Sports News Roundup: Australian Open adds extra day to minimise late finishes; Sebastian Korda reaches Astana final and more

Night session matches that stretch into the early hours of the following morning are common at the season's first Grand Slam, with Briton Andy Murray describing his 4:05 a.m. finish in a game against Thanasi Kokkinakis this year as a "farce". Golf-Absence of big LIV personalities helped Ryder team flourish, says McIlroy Rory McIlroy said not having the "big personalities" of LIV golfers Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter at the Ryder Cup allowed others to step into leadership roles and gave younger players room to grow at the tournament.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Howe focused on PSG as Newcastle await magical European night

Newcastle United play their first home Champions League game since 2003 when they welcome Paris St Germain to St James' Park on Wednesday, but manager Eddie Howe's attention will be on the game and not the occasion. Howe's side began this season's European adventure with a 0-0 draw at the San Siro against AC Milan, and now face the Ligue 1 champions.

ATP roundup: Sebastian Korda reaches Astana final

No. 5 seed Sebastian Korda rallied to reach the Astana Open final and will battle No. 6 Adrian Mannarino of France for the title on Tuesday in Kazakhstan. Korda outlasted Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic 6-7 (8), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) in 2 hours and 49 minutes during Monday's first semifinal. Korda (18 aces) and Medjedovic (16) both held serve throughout the match, with the American finishing with a 122-112 edge in total points won.

Tennis-Australian Open adds extra day to minimise late finishes

The Australian Open will switch to a Sunday start and be held over 15 days instead of 14 for the first time next year in a bid to avoid night matches finishing in the early hours of the morning, organisers said. Night session matches that stretch into the early hours of the following morning are common at the season's first Grand Slam, with Briton Andy Murray describing his 4:05 a.m. finish in a game against Thanasi Kokkinakis this year as a "farce".

Golf-Absence of big LIV personalities helped Ryder team flourish, says McIlroy

Rory McIlroy said not having the "big personalities" of LIV golfers Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter at the Ryder Cup allowed others to step into leadership roles and gave younger players room to grow at the tournament. Garcia, Westwood and Poulter were absent from Europe's victory over the U.S. at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club after resigning their DP World Tour memberships following their decision to join the Saudi-backed LIV circuit.

Tennis-Sinner powers past Alcaraz to book Beijing final with Medvedev

Sixth seed Jannik Sinner produced a masterclass in aggressive tennis to hand Carlos Alcaraz a 7-6(4) 6-1 defeat in the semi-final of the China Open on Tuesday to book a title clash with the in-form Daniil Medvedev. Sinner edged a tight first set in the latest chapter of his growing rivalry with world number two Alcaraz before the Italian went on the offensive in the next to reel off the games and seal his fourth win over the Spaniard in seven meetings.

Soccer-VAR officials involved in Liverpool error not selected for weekend games

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) officials involved when Liverpool were wrongly denied a goal in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur have not been included for this weekend in the list of officials released on Tuesday. The referees' body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), admitted it was the wrong decision to disallow Luis Diaz's effort, blaming human error, and "should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention".

Soccer-Ronaldo sparks fightback as Al-Nassr given Asian Champions League scare

Cristiano Ronaldo was on target as Al-Nassr survived a scare in the Asian Champions League on Monday with the Saudi Pro League side coming from a goal down to hand Tajikistan's Istiklol a 3-1 defeat in Riyadh. Senin Sebai scored on the break to put the club from Dushanbe in front with a minute left in the first half and Istiklol held out under relentless pressure until Ronaldo levelled with a clever clipped finish in the 66th minute.

Soccer-Stones and Bernardo back for City's trip to Leipzig

Manchester City have welcomed back John Stones and Bernardo Silva from injury as they prepare to take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League, manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday. Stones has yet to play for City this season due to a hip injury and Bernardo Silva has missed the last two league games.

Tennis-Swiatek on board with WTA's performance byes

Iga Swiatek has given her backing to the reintroduction of performance byes during the WTA's Asian swing of events, saying it allowed players who reach the semi-finals of a tournament to rest and prepare for the next one. Under the rule, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Veronika Kudermetova received byes into the second round of the China Open after reaching the Tokyo semi-finals last week.

Soccer-Arsenal welcome midfielder Partey back ahead of Lens clash

Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey will be included in the squad to play at Lens in the Champions League on Tuesday after being sidelined for the past six matches, manager Mikel Arteta said. The 30-year-old Ghana international has not played since suffering a groin injury in training in early September.

(With inputs from agencies.)