Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Messi apologises to PSG for Saudi trip; Tennis-Recovering Nadal skips Italian Open to cast doubts over Roland Garros and more

Nadal, a 14-times Roland Garros champion, skipped the ongoing Madrid Open and has also missed tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Motor racing-F1 should strike deal while iron is hot, says rights holders Liberty Media, the commercial rights holders of Formula One, said on Friday that the time was right to draw up a new Concorde Agreement with FIA and the 10 teams with the sport riding a massive wave of popularity.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Liverpool will not get drawn into transfer battles for overpriced players - Klopp

Liverpool will look to bring in new recruits in the close season transfer window but the Premier League club will not be drawn into bidding wars on players they feel are overpriced, manager Juergen Klopp said. Klopp has often spoken of the need for a rebuild at Anfield, but the club's American owner John Henry in March said Liverpool will not fall into the trap of spending beyond their means in the pursuit of success.

Soccer-Messi apologises to PSG for Saudi trip

Lionel Messi apologised to Paris St Germain and his team mates on Friday after being suspended for making a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this week and missing a training session as a result. French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with the squad the day after the Ligue 1 leaders' 3-1 defeat at home to Lorient on Sunday.

Tennis-Recovering Nadal skips Italian Open to cast doubts over Roland Garros

Rafa Nadal will miss next week's Italian Open as he has yet to regain full fitness from the hip injury he sustained at January's Australian Open, casting further doubt over his participation in the French Open. Nadal, a 14-times Roland Garros champion, skipped the ongoing Madrid Open and has also missed tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

Motor racing-F1 should strike deal while iron is hot, says rights holders

Liberty Media, the commercial rights holders of Formula One, said on Friday that the time was right to draw up a new Concorde Agreement with FIA and the 10 teams with the sport riding a massive wave of popularity. Liberty Media CEO and President Greg Maffei said stakeholders should come together, "strike while the iron is hot" and extend the current agreement that runs through 2025.

Soccer-Serbia's Mladenovic banned for three months after Polish Cup final mayhem

Serbia's Legia Warsaw defender Filip Mladenovic has been suspended for three months, the Polish football association (PZPN) said on Friday, after he hit three opposing players following their Polish Cup final victory. Legia lifted their 20th Polish Cup trophy on Tuesday with a 6-5 penalty shootout win over league leaders Rakow Czestochowa, after the game had finished goalless.

Soccer-Jamaica striker Shaw named CONCACAF women's Player of the Year

Jamaica captain Khadija Shaw has become the first player from the Caribbean to be named CONCACAF women's Player of the Year, the governing body said on Friday, after she played a key role in helping her country qualify for the Women's World Cup. Shaw scored a joint-highest three goals at last year's CONCACAF W Championship to lead Jamaica to third place in the tournament, which served as a qualifier for this year's showpiece event in Australia and New Zealand.

MLB roundup: Red Sox beat Phillies for 7th straight win

Chris Sale struck out 10 in six innings as the Boston Red Sox earned their seventh win in a row, a 5-3 decision against the host Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. Sale (3-2) allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk. Richard Bleier, Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen each followed with a scoreless inning, and Jansen posted his seventh save.

Tennis-Birthday boy Alcaraz beats Coric to reach Madrid final

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday by storming into the Madrid Open final with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Borna Coric on Friday to stay on track for his fourth title of the season. In Sunday's title clash, the top-seeded Spaniard will face off against lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff who battled from a set down to beat qualifier Aslan Karatsev 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the other semi-final.

Motor racing-Verstappen top as Leclerc crashes in Miami practice

Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen was comfortably fastest while Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari into the barriers in second practice for the Miami Formula One Grand Prix on Friday. Leclerc went off at turn eight, the car snapping and locking up as it went nose first into the barriers and wrecked the front suspension.

Soccer-FIFA confident of agreement on Women's World Cup TV rights

FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura is confident the global governing body's threat of a Women's World Cup TV blackout in Europe this year will bring broadcasters to the table with improved offers for the rights. The rights are being sold separately from the men's World Cup for the first time and FIFA President Gianni Infantino said last week that Britain, Spain, France, Germany and Italy would face a blackout unless "unacceptable" bids were improved.