Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Davis Cup shake-up as ITF unveils World Cup of Tennis
A massive shake-up of the Davis Cup competition will see the formation of an 18-nation World Cup of Tennis Finals, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Monday. The event played in one location over seven days in November could start next year, pending approval by the ITF Board.
Motor racing: Toro Rosso expect trouble-free year with Honda
Toro Rosso began their new Formula One partnership with Honda in optimistic fashion on Monday, with team principal Franz Tost looking forward to proving the doom-mongers wrong. Honda's engine has been the least reliable and slowest on the starting grid for the past three seasons, with the Japanese company's reputation badly damaged by the failed relationship with McLaren.
British boxing in shock after Westgarth death
The death of heavyweight Scott Westgarth was described as a disaster by British Boxing chief Robert Smith on Monday although he said it was impossible to make the sport 100 percent safe. Westgarth, 31, won his fight against Dec Spelman in Doncaster on Saturday but looked uncomfortable as he was interviewed ringside after his points victory.
'Old men' of Scandinavia show the game has changed
Alpine skiing was once a young man's game won by racers from the nations that gave the sport its name but at the Pyeongchang Olympics the old order was overturned with the two specialist events won by Scandinavian men aged 35. Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal claimed gold in the men's downhill and Sweden's Andre Myhrer won the slalom as experience came to the fore in the pressure cooker atmosphere of the Games.
Motor racing: Alonso does six laps before a wheel comes off
Fernando Alonso did six laps of the Barcelona circuit before crashing into the gravel after a wheel came off his McLaren at the start of Formula One's pre-season testing on Monday. The former world champions, who are starting a new engine partnership with Renault after three troubled years with Honda, played down the incident.
South Korea brings curtain down on 'Peace Games'
South Korea brought the curtain down on its "Peace Games" on Sunday, with winter sports athletes dancing and singing together at a vibrant closing ceremony, though there was little warmth between dignitaries from the United States and North Korea. South Korea President Moon Jae-in, who hopes to use these Games as an opportunity to engage with the North, warmly greeted U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka before offering a brief handshake to North Korean delegation leader Kim Yong Chol.
Soccer: Zidane hopes Neymar overcomes injury to face Real
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is hoping Paris St Germain forward Neymar recovers from injury for the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on March 6. The world's most expensive player was seen crying as he was carried off toward the end of PSG's 3-0 win over Olympique de Marseille on Sunday, meaning his side had to play the remainder of the game with 10 men as they had used all three substitutes.
Americans face uphill battle as veterans bow out
The spotlight cast on American skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn in Pyeongchang obscured the fact that the nation's Alpine bench is relatively light and, apart from Shiffrin, could struggle to contend for medals in Beijing in 2022. The media focus was understandably on Vonn, the nation's greatest-ever Alpine skier, who is unlikely to compete in another Olympic Games, and Shiffrin, the 22-year-old prodigy who leaves South Korea happy after bagging a gold and a silver.
Norway hails Pyeongchang glory, with Nordic understatement
Norwegians celebrated becoming the most successful ever nation at a Winter Olympics, after a triumphant campaign at Pyeongchang, but their Nordic reserve was on show too. The nation of 5.3 million people won 39 medals, 14 of them gold. That broke the record of 37 medals won by the United States - whose population is more than sixty-times that of Norway's - at Vancouver in 2010.
NHL absence led to many firsts in men's tournament
The lengthy list of firsts witnessed in men's ice hockey at the Pyeongchang Olympics is both impressive and in many cases outright stunning, contributing to one of the most topsy-turvy tournaments in memory. Whether it was Germany playing in their first gold medal game - and nearly winning - or Norway reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, the common catalyst for all of the firsts over the past two weeks was the absence of NHL players at the Olympics for the first time in 24 years.
