Sports News Roundup: Djokovic thanks fans amid Australian visa row; Rallying-Al Attiyah stretches Dakar lead amid tightened security and more

A former WNBA All-Star, Brondello led the Mercury to their third championship title in 2014 and to the finals last year, where they lost to the Chicago Sky, before mutually agreeing to part ways with the team. 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.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Djokovic thanks fans amid Australian visa row

World number one Novak Djokovic on Friday thanked people around the world for their support amid a visa row over COVID-19 vaccines that has seen him being detained at a Melbourne hotel ahead of this month's Australian Open. "Thank you to people around the world for your continuous support. I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated," the Serbian wrote on Instagram.

Tennis-Bautista Agut outlasts Hurkacz to guide Spain to ATP Cup final

Former world number nine Roberto Bautista Agut edged past Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(5) in a thrilling contest on Friday to fire Spain to their second ATP Cup final in three years. Spain, who went down to Serbia in the championship match in the inaugural edition of the team event in 2020, will meet either defending champions Russia or Canada in Sunday's final.

Rallying-Al Attiyah stretches Dakar lead amid tightened security

Nasser Al Attiyah stretched his Dakar Rally lead to 48 minutes on Friday with Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al Rajhi replacing Sebastien Loeb as the Qatari's closest rival in the car category. The seventh stage around the Saudi capital Riyadh, with the event under heightened security after an explosion in Jeddah last week, was won by Loeb's Bahrain Raid Xtreme team mate Orlando Terranova of Argentina.

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.

Basketball-Veteran Brondello named head coach of WNBA's Liberty

The New York Liberty announced the hiring of long-time Phoenix Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello on Friday, as the team hunts for their first Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)championship. A former WNBA All-Star, Brondello led the Mercury to their third championship title in 2014 and to the finals last year, where they lost to the Chicago Sky, before mutually agreeing to part ways with the team.

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.

Defiant Djokovic joined by Czech player in Australian immigration hotel

Tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic was joined in Australian immigration detention by Czech women's player Renata Voracova on Friday in a row over COVID-19 vaccines that could scupper the Serbian's shot at a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam.

Both players were being kept at the modest Park Hotel https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/australian-hotel-where-novak-djokovic-is-being-kept-2022-01-06 in inner-city Melbourne, where scores of asylum seekers https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/visa-limbo-djokovic-housed-with-asylum-seekers-australian-hotel-2022-01-07 are also housed behind grey walls and locked windows.

Tennis-Osaka, Halep reach semi-finals in Melbourne

Former world number one Naomi Osaka reached the semi-finals of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 WTA event on Friday by beating German Andrea Petkovic, while twice Grand Slam champion Simona Halep battled past sixth seed Viktorija Golubic. Four-times Grand Slam champion Osaka beat Petkovic 6-1 7-5 as the Japanese player fought back from a break down in the second set, sealing victory in one hour 14 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

Soccer-Arsenal mark anti-knife crime support with all-white kit

Arsenal will swap their usual colours for an all-white kit for Sunday's home FA Cup clash against Nottingham Forest in support of the club's anti-knife crime initiative. The one-off strip will highlight the No More Red initiative between Arsenal and kit supplier Adidas.

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.

(With inputs from agencies.)