Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-‘Surprised? Not really’: Confident Basilashvili reaches Indian Wells semis

Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili stunned world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas at Indian Wells on Friday, 6-4 2-6 6-4, to reach his first-ever Masters 1000 semi-final – surprising everyone, perhaps, but himself. The 36th-ranked Basilashvili was the clear underdog against the French Open finalist but mounted a stout defense to send the Greek packing, saving six of 10 break points after picking up a pair of ATP titles in Qatar and at the Bavarian Championships earlier this year.

Tennis: Britain’s Norrie ready to create history at Indian Wells

Cameron Norrie faces a tough challenge as he looks to become the first British man to win the Indian Wells tournament in California but the 26-year-old said he is feeling confident ahead of Sunday’s final against Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili. Norrie defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 at the semi-final on Saturday to advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 final. The Briton, currently ranked 26th in the world, is set to break into the top 20 for the first time when rankings are updated on Monday.

Texas House votes to keep transgender girls out of female sports

The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that bans transgender women and girls from participating in female school sports after three previous attempts failed, all but assuring Republican Governor Greg Abbott will sign it into law. Texas is now poised to join seven other states that passed similar laws this year, part of a national campaign in which Republican legislators introduced such bills in 32 states.

NHL roundup: Wild nip Ducks in final seconds

Marcus Foligno scored the tiebreaking goal with 7.2 seconds left in regulation, and the Minnesota Wild opened their season with a 2-1 victory over the host Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. Minnesota pressured Anaheim goaltender Anthony Stolarz all night, and he came up big more often than not while recording 41 saves. However, the Wild kept the heat on, and Foligno found himself in front of the net to push home the go-ahead goal to give his club its eighth consecutive victory over Anaheim.

Sublime Salah steers Liverpool to 5-0 win over woeful Watford

Mohamed Salah set up Sadio Mane’s 100th Premier League goal and scored a brilliant goal of his own, while Roberto Firmino bagged a hat-trick as Liverpool reclaimed top spot with a 5-0 win over Watford in Claudio Ranieri’s first game in charge. Firmino may have walked away with the match ball, but it was Salah that took the breath away in an individual attacking display full of the kind of vision, skill and guile that the watching Watford fans could only dream of from their side.

Soccer-Roma’s Mourinho demands respect ahead of return to Juventus

Jose Mourinho says a lack of respect led to his famous ‘cupped ear’ reaction to Juventus fans while he was in charge of Manchester United, as the Portuguese prepares to return to Turin in charge of AS Roma on Sunday. Mourinho walked into the centre of the Allianz Stadium pitch with his hand cupped over his ear towards Juve fans after his United side won a Champions League game there in November 2018.

Athletics-De Grasse ready to dominate sprints, says Bolt

Lamont Marcell Jacobs may be the 100 metres Olympic champion but Andre De Grasse is the man to watch and runner most likely to put his stamp on the men’s sprints, says the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt. De Grasse took silver behind the Italian in Tokyo but the Canadian’s consistency makes him the frontrunner to dominate the sprint scene, including next year’s world championships which will be staged in the United States for the first time.

Alpine skiing-A season of big dreams ahead for Shiffrin

When it comes to alpine ski racing and the Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin describes herself has not much of a gambler as the American all-rounder prefers Lady Luck to play no part in her results. But as ski racing is exposed to the elements and whims of Mother Nature, a race can be decided on something as simple as the luck of the draw.

Olympics-IOC wants wider consultation with FIFA over World Cup plans

The International Olympic Committee wants to have more discussions over controversial plans by the world soccer body FIFA to hold the World Cup every two years instead of every four, it said on Saturday. FIFA’s proposals are set to be voted on in December by the 211 member associations of global soccer’s governing body, with president Gianni Infantino, also an IOC member, travelling the world to rally support for the plan, which has been fronted by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Tennis-Azarenka proud of fight in comeback win over Ostapenko

Former world number one said she was proud of her fighting spirit in Friday’s comeback victory against Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells tournament. Azarenka, a two-time winner at the California event, fought back from a set and break down to beat 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko 3-6 6-3 7-5.

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