Tennis: World number six Petra Kvitova will lead holders the Czech Republic in the Fed Cup final against Serbia in Prague on November 3-4. Kvitova will team up with Lucie Safarova for the tie, captain Petr Pala told reporters. Pala has also named Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, who played the Wimbledon and US Open finals and won Olympic silver this year. “The nomination is never easy, but I can say it was easier this time,” Pala said. But he may have a few things to ponder as within minutes of the nomi-nation yesterday, Kvitova pulled out of the WTA Championships in Istanbul.

Olympics: The cost of the London 2012 Games has come in at £377 million under budget, according to Government figures released this week. The overall cost of the Games is forecast at £8.921 billion from a budget of £9.298 billion. With some contracts still to be wound up after the end of the Olympic Games, ministers are describing the underspend as a “prudent” estimate.

Alpine Skiing: Germany’s double Olympic champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch has branded the alpine ski calendar as ‘madness’ with 37 World Cup events and the world championships being held this winter, with the season set to start on Saturday. “All travel costs more energy than the skiing itself. To me, this increases the risk of injury as much, if not more, than the skiing,” the 27-year-old Olympic slalom and super-combined champion said. The season starts in Soelden, Austria, with Saturday’s giant slalom for the women and the men’s race held on Sunday.