Reuters Sports News Summary

On a day when Australia Open defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were both in action, all eyes in Melbourne were on 10th seed Alex de Minaur as he aimed to keep home interest in the competition alive. 49ers storm past Packers, reach third straight NFC title game Christian McCaffrey rushed for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:07 left, and the San Francisco 49ers held on to beat the Green Bay Packers 24-21 in an NFC divisional round playoff matchup on Saturday night in Santa Clara, Calif.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Rory McIlroy captures Dubai Desert Classic for 4th time

Rory McIlroy recorded his record fourth career victory at the Dubai Desert Classic after posting a one-stroke win over Adrian Meronk on Sunday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. McIlroy carded a 2-under-par 70 on Sunday to finish at 14-under 274 for the tournament at Emirates Golf Club and successfully defend his title. The victory served as his 38th career win as a professional. The 34-year-old from Northern Ireland has four victories at this event, one more than he has captured at both the Tour Championship and Wells Fargo Championship.

Panthers F William Lockwood suspended 3 games

Florida Panthers forward William Lockwood was suspended three games by the NHL for goalie interference. Lockwood was punished by the league late Saturday night for hitting Marc-Andre Fleury after the Minnesota Wild goaltender went behind the net to play a puck early in the first period of the Panthers' 6-4 loss on Friday. The NHL said Lockwood made "high, forceful contact with (Fleury's) head."

Senators halt road woes with victory over Flyers

Tim Stutzle scored two goals to lift the Ottawa Senators past the host Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Sunday. Zack MacEwen, Claude Giroux and Vladimir Tarasenko each added one goal.

Texans OC Bobby Slowik set for 3 more head-coach interviews

Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has three virtual interviews for head-coaching jobs set for Sunday, ESPN reported. Slowik, 36, is set to interview with the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons, per the report. He already has spoken with the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers about their open positions.

Alpine skiing-American Shiffrin extends victory record with 95th career win

American Mikaela Shiffrin raced to a record-extending 95th career victory at the World Cup women's slalom on Sunday after building a big lead on the opening run in her first race this season without rival and Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova. Shiffrin's 150th World Cup podium moved her five shy of the record held by Ingemar Stenmark, while her 82nd World Cup slalom podium broke her tie with the Swede for most in a discipline.

Tennis-De Minaur left devastated after believing he could progress in Open

Alex de Minaur's belief that he could beat Andrey Rublev and finally reach the Australian Open quarter-finals made Sunday's defeat all the more devastating for the local favourite. On a day when Australia Open defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were both in action, all eyes in Melbourne were on 10th seed Alex de Minaur as he aimed to keep home interest in the competition alive.

49ers storm past Packers, reach third straight NFC title game

Christian McCaffrey rushed for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:07 left, and the San Francisco 49ers held on to beat the Green Bay Packers 24-21 in an NFC divisional round playoff matchup on Saturday night in Santa Clara, Calif. Brock Purdy completed 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers, who advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the third season in a row. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked off two passes, including one in the final minute to seal the win.

Tennis-Easy does it as Djokovic leads top seeds into Melbourne quarter-finals

Novak Djokovic flirted with a rare "triple bagel" and Aryna Sabalenka produced yet another powerful performance as the defending champions swept into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday. American fourth seed Coco Gauff also rattled through her match in double quick time and while she was only on court for an hour, the U.S. Open champion showed she has all the weapons to win a second Grand Slam title.

Hawks G Trae Young out due to concussion

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young sustained a concussion in Saturday night's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and his timetable to return to action has not been determined, the team announced Sunday. The two-time All-Star drew a charge and took an inadvertent elbow from the Cavaliers' Isaac Okoro with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and did not return to the game, won by the Cavaliers 116-95.

Mixed Martial Arts-Du Plessis outpoints Strickland to take UFC middleweight title

Dricus du Plessis outpointed Sean Strickland to claim a split-decision win and the UFC middleweight title at UFC 297 at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, becoming South Africa's first world champion in the promotion. In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington came on strong over the final two rounds to secure a unanimous decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva to take the vacant women's bantamweight crown.