Davis Cup: World no.7 Tomas Berdych and 31st-ranked Radek Stepanek will spearhead the Czech Republic in their Davis Cup World Group first round tie against Italy from February 10-12 at home in Ostrava. Captain Jaroslav Navratil also named 81st-ranked Lukas Rosol and doubles specialist Frantisek Cermak in his team unveiled this week. Stepanek won the Australian Open doubles title last week with Indian Leander Paes.
Basketball: Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game injury absence to score 25 points as the New York Knicks secured a convincing 113-86 NBA victory over Detroit. Anthony, who had been sidelined by a sprained right ankle as well as injuries to his left wrist and right thumb, appeared energised after five days of rest. He enjoyed his best shooting night of the lockout-shortened season, making nine-of-14 shots from the field.
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Motorcycling: MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner (picture) shrugged off an ailing back to post the fastest time in pre-season tests on the sport’s new 1,000cc bikes at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit, yesterday. The Australian Honda rider, who won the champion-ship in 2007 and again last year, had been sidelined after pulling a back muscle while stretching. But he bounced back to outpace his Yamaha rivals in conditions that, while hot and humid, were drier than on Day One and led to faster lap times.
Cycling: Australia’s world champions Leigh Howard and Cameron Meyer have won the 101st edition of Berlin’s Six Days track cycle race. The Australians, who had finished second last year, showed great stamina to set a good pace and took the title with 263 points ahead of Swiss pair Franco Marvulli and Silvan Dillier and Belgium’s Iljo Keiss and Kenny Ketele. Both the Belgium and Swiss teams finished with 254 points.
Athletics: South Korean sprinter Lim Hee-Nam and Portugal’s European 5,000m bronze medallist Sara Moreira received six-month bans from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for doping. Both athletes tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine at last year’s World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Lim’s suspension runs until April 10, while Moreira’s will expire on March 7.