Sports News Roundup: Motor racing-Verstappen fastest in final practice at Australian Grand Prix; Olympics-Ukraine says athletes not allowed to compete against Russians in Paris qualifiers and more

Sinner needed everything in his arsenal to beat the defending champion in a rematch of their Indian Wells semi final and delivered with more than two dozen winners to set up a meeting with Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final. Baseball-MLB Opening Day rosters feature 269 international players The number of players born outside the United States that featured on Opening Day rosters dipped 2% to 269 compared to last year, Major League Baseball (MLB) said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Motor racing-Masi's door open to Mercedes but Wolff won't be knocking

The feeling may not be mutual but former Formula One racing director Michael Masi is open to meeting with Mercedes more than a year after losing his job over the controversial 2021 title-decider in Abu Dhabi. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton missed what would have been a record eighth title after Masi changed the safety car procedures late in the race at Yas Marina, a move that helped Red Bull's Max Verstappen win and take his first championship.

MLB roundup: Aaron Judge homers in Yankees' opening win

Aaron Judge homered in his first at-bat, Gerrit Cole struck out 11 in six sharp innings and the host New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants 5-0 on the Thursday in the season opener for both teams. After hitting an AL-record 62 home runs last season to break Roger Maris' record, Judge homered against the team he grew up rooting for and the team who courted him in free agency.

Motor racing-Verstappen fastest in final practice at Australian Grand Prix

Formula One champion Max Verstappen topped the timesheet for Red Bull in the third and final practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday but his team mate Sergio Perez struggled through a mishap-strewn session. Dutchman Verstappen lapped Albert Park in one minute and 17.565 seconds, 0.162 seconds clear of Fernando Alonso, as Astor Martin continued to show encouraging pace.

Olympics-Ukraine says athletes not allowed to compete against Russians in Paris qualifiers

Ukrainian athletes will not be allowed to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, government minister Oleh Nemchinov said. Nemchinov, secretary of Ukraine's cabinet ministers, said the government's decision was adopted following a proposal by sports minister Vadym Huttsait and that national federations ignoring the ruling could be sanctioned. Huttsait is also president of Ukraine's Olympic committee.

Tennis-Sinner outlasts Alcaraz in duel to reach Miami final

Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner stunned world number one Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 in an epic Miami Open semi-final duel on Friday, as Petra Kvitova set up a meeting with Elena Rybakina in the women's championship match. Sinner needed everything in his arsenal to beat the defending champion in a rematch of their Indian Wells semi final and delivered with more than two dozen winners to set up a meeting with Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Baseball-MLB Opening Day rosters feature 269 international players

The number of players born outside the United States that featured on Opening Day rosters dipped 2% to 269 compared to last year, Major League Baseball (MLB) said on Friday. The number of internationally-born players represents 28.5% of a total pool of 945 players and trails only the 2020 (291) and 2022 (275) seasons.

NHL-Wrong to push players into being activists, says Subban

All National Hockey League players do no need to be activists and do not have to wear a rainbow jersey or hat to support the LGBTQ+ community," former Norris trophy-winning defenseman PK Subban said on Friday. NHL Pride Night events have been under an unwelcome spotlight in recent months as some teams and a handful of players have objected to participating for reasons that include religious beliefs.

Soccer-Premier League clubs paid 318.2 million pounds in agent fees last year

Premier League clubs spent 318.2 million pounds ($392.4 million) on intermediary and agent fees in the year through January, the English Football Association said on Friday. That was an increase of 46 million pounds on the previous 12 months, the association said in a report.

Tennis-Russian, Belarusian players to compete as 'neutrals' at Wimbledon after ban lifted

Wimbledon lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian players on Friday and will allow them to compete in the grasscourt Grand Slam this year as "neutral" athletes in a climbdown from the stance it took after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The players will be prohibited from expressing support for the invasion and must not receive funding from the Russian or Belarusian states, tournament organisers the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said in a statement.

Golf-Wise withdraws from Masters to focus on mental health

Former PGA Tour rookie of the year Aaron Wise said on Friday he had decided to withdraw from next week's Masters to focus on his mental health. The 26-year-old American has competed in the Masters once before, finishing solo 17th in 2019, and earned a spot in this year's field at Augusta National by ending 2022 inside the top 50 of the world rankings.

(With inputs from agencies.)