REUTERS SPORTS SCHEDULE AT 2 p.m. GMT/9 a.m. ET

Politicians and athletes should keep politics out of this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games to protect the event’s neutrality and its status as a peaceful meeting place, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Thursday. TENNIS-BRISBANE/

Barty stunned by qualifier Brady in straight sets in Brisbane World number one Ash Barty suffered a surprise 6-4 7-6(4) defeat on Thursday to American qualifier Jennifer Brady, who claimed the first top-10 win of her career to advance to the Brisbane International quarter-finals.

SOCCER-NETHERLANDS-AJA/ U.S international uncomfortable in Qatar and leaves training camp

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - U.S. international Sergino Dest has left Ajax Amsterdam’s training camp in Qatar and returned to the Netherlands over safety concerns as political tension in the region remained high, the club said on Thursday. UPCOMING

GOLF GOLF-EUROPEAN/ (PIX)

Golf - European Tour - South African Open The South African Open will be played at the Randpark Golf Club.

9 Jan 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT GOLF-SONYOPEN/

Golf - PGA Tour: Sony Open in Hawaii second round Coverage of second round from Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, where Matt Kuchar is defending champion.

Jan 10 SOCCER

SOCCER-SPAIN-FCB-ATM/REPORT (PIX) (TV) Soccer - Spanish Super Cup - Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

Barcelona face Atletico Madrid in the second Spanish Super Cup semi-final at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. 9 Jan 14:00 ET / 19:00 GMT

SOCCER-ENGLAND-MUN-NOR/PREVIEW (TV) Soccer - England - Premier League - Manchester United news conference

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer holds a news conference ahead of his team's Premier League match against Norwich City. 10 Jan 05:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

SOCCER-ENGLAND-TOT-LIV/PREVIEW (TV) Soccer - England - Premier League - Liverpool news conference

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp speaks to the media ahead of the Premier League leaders' match against Tottenham Hotspur. 10 Jan 05:30 ET / 10:30 GMT

SOCCER-ENGLAND-TOT-LIV/PREVIEW Soccer - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur news conference

Jose Mourinho talks to the media ahead of Tottenham's clash with remier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday 10 Jan 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT

SOCCER-ENGLAND-AVA-MCI/PREVIEW (TV) Soccer - England - Premier League - Manchester City news conference

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola holds a news conference ahead of his team's Premier League match against Aston Villa. 10 Jan 08:30 ET / 13:30 GMT

TENNIS TENNIS-ATPCUP/ (PIX) (TV)

Tennis - ATP Cup Serbia play Canada while Belgium take on Spain in the ATP Cup quarter-finals in Sydney.

10 Jan 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT TENNIS-BRISBANE/

Tennis - WTA Premier - Brisbane International The Brisbane International quarter-finals. French Open champion Ash Barty leads the field at the Pat Rafter Arena.

10 Jan 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT TENNIS-SHENZHEN/

Tennis - WTA International - Shenzhen Open The WTA hosts the Shenzhen Open - an International event.

Jan 10 MOTOR RALLY

MOTOR-RALLY-DAKAR/ (PIX) (TV) Rallying - Dakar Rally

Stage five of the Dakar Rally is a 563-kilometre route from Al-'Ula to Ha'il. 9 Jan 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

OLYMPICS OLYMPICS-MALLON/

Olympics - Dressel to dominate Tokyo sprint swimming: historian American Caeleb Dressel will become a global superstar by winning more events than any other swimmer at this year's Tokyo Olympics but he is unlikely to rack up gold medals at the same clip as Michael Phelps, predicts Olympic historian Bill Mallon.

9 Jan 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT SWIMMING

SWIMMING-CAN/OVERHOLT Swimmong-Canada's Overholt swims through struggles, sets sights on Tokyo

Canadian swimmer Emily Overholt, who was hospitalized for depression after the 2016 Rio Games and contemplated hanging up her goggles, talks to Reuters about her decision to take on the physical and mental challenge of qualifying for this year's Tokyo Olympics. 9 Jan 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT