Knicks focus on struggling Kings
RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks said he and his teammates can learn from their wire-to-wire loss to defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in their last outing. “They just had a different intensity in the fourth that we couldn’t match,” Barrett said in Friday’s 123-108 loss at Milwaukee. “But it’s good (for) a team like us, watching the defending champions, to see how they’ve raised their level, especially in this fourth quarter. We know what we have to do to…achieve this level.”
Soccer-Manchester Utd suspends Greenwood over assault charge
Manchester United suspended footballer Mason Greenwood on Sunday, a move that followed online accusations that the 20-year-old assaulted a woman. In an initial statement on Sunday, the club said it was “aware of the images and allegations circulating on social media”, saying it would not comment further until the facts were established, and adding :
Soccer-Canada beat USA 2-0 in World Cup qualifier
Canada struck early and again late to defeat the United States Men’s National Team 2-0 on Sunday to remain undefeated and extend their lead in the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. Canada recovered a goal kick from United States goalkeeper Matt Turner in the seventh minute and Jonathan David set up Cyle Larin, who ran forward and fired past a diving Turner, sending Tim fans into a frenzy Hortons Field.
Olympic-Russian biathlete Vasnetsova will miss Beijing with COVID
Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova will miss the Beijing Olympics which begin this week after twice testing positive for COVID-19 and is expected to be replaced by Evgenia Burtasova, the Russian Biathlon Union has announced. Vasnetsova, 24, is currently in quarantine in Beijing.
China reports 37 new COVID-19 cases among Olympic staff
China detected 37 new cases of COVID-19 among people linked to the Olympics on Sunday, up from 34 a day earlier, the organizing committee for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games said. Twenty-eight of the new cases were people who tested positive after arriving at the airport, including eight athletes or team officials who were scheduled to compete in the Games from Feb. 4-21, organizers said Monday in a notice posted on the Games website.
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