Sports News Roundup: Tom Brady merchandise sets sales record; Tennis-Wawrinka beats Kukushkin to advance in Murray River Open and more

Tokyo Olympics face another looming headache - no medical staff Japanese doctors and nurses fighting the novel coronavirus will not have the time to volunteer to help at the Olympics, a medical association has said, raising another headache for organisers determined to hold the postponed Games.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Wawrinka beats Kukushkin to advance in Murray River Open

Former Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka warmed up for the season's first Grand Slam with a 4-6 6-3 6-1 victory over Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin on Wednesday to reach the last 16 of the Murray River Open warm-up tournament in Melbourne. Playing in his first competitive match since a defeat by Alexander Zverev in the Paris Masters quarter-finals last year, three-times major champion Wawrinka dropped a tight first set before switching gears in the next two to seal the victory.

Tom Brady merchandise sets sales record

Record-setting quarterback Tom Brady is at it again, this time without even lifting a finger. Fanatics, the NFL's official e-commerce partner, said the six-time Super Bowl champion, who is in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has become their best-selling NFL player ever for the two-week period between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

Italy seal spot in ATP Cup semis, Germany edge tight Canada tie

Italy sealed a place in the semi-finals of the ATP Cup by winning both singles matches against France on Wednesday, while Germany did their chances of progressing no harm by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead over Canada at the Rod Laver Arena. With the second edition of the national team competition truncated because of Australian Open coronavirus quarantine, victory for Fabio Fognini and Matteo Berrettini in the singles combined with Tuesday's 2-1 win over Austria ensured Italy would top Group C.

Tokyo Olympics face another looming headache - no medical staff

Japanese doctors and nurses fighting the novel coronavirus will not have the time to volunteer to help at the Olympics, a medical association has said, raising another headache for organisers determined to hold the postponed Games. The director of the Tokyo Medical Association, which represents 20,000 doctors from dozens of smaller medical groups, said doctors and nurses were under too much strain dealing with a third wave of the pandemic to even consider signing up for the Olympics.

Osaka, Halep into Gippsland last eight

U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka extended her winning streak to 13 matches on Wednesday but only after riding out a stiff challenge from Katie Boulter to beat the Briton 3-6 6-3 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals of the Gippsland Trophy. Top seed and world number two Simona Halep later had a more routine passage into the last eight of the Australian Open warm-up with a 6-2 6-4 win over German Laura Siegemund.

NFL-Veteran kicker Succop battles back to reach Super Bowl

Tampa Bay kicker Ryan Succop's career was at a crossroads after an injury-plagued 2019 season led the Tennessee Titans to release him, but he found a new home with the Buccaneers and feels blessed to be playing in his first Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs, who selected Succop with the final pick in the 2009 draft before letting him go after five seasons, now stand in the way of the 34-year-old's boyhood dreams of Super Bowl glory.

China looks to Winter Olympics as a chance for rare soft power win amid COVID, rights concerns

The Winter Olympics, due to begin in one year, offer China a chance to show off its epidemic controls, dazzle with spectacle, and seize a publicity win on the world stage - but human rights concerns and COVID-19 uncertainty cast a cloud over the games. Organisers promise a "joyful rendezvous upon pure ice and snow" that will kick off on Feb. 4, 2022. The artificial powder will likely be needed to help cover the slopes carved out on the brown, arid mountains to Beijing's northwest. Olympics: Paris 2024 will have contingency plan if COVID-19 crisis not over - Estanguet

Paris will be ready to host the 2024 Olympics even if the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing as organisers have been working on contingency plans, Tony Estanguet, the head of the organizing committee, said on Tuesday. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed by a year and organisers are facing a tough challenge to host the sporting extravaganza this July and August as the COVID-19 crisis rages on. Clock ticking as Williams returns to Australia looking for 24

Serena Williams has had plenty of time to reflect on her quest for a record equalling 24th Grand Slam title while being quarantined in five-star comfort for two weeks ahead of the Australian Open. Stuck on number 23 for four years, Williams has brushed off failures and near misses at matching Margaret Court's mark with the self-assurance of someone convinced her time will come. NHL shuts down Sabres, postpones games through Feb. 8

The Buffalo Sabres are on a COVID-19 pause and have postponed games -- four -- through Feb. 8, the league announced Tuesday. Further, the team's training facilities have been closed until further notice after Taylor Hall and Rasmus Ristolainen were added to the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list.