Sports News Roundup: Tennis-New-look Billie Jean King Cup Finals set to start, but big names missing; Tennis-Krejcikova thrilled to be leading Czech charge at Billie Jean King Cup Finals and more

World number four Krejcikova will be the highest-ranked player at the event in Prague, and the only one to have qualified for next month's season-ending WTA Finals that get underway in Guadalajara from Nov. 10. Baseball-Braves rally to beat Astros, take commanding 3-1 World Series lead Dansby Swanson and Jorge Soler hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning as the Atlanta Braves came from behind to beat the Houston Astros 3-2 in Game Four and move one win away from a World Series victory on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-New-look Billie Jean King Cup Finals set to start, but big names missing

The inaugural edition of the revamped women's team competition, the Billie Jean King Cup, begins on Monday after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic when France launch their title defence at the finals in Prague. Formerly called the Fed Cup, the event was restructured into a "World Cup of tennis" format concluding with 12 nations competing over one week for the title.

Tennis-Krejcikova thrilled to be leading Czech charge at Billie Jean King Cup Finals

French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova said on Saturday that she would never have passed up the opportunity to represent the Czech Republic at next week's Billie Jean King Cup despite the WTA Finals being just around the corner. World number four Krejcikova will be the highest-ranked player at the event in Prague, and the only one to have qualified for next month's season-ending WTA Finals that get underway in Guadalajara from Nov. 10.

Baseball-Braves rally to beat Astros, take commanding 3-1 World Series lead

Dansby Swanson and Jorge Soler hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning as the Atlanta Braves came from behind to beat the Houston Astros 3-2 in Game Four and move one win away from a World Series victory on Saturday. After going without a hit until the eighth inning the night before, the Astros wasted no time, as Jose Altuve hit a single on the first pitch of the game and later came around to score for an early 1-0 lead.

Pistons No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham making NBA debut

No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons is making his NBA debut on Saturday night against the visiting Orlando Magic. Cunningham missed the first four games of the season due to a sprained ankle sustained during training camp.

Soccer-Argentina spends weekend celebrating late hero Maradona

Argentine football is gearing up for a weekend of celebrations to mark the birthday of late soccer star Diego Maradona, with matches across the country being paused and clubs and fans dressing to remember the controversial superstar. The former Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona player died on Nov. 20 last year from a heart attack. His death was widely mourned in Argentina, which he led to triumph in the 1986 World Cup.

NBA roundup: DeMar DeRozan, Bulls hand Jazz first loss of season

DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 32 points, including a late game-clinching dunk, to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 107-99 home victory against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. The Jazz rallied to make it a game after falling behind by 17 points, but just didn't have enough to overcome the Bulls in the final minute and sustained first loss of the season. Their 4-0 start had been Utah's best since the 2006-07 season.

Tennis-Djokovic commits to doubles duty on return to action in Paris

Novak Djokovic has signed up for both singles and doubles duty at next week's Paris Masters, as the Serbian world number one returns to competitive action for the first time since his defeat in the U.S. Open final to Russian Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic, who is level with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on 20 major titles, has not played since coming up short last month in his bid for a calendar Grand Slam, losing in straight sets to Medvedev at Flushing Meadows.

Baseball-Home sweet home for Swanson as Braves win World Series Game Four

Dansby Swanson said he is blessed to be playing on the team he grew up rooting for after the Atlanta native hit a game-tying home run in the Braves 3-2 victory in World Series Game Four on Saturday. Swanson battled hard against Astros reliever Cristian Javier in the pivotal seventh inning at-bat before hitting his first home run of the postseason into the stands in right field.

Figure skating-Chen rebounds from rare loss to win Skate Canada title

Three-time reigning world champion Nathan Chen rebounded from a rare loss with a dominating performance to win Skate Canada in Vancouver on Saturday and reaffirm his status as a gold-medal favourite for next year's Beijing Olympics. Chen, one week removed from Skate America in Las Vegas where he suffered his first loss since the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, was comfortably in first place after Friday's short program and returned to score 200.46 points in Saturday's free skate.

NHL roundup: Bruins halt Panthers' season-opening win streak

Charlie Coyle scored the lone goal in the shootout against goalie Spencer Knight as the Boston Bruins beat the visiting Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday night to end Florida's unbeaten start. Coyle deked and tucked the puck in on the Bruins' second shootout attempt against Knight in his first NHL shootout. Owen Tippett tried to score five-hole on the other end but was stopped by Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark.

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