Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Switzerland set up Billie Jean King Cup final with Russia

Belinda Bencic overwhelmed Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3 6-2 on Friday to help lead Switzerland into a Billie Jean King Cup final showdown with four-time champions Russia. Switzerland reached the final for the first time since 1998 after Jil Teichmann romped to a 6-0 6-3 victory over Storm Sanders before Bencic handed the Swiss an unbeatable 2-0 lead by dispatching Tomljanovic in front of American great Billie Jean King, who watched on from the stands.

Tennis-Osaka hints at return with photos of her back on court

Naomi Osaka hinted she had resumed training after posting photos of herself standing on a tennis court and holding a racket. The Japanese former world number one said she was taking a break from the sport to focus on her mental health following her shock third-round exit at the U.S. Open in September.

Soccer-Mentality more critical than price tag in bid to beef up Everton -Benitez

Everton do not have enough money to sign top quality reinforcements in January and will have to depend on bargain buys with the right mentality to be a fit at the Merseyside club, manager Rafa Benitez has said. Everton, 10th in the league after three straight defeats, were frugal in their transfer spending before the season, laying out just 1.7 million pounds ($2.3 million) on Demarai Gray, while fellow winger Andros Townsend was signed for free.

Motor racing-Horner indicates Red Bull could dash Perez’s home win hopes

Red Bull boss Christian Horner emphasised on Friday that team orders were a part of Formula One and refused to rule out telling Mexican Sergio Perez to give up a home victory this weekend. No Mexican driver has ever won a home grand prix but Perez has a winning car and has been on the podium in his last two races.

Motor racing-Hamilton and Raikkonen reprimanded for bollard error

Formula One world champions Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen collected reprimands on Friday for going off track and then failing to return correctly in first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Three reprimands in the course of a season trigger a 10-place grid penalty but Friday’s was a first of 2021 for both drivers.

NHL roundup: Oilers pull out wild OT win over Rangers

Leon Draisaitl scored 3:27 into overtime after Connor McDavid produced the tying goal with 2:59 left in regulation as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from a three-goal deficit for a wild 6-5 victory over the visiting New York Rangers on Friday night. Edmonton won for the ninth time in 10 games to start the season, overcoming deficits of 4-1 and 5-4, forging a 5-5 tie on McDavid’s highlight-reel goal on which he beat four defenders.

NBA roundup: Knicks come from behind to top Bucks

Julius Randle finished with a game-high 32 points and helped his team claw back from a 21-point deficit in the second quarter as the visiting New York Knicks knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks 113-98 on Friday night to end a two-game losing streak. Randle went 11-for-22 from the field and added 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots as the Knicks outscored the Bucks 94-60 over the final three quarters. RJ Barrett finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists in his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points.

Olympics-PETA urges IOC to modernise and drop equine events from Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) must recognise that immediate change is needed and should drop equine competitions from future Olympic Games, animal advocacy group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said on Friday. PETA, which made a similar request in August during the Tokyo Games after acts of cruelty to horses, said it would step up its pressure by asking supporters to contact the IOC directly and urge it to “modernise.”

NFL-Packers QB Rodgers denies he lied about his COVID-19 vaccine status

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week, insisted he did not lie when he told reporters in August that he was “immunized” in response to a question about whether he had taken the COVID-19 vaccine. The Packers placed Rodgers on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday and as a result he will miss Sunday’s game against the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Tennis-Djokovic, Medvedev and Zverev reach Paris semis

Novak Djokovic stayed on course for a sixth Paris Masters title with 6-4 6-3 win over American Taylor Fritz while world number two Daniil Medvedev tamed home crowd favourite Hugo Gaston 7-6(7) 6-4 to reach the semi-finals on Friday. Alexander Zverev made sure three of the world’s top four will compete in the last four after he toppled Casper Ruud 7-5 6-4 while Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz dug deep to beat Australian James Duckworth 6-2 6-7(4) 7-5.

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