Sports News Roundup: WTA roundup: Sofia Kenin comes from behind in Adelaide; Tennis-Kyrgios slams Djokovic treatment, Australia must 'do better' and more

Djokovic was spending the Orthodox Christmas in detention on Friday having had his visa canceled on arrival in Australia when officials ruled his documentation was insufficient to allow him entry to the country while unvaccinated. Djokovic in limbo as lawyers fight Australia ban; mother says he is 'prisoner' in hotel Novak Djokovic faced at least 72 hours holed up in a Melbourne hotel for immigration detainees after he was denied entry into Australia on Thursday amid a political firestorm over his medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

WTA roundup: Sofia Kenin comes from behind in Adelaide

No. 6 seed Sofia Kenin rallied from a set down to oust Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the second round of the Adelaide International on Thursday. The 23-year-old American went 5-for-9 in converting break-point opportunities and saved 10 of 16 breakpoints while absorbing Tomljanovic's 10 aces. The victory sets her up to face another Australian home-crowd favorite, world No. 1 Ash Barty, in the quarterfinals.

Tennis-Kyrgios slams Djokovic treatment, Australia must 'do better'

Novak Djokovic has received support from one of his fiercest critics with Nick Kyrgios criticizing the way the world number one has been treated in Australia and saying authorities must do better for "one of our great champions". Djokovic, who has won a record nine Australian Open titles, was detained at the Melbourne airport on Wednesday evening and his entry visa, supported by a medical exemption from the country's vaccination requirements, was revoked.

Tennis-Three others at Australian Open have Djokovic exemption - source

At least three other participants in the Australian Open with the same medical exemption as Novak Djokovic are already in the country with more potentially arriving over the next week, a source told Reuters on Friday. Djokovic was spending the Orthodox Christmas in detention on Friday having had his visa cancelled on arrival in Australia when officials ruled his documentation was insufficient to allow him entry to the country while unvaccinated.

Djokovic in limbo as lawyers fight Australia ban; mother says he is 'prisoner' in hotel

Novak Djokovic faced at least 72 hours holed up in a Melbourne hotel for immigration detainees after he was denied entry into Australia on Thursday amid a political firestorm over his medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination requirements. The tennis star, who is chasing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open, remained in the country after his lawyers launched an appeal seeking to overturn the federal government decision. A court agreed not to deport him before a full hearing scheduled for Monday.

France's Le Drian: Dakar rally blast was "perhaps" a terrorist attack

The explosion that went off under a French vehicle involved in the Dakar car rally in Saudi Arabia in late 2021 may have been a terrorist attack, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, as he urged Saudi Arabia to be transparent on the matter. "There may have been a terrorist attack against the Dakar rally", Le Drian told BFM TV and RMC Radio on Friday.

NBA roundup: Knicks rally from 25 down to top Celtics at buzzer

RJ Barrett banked a 3-pointer at the buzzer Thursday night to cap a historic comeback by the host New York Knicks, who overcame a 25-point deficit to stun the Boston Celtics 108-105. Evan Fournier fueled the comeback -- the biggest for the Knicks since they overcame a 26-point deficit to beat the Milwaukee Bucks on March 14, 2004. He scored a career-high 41 points, including the 21-footer that tied the game for the first time at 96-96 with 4:04 left and the 3-pointer that gave New York its first lead, 99-98 with 2:07 left.

NHL roundup: Stars lose lead late, edge Panthers in shootout

Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson scored in the shootout as the host Dallas Stars defeated the Florida Panthers 6-5 on Thursday night. Braden Holtby made 37 saves through overtime and stopped one shot in the shootout to earn the win. Dallas' goals in regulation were scored by Michael Raffl, Denis Gurianov, Robertson, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn as the Stars erased three Panthers leads. Gurianov added two assists.

Djokovic spends Orthodox Christmas in Australian detention amid legal fight

World number one Novak Djokovic spent Orthodox Christmas in Australian immigration detention on Friday as his lawyers fight a government decision to remove him from the country that could scupper his shot at a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam. As the row escalated, officials said two other players who entered the country under the same exemption granted to Djokovic were under investigation.

Tennis-Halep battles past Golubic to reach semis in Melbourne

Two-times Grand Slam champion Simona Halep was made to work hard for a victory by sixth seed Viktorija Golubic on Friday, as the Romanian prevailed 6-2 5-7 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 WTA tournament. World number 20 Halep looked in control during the first set but allowed her Swiss opponent back into the contest in the next and appeared frustrated at times in the decider, where both players freely traded breaks early on.

Bucs respond to Antonio Brown's claims, release wideout

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released Antonio Brown on Thursday afternoon, hours after the wideout shared receipts and even his bank account information that included text strings with head coach Bruce Arians and Tom Brady's personal fitness and nutrition guru. The move comes four days after Arians declared Brown was "no longer a Buc" following the latter's decision to make an abrupt exit during the third quarter of Sunday's game against the New York Jets.

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