Sports News Roundup: Federer serves up Fritz blitz to reach last 16; Barty party continues with Sakkari win

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Heartache for Knicks as basketball steals London spotlight

A game between the struggling New York Knicks and Washington Wizards would barely have registered back in the United States but transported across the Atlantic it stole the London sporting spotlight on Thursday. With none of the capital's seven Premier League soccer clubs in action, a sell-out 19,000 crowd crammed into the 02 Arena to witness the NBA's ninth regular-season international game to be held in London.

Federer serves up Fritz blitz to reach last 16

Roger Federer celebrated his 100th match at the Australian Open on Friday by giving young American Taylor Fritz a center court schooling to reach the last 16. Six-times champion Federer was in devastating touch against the talented 21-year-old, breaking him four times while not giving an inch on serve in the 6-2 7-5 6-2 masterclass at Rod Laver Arena.

Harden, Durant trail in NBA All-Star fan balloting

Houston Rockets guard James Harden is leading the NBA in scoring with a whopping 35.4 points per game average, but he's not first in the hearts of NBA fans. In the latest NBA All-Star voting results released Thursday, Harden was behind Golden State's Stephen Curry and Minnesota's Derrick Rose in fan voting among Western Conference guards. All-Star starters are named based on the voting of fans (50 percent), NBA players (25 percent) and media (25 percent).

Serena juggles business, motherhood before beating Bouchard

Serena Williams was responding to emails about her clothing line and reorganizing her schedule to spend time with her one-year-old daughter shortly before beating Eugenie Bouchard 6-2 6-2 in the Australian Open second round on Thursday. Williams, dubbed the Australian Open favorite by Bouchard shortly after the match, is vying for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title, and will play 18-year-old Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska in the third round.

NBA notebook: All-Star Game draft to be televised

A year after being criticized for failing to televise its All-Star Game draft, the NBA on Thursday confirmed the 2019 version will air on live TV. The draft is scheduled for Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. ET and will be shown on TNT. The game will be played Feb. 17 in Charlotte, N.C. For the second year in a row, the All-Star Game rosters will be set through a draft, with two captains selecting players, regardless of conference, from a pool of starters voted in by fans, players and media, and reserves selected by coaches.

MLB notebook: Yankees land RHP Ottavino

The New York Yankees reached a three-year deal with free agent relief pitcher Adam Ottavino for $27 million, according to multiple reports on Thursday. The contract is pending a physical. The 33-year-old right-hander spent the past seven seasons with the Colorado Rockies and is coming off a 6-4 campaign with an ERA of 2.43 and 0.991 WHIP in 75 appearances. He was one of the most coveted free agent relievers this offseason.

NBA chief Silver says takes threats to Kanter seriously

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he supported Turkish player Enes Kanter's decision to skip New York Knicks' game against Washington Wizards in London on Thursday because of fears over his safety. The 26-year-old center has been an outspoken critic of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his human rights record and was indicted by a Turkish court last year on charges of belonging to an armed terrorist group, which he denies.

NHL notebook: Canucks facing center shortage

The Vancouver Canucks have two injured centers, and they are not sure if either will play Friday night. With Elias Pettersson still out due to a knee injury sustained on Jan. 3, the Canucks lost Bo Horvat temporarily during their Wednesday night shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. After the game, Horvat received treatment for what the team later termed a charley horse.

NFL notebook: Chiefs S Berry, RB Ware set to play Sunday

Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry and running back Spencer Ware are trending toward taking the field Sunday in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. Berry was a full participant in Wednesday's practice and repeated the session Thursday. He's been bothered by a heel injury.

Barty party continues with Sakkari win

Ashleigh Barty eased past Greek Maria Sakkari 7-5 6-1 to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday, keeping alive local hopes of a home women's champion. Australians have had limited success in the tournament despite boasting several Grand Slam singles champions like Samantha Stosur, Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter since the 1990s.