Sports News Roundup: Rangers step over Stars to win 8th straight; Pelicans sign G Malcolm Hill to two-way contract and more

Standing 2.11m tall, Karlovic's huge serves and unorthodox style caused problems for some of the sport's biggest names and he won two of his three meetings with world number one Novak Djokovic. NHL roundup: Rangers step over Stars to win 8th straight Igor Shesterkin made a season-best 41 saves and the host New York Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-high eight games by holding on for a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Ace machine Karlovic calls time on 'unorthodox' career

Towering Croat Ivo Karlovic announced his retirement from tennis at the age of 44 on Wednesday, bringing the curtain down on a career that saw him fire more than 13,000 aces past bewildered opponents. Standing 2.11m tall, Karlovic's huge serves and unorthodox style caused problems for some of the sport's biggest names and he won two of his three meetings with world number one Novak Djokovic.

NHL roundup: Rangers step over Stars to win 8th straight

Igor Shesterkin made a season-best 41 saves and the host New York Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-high eight games by holding on for a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. Shesterkin, who won his fourth straight start, highlighted his 23rd win by making a strong left pad save on Jamie Benn with about six minutes left, then diving in the crease to stop an attempt by Tyler Seguin before the puck crossed the red line. He also protected the one-goal lead by doing a split and making a sprawling glove save on Wyatt Johnston with 2:34 left in the second.

Soccer-Atletico boss Simeone sweating on Griezmann fitness after ankle injury

Atletico Madrid are hoping Antoine Griezmann's injury is nothing more than a sprained ankle after the forward was substituted in their 1-0 defeat by Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, manager Diego Simeone said. Atletico's all-time leading goalscorer, who has scored five goals in six Champions League games this season, was replaced by Angel Correa in the 78th minute.

Report: Pelicans sign G Malcolm Hill to two-way contract

The New Orleans Pelicans are giving former Illinois star Malcolm Hill another shot in the NBA with a two-way contract, according to a report Wednesday by ESPN. The 6-foot-6 Hill, 28, leads the G League in points with an average of 24.6 per game playing for the Pelicans' affiliate in Birmingham. He's averaging 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game and is shooting 44.3 percent from 3-point range.

Soccer-Dortmund fuming over Eindhoven penalty award in Champions League tie

Borussia Dortmund were left fuming over a penalty decision in Tuesday's Champions League round of 16 first leg that earned hosts PSV Eindhoven a 1-1 draw. Donyell Malen had scored a superb goal for the visitors against his former side before Eindhoven's Luuk de Jong converted the spot kick in the 56th minute at the Philips Stadion.

ATP roundup: Jakub Mensik claims upset win in Doha

Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic and Christopher O'Connell of Australia each recorded an upset victory on Tuesday in the first round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. The 18-year-old Mensik won 70 percent of his first serves to notch a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over fifth-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in 93 minutes. O'Connell, in turn, posted a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over sixth-seeded Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany to set up a second-round match versus Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori, who outlasted Italian Giulio Zeppieri, 7-6 (2), 7-5.

Tennis-No writing off Djokovic yet even as young guns gain ground

For any other player but Novak Djokovic, a below-par Australian Open at the age of 36 would have had pundits brushing up his tennis obituary. Djokovic, of course, is no ordinary player. Yes, the Serbian fell short of winning a 25th major at Melbourne Park last month but those same pundits have learned the hard way over the last 15 years that you write off Djokovic at your peril.

Chess-Eight-year-old becomes youngest to beat grandmaster

An eight-year-old became the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess on Sunday when Ashwath Kaushik beat Poland's Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. Indian-born Ashwath, who lives in Singapore, defeated 37-year-old Stopa to break the record set a month earlier by Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia when he beat grandmaster Milko Popchev, according to the Chess.com website.

Oddsmakers target date LeBron James hits 40k points

LeBron James is on the precipice of yet another historic milestone coming out of the NBA's All-Star Break. The 39-year-old is only 132 points shy of 40,000 for his career. Averaging 24.8 points per game this season, James could reach the mark by the end of February, with the Los Angeles Lakers still having five games remaining this month.

Tennis-Alcaraz to have tests on injured ankle after Rio Open retirement

World number two Carlos Alcaraz is to have tests on his ankle after sustaining an injury that forced him to retire from his Rio Open first-round match against Thiago Monteiro on Tuesday. Alcaraz needed medical attention after twisting his right ankle on the second point of the contest, but the 20-year-old returned to the court a little later with heavy strapping.

(With inputs from agencies.)