Sports News Roundup: Federer opens Shanghai play with a vengeance; Black to stand down as Britain's performance director

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Federer opens Shanghai play with a vengeance

Four years after a stunning second-round loss to Albert Ramos-Vinolas at this venue, No. 2 seed Roger Federer defeated the Spaniard 6-2, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday at the Shanghai Masters in China. The Swiss star played aggressively throughout the 86-minute, second-round match, winning 81 percent of his points at the net. Federer won 91 percent of his first-service points, never faced a breakpoint and finished with eight aces and zero double faults.

U.S. women romp to fifth straight world title, Biles rewrites history

The United States women cruised to their fifth consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships in Stuttgart on Tuesday, with Simone Biles becoming the event's most decorated woman. The Americans hardly made a mistake in the finals, with Biles helping them to a score of 172.330 -- 5.801 points more than second-placed Russia.

Black to stand down as Britain's performance director

Neil Black is to stand down as performance director of British Athletics at the end of the month, the governing body announced on Tuesday. Black had been reported by British media to be considering his position after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) handed down a four-year ban to American Alberto Salazar, the former coach of Britain's Olympic champion distance runner Mo Farah.

Gronkowski joins FOX Sports as NFL analyst

Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement Tuesday, sort of. The former New England Patriots tight end will put on a headset instead of a helmet as he joins the FOX Sports roster as an NFL analyst.

China TV drops NBA exhibition games; league defends free speech

Chinese state television said on Tuesday it would not air NBA exhibition games played in the country this week, heaping pressure on the U.S. basketball league after a tweet by a Houston Rockets executive backing protests in Hong Kong. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey apologized on Monday for any hurt caused by the tweet, which he quickly deleted over the weekend.

MLB roundup: Yanks finish sweep of Twins

Gleyber Torres homered and doubled twice, and Cameron Maybin also hit a home run as the New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series with a 5-1 victory on Monday night in Minneapolis. Didi Gregorius had two hits and two RBIs, and Brett Gardner added an RBI single for New York, which became the first team to sweep a 100-win team in a division series. The Yankees will face the winner of the Houston Astros-Tampa Bay Rays series in the American League Championship Series starting on Saturday.

Hearthstone player suspended over Hong Kong comment

Blizzard Entertainment suspended Hong Kong-based Hearthstone player Chung "blitzchung" Ng Wai for his public support of pro-democracy protestors in the city during a postgame interview on Sunday. Blitzchung, after winning a Grandmasters match, donned a gas mask and goggles -- similar to what the protestors wear to protect their identities -- on the official Taiwanese Hearthstone stream and repeated a slogan that is associated with those protesting the actions of the Chinese government in the area: "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our age!"

NFL notebook: Redskins fire Gruden after 0-5 start

The Washington Redskins fired head coach Jay Gruden early Monday following the team's 0-5 start. The Redskins made the announcement via Twitter, saying Gruden had been informed of the decision in a morning meeting with owner Daniel Snyder and team president Bruce Allen.

Murray to make Grand Slam singles return at Australian Open

Former world number one Andy Murray will play at next year's Australian Open in what will be his first Grand Slam singles appearance since undergoing hip surgery, organizers confirmed on Tuesday. Murray, 32, who has finished runner-up at Melbourne Park five times, was knocked out in the first round at last year's Australian Open has said before it started that it could be his last tournament.

U.S. women's team fights back against governing body's pay claims

U.S. women's national soccer team players pushed back in a court filing on Monday against claims by the U.S. Soccer Federation that some members earn more than their male counterparts, as they argued for class-action status in the latest chapter of their closely-watched legal fight. All 28 members of the U.S. women's national soccer team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation for gender discrimination in March in a lawsuit that included complaints about wages and working conditions.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)