Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Pochettino backs Messi to rediscover form in front of goal; Motor racing-Hamilton leads Mercedes one-two in practice for Saudi GP and more

First team coach and former captain Gale was suspended last month as part of a probe into an alleged anti-Semitic tweet he sent in 2010 while Moxon had been absent from work due to a "stress-related illness". Tennis-Djokovic still coy about playing in Australian Open Novak Djokovic is still uncertain whether he will take part in the 2022 Australian Open but will soon make a decision, the world number one said after Serbia's 2-1 defeat by Croatia in the Davis Cup semi-finals on Friday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Pochettino backs Messi to rediscover form in front of goal

Paris Saint Germain forward Lionel Messi has "incredible talent" and the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will soon fire on all cylinders, manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday. Messi stunned the sports world when he left boyhood club Barcelona and joined PSG on a two-year deal in the close season.

Motor racing-Hamilton leads Mercedes one-two in practice for Saudi GP

Lewis Hamilton set the pace ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas as they completed a one-two for Mercedes on the opening day of practice for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Friday, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc walked away from a heavy crash. The 36-year-old Briton, who pipped 24-year-old championship-leading Red Bull rival Max Verstappen in the opening hour of running, went even quicker at night under the floodlights, lowering his benchmark to one minute 29.018 seconds.

Motor racing-Pirelli says Qatar GP tyre failures were caused by kerbs

A spate of tyre failures during last month's Qatar Grand Prix was caused by running over the circuit's kerbs and not due to any production defects, Pirelli said on Friday. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas, Williams pair George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, and McLaren's Lando Norris suffered left-front failures during the floodlit race at Losail two weeks ago as they tried to make a one-stop strategy work.

U.S. supports WTA for call to suspend tournaments in China over Peng concerns

The United States has said it 'applauds' the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for its decision to suspend tournaments in China over the treatment of former doubles world number one Peng Shuai. The U.S. is monitoring the situation surrounding Peng and it has not seen or heard anything that allays its concerns for her well-being, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Friday.

Alpine skiing-Skiers concerned for Peng but will be at Beijing Olympics

The world's best women's alpine skiers, who will compete at the Beijing Winter Games, expressed concern on Friday over China's treatment of former world number one doubles tennis player Peng Shuai but will be in the start gate fighting for Olympic medals. Peng was not seen in public for nearly three weeks after she posted a message on social media in November accusing China's former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing her into sex, with her whereabouts becoming a matter of international concern.

Motor racing-Closing speeds at Jeddah approaching 'danger zone' says Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton said the difference in speeds between Formula One cars on a flying lap and those running slowly at the new circuit were approaching a "danger zone" after near-misses in Friday's opening practice for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Briton, who trails Red Bull's Max Verstappen by eight points in the overall standings with two races to go and this weekend is gunning for a third straight win, took avoiding action twice to avoid slower moving cars while on fast laps.

Alpine skiing-Olympic champion Goggia wins Lake Louise downhill

Italy's Olympic champion Sofia Goggia turned in a near-perfect run to claim the opening women's Alpine World Cup downhill of the season on Friday ahead of American Breezy Johnson and Austria's Mirjam Puchner. Goggia, who last season won the downhill crystal globe for a second time, posted a time of one minute 46.95 seconds at the Canadian ski resort crossing almost a second and a half clear of Johnson to secure her ninth World Cup downhill win.

Tennis-Croatia edge Serbia to reach Davis Cup final

Croatia reached the Davis Cup final after Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic beat Novak Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic 7-5 6-1 in a decisive double clash to give the competition's twice former winners a 2-1 win over Serbia on Friday. The Croatians will clash in Sunday's showpiece with either Germany or the Russian Tennis Federation, who meet in the other semi-final on Saturday.

Cricket-Yorkshire say all members of coaching team have left the club

All members of Yorkshire's coaching team have left, including director of cricket Martyn Moxon and coach Andrew Gale, the club said on Friday as it vowed to regain trust and rebuild after being rocked by allegations of institutional racism. First-team coach and former captain Gale was suspended last month as part of a probe into an alleged anti-Semitic tweet he sent in 2010 while Moxon had been absent from work due to a "stress-related illness".

Tennis-Djokovic still coy about playing in Australian Open

Novak Djokovic is still uncertain whether he will take part in 2022 Australian Open but will soon make a decision, the world number one said after Serbia's 2-1 defeat by Croatia in the Davis Cup semi-finals on Friday. Djokovic, 34, has repeatedly declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, with his father Srdjan telling Serbia's Prva television last week that the world's top-ranked player would probably pull out of the tournament.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)