Sports News Roundup: Nadal gathers strength as injuries strike rivals; Serena leads charge of American women and more

World number 61 Pegula has been one of the surprise packages in the women's draw, beating 12th seed Victoria Azarenka in her opening match before racing into the fourth round with quickfire wins over Sam Stosur and Kristina Mladenovic. Tennis: 'It's amazing!', Russian trio make last eight at Melbourne Park Russia's 16-year wait for a men's Grand Slam singles champion may not come to an end next Sunday but you would not bet on it lasting too long after Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev reached the last eight of the Australian Open.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Nadal gathers strength as injuries strike rivals

For a player who was all doom and gloom about his fitness on the eve of the Australian Open, Rafa Nadal emerged as an unlikely pillar of strength on day eight as injuries cut a swathe through the men's draw on Monday. Nadal's bid for a record 21st Grand Slam crown gathered pace with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 demolition of Fabio Fognini that pushed the Spaniard into his 13th quarter-final at Melbourne Park.

Alpine skiing: Imperious Shiffrin wins women's combined

American Mikaela Shiffrin won a record-breaking ninth medal in world championships alpine skiing after an immaculate slalom run propelled her to gold in the women's combined event on Monday. Shiffrin, who surpassed the record she had shared with compatriot Lindsey Vonn, won her sixth overall gold medal and the first in the 2021 championships after finishing 0.86 seconds ahead of Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova.

Serena leads charge of American women, faces old foe Halep

Serena Williams will lead the charge of American women in the last-eight of the Australian Open and continue her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title when she meets a familiar foe in second seed Simona Halep on Tuesday. Williams, 39, is among three Americans who have made it to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park this year and Wednesday's clash between Jennifer Brady and Jessica Pegula has ensured that at least one from the country will be in the last four. Djokovic answers fitness doubts with victory over Raonic

Reigning champion Novak Djokovic came through a tough examination of his fitness as the top seed beat Canadian powerhouse Milos Raonic 7-6(4) 4-6 6-1 6-4 on Sunday to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals. Djokovic, who injured a side muscle during a five-set win over Taylor Fritz on Friday and suggested he might not be able to continue, showed hints of discomfort on the way to becoming the second male player to reach 300 Grand Slam match wins.

Injured Berrettini withdraws to send Tsitsipas into last eight

Matteo Berrettini withdrew from his Australian Open fourth-round match against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday due to an abdominal strain. The Italian ninth seed suffered the injury during his win against Russian Karen Khachanov in the third round on Saturday. He had a medical time out during the match but was able to continue.

Michael McDowell wins crash-filled Daytona 500

Michael McDowell emerged from an ugly final-lap wreck to take the lead and went on to win Sunday's weather- and crash-delayed running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The victory was McDowell's first in the NASCAR Cup Series in 357 starts.

Highlights: Australian Open day eight

Rafa Nadal eased past Italian 16th seed Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-4 6-2 to reach his 13th Australian Open quarter-final on Monday. The Spanish second seed, who is chasing a record 21st Grand Slam title, held steady against the fierce hitting of Fognini and counter-punched brilliantly.

Pegula sets up all-American quarter-final at Australian Open

Jessica Pegula continued her dream run at the Australian Open on Monday with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over fifth seed Elina Svitolina to set up an all-American quarter-final against Jennifer Brady, who beat Croatia's Donna Vekic in straight sets. World number 61 Pegula has been one of the surprise packages in the women's draw, beating 12th seed Victoria Azarenka in her opening match before racing into the fourth round with quickfire wins over Sam Stosur and Kristina Mladenovic.

Tennis: 'It's amazing!', Russian trio make last eight at Melbourne Park Russia's 16-year wait for a men's Grand Slam singles champion may not come to an end next Sunday but you would not bet on it lasting too long after Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev reached the last eight of the Australian Open. Fourth seed Medvedev and seventh seed Rublev joined qualifier Karatsev in the quarter-finals on Monday, an unprecedented concentration of Russians at that stage of a Grand Slam in the open era.

Olympics: Tokyo organisers could choose new president this week, report says Tokyo Olympic organisers could choose their new president as early as this week, a report said on Monday, after former chief Yoshiro Mori resigned over sexist remarks that provoked a global outcry. Local organisers need to "urgently" pick a new president with just five months left to prepare for the Games amid the COVID-19 pandemic and are setting up a selection committee made up of an equal number of men and women, the group's chief executive Toshiro Muto said last week.

(With inputs from agencies.)