Digest

TENNIS

Djokovic back in Australia after a year

Novak Djokovic has arrived in Australia almost a year after he was deported over his stance against COVID-19 vaccination, Tennis Australia confirmed Wednesday.

Djokovic will open his 2023 campaign in Adelaide as he prepares for a shot at a 10th Australian Open title.

The 21-time major winner has been granted a visa by the Australian government and is listed to play at the Adelaide International, which starts Sunday.

The 35-year-old Serb arrived in Adelaide on Tuesday night, the governing body confirmed.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley indicated at a news conference Tuesday that Djokovic had arrived.

"Novak is welcome in Australia," Tiley said. "I think as we speak he has landed in Adelaide and he's going to be the player to beat (at the Australian Open) again."

The Australian Open runs from Jan 16-29 in Melbourne.

Djokovic missed the Grand Slam last year because of his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Australia has since lifted strict rules for unvaccinated travelers.

Djokovic has won the Australian Open a record nine times, including the last three times he played. Rafael Nadal won the 2022 title in Djokovic's absence.

SOCCER

France charges man over teen hit-and-run

France has charged a suspect in the hit-and-run death of a teenage boy during celebrations of France's win over Morocco in the World Cup semifinals, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The 14-year-old boy, Aymen, was killed on December 15 in the Paillade district of the southern city of Montpellier.

A 20-year-old man was detained earlier on Tuesday near the southern city of Perpignan over the death, prosecutors said.

He has now been charged with causing unintended death, the Montpellier prosecutor, Fabrice Belargent, said in a statement later on Tuesday. He was also remanded in custody, he added.

Video on social media showed a white hatchback surrounded by fans which speeds away when someone tears down a flag hanging out of its rear window.

The prosecutor's office said the driver "violently" broke away from a line of vehicles after a flag was removed from the window of the car before hitting the teenager.

Agnelli says leaving Juventus 'not easy'

Outgoing Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, who quit amid claims of false accounting at Italy's biggest football club, told shareholders Tuesday that leaving was difficult but the club "comes before everything".

Agnelli, whose 12-year reign brought a host of trophies for the Turin giants, said allegations against the club were "not justified", but said he was leaving to avoid complicating the situation further.

The decision to resign along with the rest of the board in November "was not an easy decision for me", he said, saying he "always loved this club" and had worked "as hard as I can" for its success.

"However, it was a decision that I made with complete conviction and in complete serenity," he said.

Just days after they resigned, Turin prosecutors sought trials for Agnelli and 11 others over alleged financial irregularities, including in the transfer and loans of players, reports said.

Originally 15 people were targeted in the probe, prosecutors told AFP.

Dutch World Cup star Blind to quit Ajax

Dutch international defender Daley Blind is to leave Ajax six months before his contract expires, the club announced on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old former Manchester United star played every match of the Netherlands run to the World Cup quarterfinals in Qatar where he scored a goal against the US.

But Blind has now agreed to leave Ajax by mutual consent.

"Over the course of the last few days, we reached an agreement with Daley to terminate his contract. I hope he can find another club to end his successful career with," Ajax president Edwin van der Sar said.

"Together with Daley, we have decided on a match in the ArenA where he can say a proper goodbye to the supporters."

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Cardinals' defensive end Watt calls it quits

Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt said on Tuesday that he would retire from the game at the end of this current season.

The Arizona Cardinals defensive end, who spent 10 years with the Houston Texans, wrote on Twitter that Sunday's defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was both his newborn son Koa's first NFL game and Watt's "last ever" home game.

"My heart is filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It's been an absolute honor and a pleasure," wrote Watt.

The 33-year-old joined the Cardinals in 2021 and has started in the last 14 games for Arizona.

The Cardinals' remaining two games this season are on the road at Atlanta and San Francisco.

Watt said he had gone into atrial fibrillation in September and had to have his heart shocked back in rhythm.

As well as being chosen the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, in 2012,2014 and 2015, Watt was an All-Pro seven times, and was the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2017.

Certain to be a Hall of Famer, the powerful and athletic Watt has 111.5 total sacks, 580 tackles, 27 forced fumbles in his career.

Agencies