Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Top seed Pliskova, defending champion Andreescu lose at Indian Wells

Big servers Karolina Pliskova, Bianca Andreescu and Reilly Opelka saw their most potent weapon neutralized by strong desert winds on Monday as they all crashed out of Indian Wells. The biggest upset of the day came when tournament lucky loser Beatriz Haddad Maia, ranked 115 in the world, defeated top seed Pliskova 6-3 7-5 in a match where service holds were rare as wind gusts reached 40 miles per hour.

Motor racing-Ricciardo gives a thumbs-up as F1 learns from Grosjean crash

McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo has given a thumbs-up to new flame-resistant gloves, developed by Formula One’s governing body after Romain Grosjean’s fiery crash in Bahrain last year, following trials at the Turkish Grand Prix weekend. Grosjean made a miraculous escape from a fireball crash in November but suffered burns to the back of his hands as he clambered free of the wreckage.

Giants chase NLDS clincher at Dodger Stadium

The San Francisco Giants are looking right at home in Los Angeles and will have one more game in Southern California in their attempt to reach their first National League Championship Series since 2014. On a Monday night when the weather was more representative of the Bay Area, the Giants turned in a 1-0 victory in Game 3 of the NL Division Series. San Francisco will play at Dodger Stadium again Tuesday with a chance to wrap up the best-of-five series.

NBA-Jordan backs league’s COVID-19 vaccination stance

Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan said he is a “firm believer in science” and that he backed the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) stance on COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of the new season starting on Oct. 19. The NBA has said unvaccinated players must comply with a long list of restrictions to play in games and take part in team activities such as practice.

Soccer-Late own goal ends Australia’s record run and hands Japan much-needed win

Australia’s record-breaking run in World Cup qualifying ended on Tuesday when Aziz Behich’s late own goal handed Japan a lifeline as the Samurai Blue earned a 2-1 victory at Saitama Stadium. Behich bundled the ball over his own goal line after Takuma Asano’s late shot looped up and hit the post, ensuring Australia missed out on a 12th straight win on the road to Qatar 2022.

NBA-Nets say Irving cannot play or practice until eligible as vaccine row escalates

Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving will not be allowed to play or practice with the team until he is “eligible to be a full participant”, the NBA franchise said on Tuesday amid the continuing fallout over the guard’s COVID-19 vaccination status.

Irving, who refused to reveal his vaccination status, was forced to sit out the Nets’ first pre-season home game last week against the Milwaukee Bucks as he was listed as “ineligible” by the team.

Tennis-Medvedev overcomes Krajinovic to set up Dimitrov clash at Indian Wells

U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev reached the fourth round at Indian Wells with a 6-2 7-6(1) victory over Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic on Monday and said he was pleased to reach 50 wins this season. The top-seeded Russian took to the court following a long rain delay and wasted no time in showing the kind of form that earned him a maiden Grand Slam title last month, going 4-0 up before taking the opening set.

NFL-Raiders’s Gruden resigns after anti-gay, sexist comments in emails

Jon Gruden said on Monday he has resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after the New York Times reported he had used racist, misogynistic and homophobic language in emails over several years. The emails mocked the drafting of a gay player in 2014, the hiring of women referees, tolerance for player protests aimed at promoting racial justice and the league’s emphasis on reducing concussions, the Times reported earlier on Monday.

Ice hockey-Ice hockey federation seeks reform after racist incident, president says

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) will assess the need for harsher sanctions in response to a racist incident in Ukraine and plans to pressure leagues around the world to amend their rule books to define sanctions for racist behaviour, the new IIHF president said. Luc Tardif took office as head of the IIHF a day before the hockey world was rattled by footage of Andriy Deniskin, a forward at HC Kremenchuk in the Ukrainian Hockey League (UHL), taunting HC Donbass defenceman Jalen Smereck, who is Black, by pretending to peel and eat a banana.

Motor racing-F1 benefiting from cost cap and rule changes, says Brawn

Formula One fans are seeing the benefits of this year’s cost cap and the new rules coming for 2022, the sport’s managing director Ross Brawn said on Tuesday with the championship battle on a knife-edge. Mercedes’ seven times champion Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have traded the lead repeatedly since March with the latter only six points clear after 16 of the scheduled 22 rounds.

(With inputs from agencies.)