Britain down Spain, reach United Cup knockouts

SYDNEY: Britain stormed into the knockout stage of the United Cup mixed team tournament today as Dan Evans came through a gruelling encounter against Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas with a 6-3 1-6 6-3 win that gave his team an unassailable 3-1 lead. Britain began the day with a 2-0 advantage in the tie thanks in part to Cameron Norrie’s win over Rafa Nadal on Saturday, but an ailing Paula Badosa dragged Spain back into contention as she shrugged off leg cramps to beat Harriet Dart 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-1. Evans, who recovered from illness to be part of the $15 million prize money event, then showed his battling qualities to overcome Ramos-Vinolas — a late replacement for Pablo Carreno Busta — and help Britain top Group D. They will now take on the winner of Group C comprising the United States, Czech Republic and Germany in the “city final” on Wednesday. The United Cup is being played in three cities with two group winners from each venue meeting to determine who reaches the last-four stage. The fourth semifinalist will be the “city final” runner-up with the best record from their three matches. Sydney will host the final on January 8. Reuters

Andreescu beats Muguruza

Adeliade: Canada’s Bianca Andreescu rallied to beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain 0-6 7-6(3) 6-1 in a clash of Grand Slam champions in the first round of the Adelaide International. The 2019 US Open champion Andreescu trailed 0-6 2-5 before staging a remarkable comeback to beat two-time Major winner Muguruza in 2 hours, 12 minutes. Andreescu improved her head-to-head record against former top-ranked Muguruza to 3-0. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is expected to play his first round singles against Constant Lestienne of France tomorrow. Djokovic returns to Australia after being deported last year because of visa problems caused by his vaccination stance. Djokovic won the Adelaide International as a 19-year-old in 2007 for his third ATP title. “I wanted to get a tournament ahead of Australian Open,” Djokovic said. AP

Hisar

Easy wins for boxers Solanki, Hussamuddin at Nationals

Gaurav Solanki, Mohammad Hussamuddin and Biswamitra Chongtham recorded comprehensive wins on the second day of the men’s National Boxing Championships. Haryana’s Solanki (60kg) beat Navraj Chauhan of Himachal Pradesh. He will take on Harendra Singh of Madhya Pradesh in the Round of 16. Services’ Hussamuddin (57kg) beat Bulen Buragohain of Assam. He will next face Lallawmawma of Mizoram. Services’ Biswamitra (51kg) beat N Madhaba of Odisha. Railways’ Varinder Singh (60kg) prevailed against Rahul of Chandigarh. Railways’ Ankit Narwal (63.5kg) registered an impressive win over Arun Kumar of Puducherry.

New Delhi

Saina among shuttlers to skip Asian C’ships trials

Saina Nehwal is one of the shuttlers who will be skipping the national badminton trials for the Asian Mixed Team Championships, to be held in Dubai from February 14 to 19. Saina was named along with Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod for the trials to pick the second women’s singles player who will join PV Sindhu in the squad. However, Saina and Malvika decided to skip the trials. Therefore, Ashmita Chaliha has been invited for the trials. The selection committee has decided to give Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Sindhu and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Ranikreddy and Chirag Shetty direct entry into the squad.

San Antono

Luka Doncic’s 51 points help surging Mavs outlast Spurs

Dallas superstar Luka Doncic capped off a historic five-game run with 51 points and Mavericks needed all of it to beat San Antonio Spurs. Doncic had two rebounds and two free throws in the final 4.5 seconds, helping Dallas escape with a 126-125 victory over San Antonio on Saturday night for their sixth straight victory. It was the third 50-point outing in the past five games for Doncic. He’s the first player in NBA history with 250 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists over a five-game span.

Tunis

Tunisia coach stays on despite missing World Cup target

Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri has had his contract extended for 12 more months until after next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals despite offering to resign following the World Cup in Qatar. The Tunisian team drew with Denmark and lost to Australia before pulling off a shock win over France but still exiting after the first round. — Agencies