Alexander Zverev won his first match of the year as Germany beat Canada 2-1 in their ATP Cup group tie.

Zverev said having his older brother, Mischa, as team captain had helped.

"All the players enjoy having him as captain and it's just great to have him here," he said.

Germany, who later lost the doubles rubber against Canada, will face Novak Djokovic's Serbia on Thursday for a place in the semi-finals.

Italy beat France 2-1 to reach the last four and they were later joined by Russia, who claimed a 2-1 win over Japan.

Fabio Fognini gave Italy an early lead with a 6-1 7-6 (7-2) win over Benoit Paire.

Matteo Berrettini, who beat US Open champion Thiem on Monday, then brushed aside Gael Monfils 6-4 6-2 to clinch victory in the tie before a French consolation win in the doubles.

"It's a great team, great guys. We are enjoying on court, but off court as well," Berrettini said.

"I think when you're playing for your country, for your team, it's something special."

Russia's Andrey Rublev, who had a dominant 2020, beat Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in just 65 minutes.

ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev then backed up his team-mate with a 6-2 6-4 win over former world number four Kei Nishikori, before the Japanese won the doubles match.

The ATP Cup is one of six events being held at Melbourne Park this week to allow players to prepare for the Australian Open, which begins on 8 February.

Nick Kyrgios stopped play for almost five minutes and called the umpires "peanuts" in the latest chapter of the combustible Australian's on-court antics just two matches into his tour return.

Kyrgios appeared to be well through his service motion when the 25-second limit was up.

After being called by the umpire, he looked aghast before walking to his chair and saying: "I'm not playing, sorry mate."

He then said to the umpire: "It's like you're just doing it to be funny. Do you think you're funny?"

Kyrgios refused to play until he had spoken to a supervisor and checked if he would be fined.

"Tennis isn't about him [the umpire]. He's an extra so all this goes smoothly," Kyrgios told the supervisor.

"I have to go back and forth to get my towel. Why do these guys think it's about them?"

Kyrgios repeatedly checked if he was going to be fined - and only resumed playing when he had been told he would not be.

When asked by his opponent and fellow Australian Bourchier why he had to stop the match, Kyrgios replied: "I want to talk about it now. I've lost enough money to these peanuts."

Kyrgios has a history of controversy because of his on-court behaviour.

He was previously fined £93,2254 and given a suspended 16-week ban after a bad-tempered loss in 2019.

He has also received an eight-week ban for a perceived lack of effort and walked off court after being given a game penalty for swearing.

However, he was warmly received for his fundraising efforts following the devastating bushfires in Australia in 2020.

He opted not to travel during the coronavirus pandemic because of the risk it would pose to himself and others and he volunteered in his home state of Canberra to help those in need.

Kyrgios did eventually win the match 6-2 7-6 (9-7) to reach the third round of the event in Melbourne and told reporters afterwards: "I just like playing by the rules."

Between 500 and 600 Australian Open players, officials and support staff will go into isolation after a worker at one of the event's quarantine hotels tested positive for coronavirus.

But Andrews said: "At this stage there is no impact on the tournament proper."

Players will be free to return to competing after a negative test.

The Australian Open, which was pushed back by three weeks to enable players to quarantine, starts on Monday.

A 26-year-old man has tested positive for Covid-19 - believed to be the UK strain of the virus - after working at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Melbourne's Central Business District, Andrews said.

This was one of the hotels where some of the 1,000 players, officials and support staff stayed to complete a 14-day quarantine period on their arrival in Australia.

Andrews said the 500-600 people there for the Australian Open were deemed to be "casual contacts" of the man.

"This is one case, there is no need for people to be panicked or alarmed," said Andrews, who announced the state of Victoria would return to some restrictions including masks to be worn indoors.

"We have proved as a state very successful in managing these sort of outbreaks and issues."

Asked about the Australian Open, he said: "We have one case and the decision has been made: the event will proceed next week."

More to follow.

In his first BBC Sport column, former Ireland captain Rory Best looks at how the side can progress in head coach Andy Farrell's system, how the front row can help them navigate a high-pressure opener against Wales and the potential impact of new forwards coach Paul O'Connell.

Doing that required a departure from the habits that had become second nature during Joe Schmidt's six-year reign.

The hallmark of Joe's era was the attention to detail, everyone knew exactly what was expected of them at all times.

If you're trying to break away from that and adopt a more off-the-cuff approach you need time together, because old habits die hard.

There were some really strong habits formed under Joe but it was about manipulating the opposition from what we saw in the build-up to the game, whereas Andy is more about trying to play what's in front of you.

The time Andy thought he had to implement those changes was cut short, because things more important than Ireland's continuity were happening in the world. Nonetheless, it is a significant mitigating factor, and should be considered when dissecting what we know about his time in charge so far.

So what can we expect to see Andy do differently in 2021?

His Six Nations squad is, to me, a strong indicator that he now wants to find consistency in his selection.

Eleven players made their senior debuts last year, but we won't see that level of chopping and changing anymore.

The best way to implement change is by getting your senior players used to the system, allowing them to get comfortable and then over time it becomes automatic.

As Ireland look towards perfecting their approach, don't expect a vast amount of changes from week to week.

No fear in exposing O'Toole to international rugby

Last year saw several players go from prospect to important player in just a few games, none more so than Caelan Doris.

He has done a very good job so far in a green jersey, he has rolled up his sleeves and has tried to be there all the time in tough games.

Although he only has seven caps, he is already an important figure in the team and his absence will be felt against Wales but if there's one thing Ireland are not lacking, it's back-row depth.

At the moment, there seems to be more concern from those outside the camp over the front of the scrum.

There have been a few eyebrows raised over props selected in this squad, particularly Tom O'Toole, who some feel is not ready to take the leap into international rugby.

Ultimately, maybe he is not yet 100% ready, but that shouldn't deter Ireland from putting him into games.

When Cian Healy came through in 2009, was he the best or second best loose-head in Ireland? Probably not. But you could see that he was going to be, so he got experience by coming off the bench as a young man who really benefitted from getting put into that environment.

Andrew Porter can play both sides which gives you some room to play with. There's part of me that would like to see either Porter or Healy at loose-head, Tadhg Furlong at tight-head with Tom O'Toole on the bench.

Porter gives you the luxury that if Furlong goes down early at tight-head, you don't have to play O'Toole for 60 or 70 minutes.

That will let Tom get 10 or 20 minutes off the bench and he is very much an impact player, if Ireland want to play the way they are talking about playing, they need explosive players like Tom.

Wales game of immense importance

It is hard to put into words how much pressure is going to be put on Sunday's game in Cardiff.

This is the first year for a long time that people might have reasonably low expectations for Wales, Farrell's problems in 2020 paled in comparison to those of his Welsh counterpart Wayne Pivac.

For Ireland this means if you lose it might feel like the end of the world, while the public will likely see a win as an expectation rather than an achievement.

Make no mistake that playing Wales in Cardiff, crowd or no crowd, is an incredibly tough game.

If Ireland can win, then get the better of France in Dublin a week later, all of a sudden they have Italy and Scotland and the momentum could build.

The flipside of that is if they slip up against Wales, the French game becomes enormous.

As a player in that environment, you feel that pressure building on you.

Shrewd O'Connell appointment could bear early fruit

The familiar face of Paul O'Connell has made a welcome return to the Ireland set-up. Bringing him in as forwards coach makes a lot of sense on a number of levels.

If you are looking for areas of improvement, the line-out and the breakdown are the most glaringly obvious for Ireland.

When he was playing there were few players that operated better than Paulie at the line-out, while his work at the breakdown was second to none.

But even if you look past the playing aspect, his introduction is likely to make a huge impression.

At this level, you don't get a lot of time for coaching, so it becomes a lot about man-management, motivation and mentorship that you instil in the players.

Paulie is very articulate and passionate when he speaks, which makes you as a player really want to buy into what he's saying - because it means a lot to him.

I think, and hope, he will have an immediate impact. But even if we don't see it straight away it is important to remember that he remains a relatively inexperienced coach who needs time to grow into the role of coaching the best players in Ireland.

There is plenty for this Ireland team to prove, but there are also more than enough green shoots for us to be going into the Six Nations with a real degree of optimism.

Any move to a global Test calendar and a new competition that brings together the hemispheres will not happen before 2024, says World Rugby.

However, a proposal to get rid of July internationals and create an extended autumn window has been dismissed.

World Rugby says "strong progress" has been made on a parallel plan to refine the women's calendar.

Currently there are three Test windows when clubs are required to release players for international duty. However, the timing of those windows differs slightly between the hemispheres.

While northern hemisphere nations traditionally tour in the south in July and vice-versa in November, the Six Nations is played in February and March and the Rugby Championship takes place August to October.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was one of those to support extending the autumn international fixture list - a measure that happened this year because of coronavirus disruption - at the expense of the July fixtures.

However, World Rugby has concluded that "retaining the existing July and November windows delivers the optimal environment for any new competition to be implemented from a player welfare, union and professional league financial, broadcasters and fans perspective".

Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney, who is part of a six-person group working on the calendar, said in June that he had hoped a new global schedule could be launched for the 2020-21 season.

An upcoming British and Irish Lions tour always adds a bit of extra spice to the Six Nations.

If the tour goes ahead as planned and is not derailed by the pandemic, about 40 British and Irish players will be heading to South Africa in five months' time.

But who will be on the plane? Each week of the Six Nations, BBC Sport will be looking at who might have played their way into, and out of, Gatland's squad in our Lions Watch feature.

Before the tournament begins, here are four key areas of competition to keep an eye on over the next couple of months.

Absent props give others chance to shine

Mako Vunipola - who started all three Lions Tests in 2017 - has been ruled out of England's Six Nations opener against Scotland on Saturday because of a calf injury.

Team-mate Joe Marler has withdrawn from the squad for personal reasons and the pair's absence could provide an opportunity for other props to grab Gatland's attention.

Leicester's Ellis Genge will surely be England head coach Eddie Jones' first-choice loose-head and a string of starts would give the 25-year-old the chance to show he has what it takes to dominate a strong Springbok scrum as well as cause havoc in the loose.

Back in April 2020, legendary Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan said he would choose Scotland's Rory Sutherland as his starting loose-head against South Africa.

Sir Ian was one of many hailing Sutherland's return after a life-altering injury and the 26-year-old lived up to the hype with some eye-catching displays in the 2020 Six Nations.

There is a former tourist in the mix too, with Ireland's Cian Healy - part of Gatland's 2013 squad - looking to make his mark again at the age of 33.

Young centres make late charge

Gatland has no shortage of experience at centre, with England captain Owen Farrell and 2017 Lions player of the series Jonathan Davies both on hand to help.

But with so many exciting young centres buzzing about this Six Nations, the Lions head coach could be tempted to make a surprise inclusion.

With England's Manu Tuilagi a doubt for the tournament because of an Achilles injury, Ollie Lawrence and Paolo Odogwu are jostling for the limelight.

After making his international debut in the autumn Worcester centre Lawrence, 21, now has three England caps to his name and has made a quiet but promising start to his Test career.

An England call-up for Wasps' 23-year-old centre Odogwu - who can also play on the wing - comes during a breakthrough Premiership season in which he has used his explosive combination of pace, footwork and power to make more clean breaks than anyone else.

The England pair will face opposition from north of the border, though.

Cameron Redpath - son of former Scotland captain Bryan - is set to make his Scotland debut, and there has already been plenty of talk about the 21-year-old thanks to his performances for Bath.

Harlequins and England scrum-half Danny Care describes him as a "serious player", adding: "He's one of those guys you can see that, once he gets his foot in the door in a 12 shirt internationally, it's going to be very hard to get it off him."

Now or never for Jones?

A Lions tour without Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones would not seem quite right - he has been on every one since 2009 after all.

There are encouraging signs that the Wales captain will return to full fitness soon after sustaining a knee injury in December.

But the 35-year-old lock will not welcome the uncertainty surrounding the tour because of the coronavirus pandemic, with postponing it for a year one option being considered.

Former Lion Ugo Monye said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Rugby Union Weekly podcast: "If the Lions tour gets postponed to 2022, I think Alun Wyn Jones could be a casualty."

Jones said he felt it would be "better in the long run" if the tour were to go ahead this year, providing it can do so safely.

Whatever happens, the second-row scenery is challenging with England's Maro Itoje and Ireland's James Ryan two stellar options.

But with England's Joe Launchbury out injured, there are still decisions to be made for Gatland and Scotland's Jonny Gray is poised to turn the New Zealander's head.

The 26-year-old proved his worth in big games in Exeter's double-winning season and, if he can continue to do the same with Scotland, may follow in older brother Richie's footsteps by earning a Lions call-up.

Wainwright bidding for back-row spot

Competition is just as high in the back row but one man who could work his way up the pecking order over the next couple of months is Wales' Aaron Wainwright.

Versatility is always useful on a long tour and it seems the 23-year-old can offer that. Having played most of his career at flanker, Wainwright is now seen as a number eight by Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.

There is a wealth of talent for Gatland to choose from in the back row - England stars Tom Curry, Sam Underhill and Billy Vunipola are just three heavyweight contenders.

But it would not be the first time Wainwright has received an unexpected call-up from the former Wales boss. The back row was brought into the Wales squad for the 2018 summer tour just three years after taking up rugby.

Since then Wainwright has established himself on the international stage, with a particular highlight being a man-of-the-match display in Wales' 2019 World Cup quarter-final.

"I think he's such a dynamic ball-carrier," Monye said. "He's really tall and rangy and a good line-out option. I really rate him."

BARBERVILLE, Fla. — There was just no stopping the five-time and defending DIRTcar Nationals champion Tuesday night.

Nick Hoffman scribed yet another chapter in his big book of DIRTcar UMP Modified dominance at Volusia Speedway Park with his 18th victory in event history, making the pass on eventual runner-up Curt Spalding in the second half of the race after a restart to claim victory.

Chilly temperatures and a smooth, slick racing surface made for ideal track conditions for the two-time and defending DIRTcar UMP Modified national points champion to race on.

“Normally I suck earlier in the week here. It’s normally pretty fast and I’m just not as good in that condition. For it to be this slick already this early in the week, hats off to the track prep crew. It’s way easier on equipment and makes our week a hell of a lot easier when the track is slower,” Hoffman said.

Volusia’s track surface was just recently redone, which presented each driver with a new element to take into account as they selected tire compounds for the 20-lap feature.

“I just went harder on tire than them guys around me, so that definitely paid off by the end of the race,” Hoffman said. “My cars just work way better on a harder tire, so it was kind of a no-brainer for me.”

Hoffman put those tires to the test almost immediately, taking second from his fourth-place starting spot in just five laps. Spalding had jumped to the lead from the outside pole and had a decent gap on Hoffman in the opening circuits, until Hoffman turned on the jets and closed the gap to just a car-length as they approached halfway.

A caution flag on lap nine reset the field gave Spalding his first test on the restart, which he solidly passed by keeping Hoffman at bay behind him, but only for a few more times around. Another yellow on lap 13 put Hoffman right behind him once more, and Spalding knew what was coming.

“I knew he was gonna banzai me,” Spalding said. “I was pretty good in [turns] three and four, and he had to get me passed in one and two, and I knew it.”

Hoffman got a tremendous run to Spalding’s outside as they took the green on the restart, then blasted off again out of turn two to complete the pass as they raced down the backstretch.

“I was able to roll down the hill and get the momentum on the front-straightaway, and I was actually just riding at [Spalding’s] quarter-panel, running at about quarter-throttle so that way, when he peeled-off to run the bottom, I could just gas-up and drive back by him,” Hoffman said.

Spalding was able to maintain second through the checkered flag while Hoffman cruised to the victory by almost five seconds. Despite giving up the lead in the second half, he was very pleased with his performance.

“We’re very happy,” Spalding said. “To unload with this caliber of cars and get the job done, we’re pretty happy.”

Tyler Nicely crossed the line in third after a strong drive from fifth.

The finish:

Feature (20 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman [4]; 2. 5S-Curt Spalding [2]; 3. 25-Tyler Nicely [5]; 4. 35-David Stremme [1]; 5. 17X-Richard Michael [6]; 6. OOEH-Steve Arpin [13]; 7. 36-Kenny Wallace [7]; 8. 3L-Jeff Leka [10]; 9. K19-Will Krup [3]; 10. 96M-Mike McKinney [12]; 11. 6A-Ryan Ayers [27]; 12. 7-Justin Allgaier [20]; 13. O5-Dave Wietholder [9]; 14. 80-Rich Dawson [25]; 15. 12H-Jason Hughes [8]; 16. 25W-Allen Weisser [29]; 17. 49-Brian Ruhlman [19]; 18. 4T-Zeke McKenzie [11]; 19. 51-Brandon Green [18]; 20. 9-Ken Schrader [17]; 21. T9-Ryan Thomas [28]; 22. 11H-Spencer Hughes [32]; 23. 7T-Drake Troutman [16]; 24. 11J-Justin Haley [15]; 25. 67-Garret [31]; 26. 12L-Lucas Lee [23]; 27. 45H-Kyle Hammer [30]; 28. 45-Johnny Broking [24]; 29. 88-Matt Crafton [26]; 30. 23-Ryan Cripe [14]; 31. 77-Ray Bollinger [22]; 32. 99-Hunt Gossum [21] Hard Charger: 6A-Ryan Ayers[+16]

INDIANAPOLIS — Round five of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship thrilled the limited fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium where Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen backed up his 450SX class victory on Saturday with a dominant victory at the second Indianapolis round on Tuesday night.

Opening round winner Troy Lee Designs / Red Bull / GASGAS Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia held off defending champion Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac to fill out a podium of winners. Action in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class presented plenty of drama, but when the dust settled it was Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Colt Nichols grabbing his third straight win to extend his points lead.

After four rounds with four different winners, the first repeat victor emerged when Ken Roczen jumped into the lead shortly past the holeshot stripe and gapped the field on the rutted, technical track.

Holeshot winner Justin Barcia was comfortably in second until the race clock ticked down to the eight-minute mark in the 20-minute plus one lap race when Eli Tomac reached his rear wheel. Barcia managed to fend off Tomac’s repeated attacks without losing much time on the leader, who’d stretched the lead to nearly 10 seconds.

Tomac spent a night fighting forward, seeming to get caught up in other riders’ paces as he’d reach them. He still managed third place points for the night, keeping him squarely in the title hunt. 2019 champion and round three winner, Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb rounded the first lap mid pack; he climbed up through the field a notch slower than Tomac, reaching fourth before the checkers flew on the second of three Indianapolis races.

It was a wild night for the Eastern Regional 250SX class riders but at the checkers it was Yamaha’s Colt Nichols grabbing his third consecutive win – only his fourth career win. It was Troy Lee Designs / Red Bull / GASGAS Factory Racing’s Michael Mosiman who grabbed the holeshot and started to pull away in the opening laps.

He’d earned GASGAS its first 250SX podium one race before and looked destined to give the brand its first win in its debut Supercross season. Unfortunately, a lapped rider crashed on a rhythm section; Mosiman bumped the rider and had to nearly stop to swerve around the downed bike. Nichols took the opportunity to grab the lead and never looked back… until crossing the checkered which seemed to the riders to come out one lap early.

Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Christian Craig rode steady and managed second after passing Mosiman with just over five minutes left on the race clock.

Absent on the line was Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence, who took a hard fall in practice and another in his heat race. After winning the Last Chance Qualifier, Lawrence determined he was not healthy enough to race with what appeared to be a right shoulder injury from his heat race crash; the 2021 race winner walked away from his bike on the line before the gate dropped.

BARBERVILLE, Fla. — For the second time in three starts, Donny Schatz earned an All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 feature victory Tuesday night at East Bay Raceway Park.

The 10-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion earned his return to All Star victory lane from the second row, taking command for the first time on lap 15 before fending off a late surge by Ian Madsen and a hard-charging Kerry Madsen in the Sugarlands Shine Southern Tour event.

The East Bay win, awarding $6,000, bumped Schatz’ career All Star win total to 20.

“I haven’t been to East Bay since 1993 or ’94. This track is really neat, but it’s also very tricky. You have to respect the place,” Schatz said. “The surface can have some slick spots, as well as some wet sports. The dynamic of the track changes so much. I went wherever I had to go. We’re going to enjoy this one.”

Rudeen Racing’s Cory Eliason led the first eight circuits at East Bay before getting involved in a tangle with a lapped car. Eliason’s misfortune allowed Justin Peck to inherit the top spot.

Peck, driver of the Tom Buch-owned No. 13, started fourth on the Tuesday night grid and had actually worked by Schatz for second one lap prior to the aforementioned caution.

Despite Peck’s attempt to outrun Schatz during the ensuing restart, and once more during another single file restart on lap 12, Schatz would eventually prevail, ultimately slipping by Peck with a move on the bottom of turns three and four on lap 15.

Ian Madsen followed Schatz by Peck to take control of the runner-up spot the following circuit. Madsen did his best to catch the 299-time World of Outlaws winner, but Schatz’ ability to split a pair of lappers on lap 28 sealed the deal.

Madsen held on to finish second, followed by his brother Kerry Madsen, who climbed 14 positions to earn the final spot on the podium.

“We have some friends here tonight from Absolute Automation and Security. They are from right up the road,” Schatz continued. “It’s pretty cool to come here and win in front of their hometown crowd.”

Ian Madsen, Kerry Madsen, Tyler Courtney and Gio Scelzi rounded out the top five.

The finish:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 2. 11-Ian Madsen [1]; 3. 101-Kerry Madsen [17]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8]; 5. 18-Gio Scelzi [13]; 6. 72-Tim Shaffer [10]; 7. 13-Justin Peck [4]; 8. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 9. 5-Brent Marks [16]; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [19]; 11. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 12. 39M-Anthony Macri [6]; 13. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [7]; 14. 21-Carson Short [24]; 15. 73-Scotty Thiel [18]; 16. 24-Terry McCarl [21]; 17. 75-Tyler Ross [14]; 18. 18J-RJ Jacobs [12]; 19. 3C-Cale Conley [22]; 20. 25-Chris Myers [23]; 21. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [9]; 22. 1-Jamie Myers [11]; 23. 22C-Cole Duncan [15]; 24. 19-Chris Windom [20] Lap Leaders: Cory Eliason (1-8), Justin Peck (9-14), Donny Schatz (15-30)

Colorado Avalanche star center Nathan MacKinnon has a lower-body injury that will sideline him "week-to-week," coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday.

MacKinnon suffered the injury in Sunday's loss to the Wild and missed Colorado's victory Tuesday over Minnesota. Bednar did disclose any specifics about the injury.

"Obviously he's a very special player and not any single person can fill that void," Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said after the 2-1 victory. "I think everybody as a collective group steps up and plays the role that we need them to."

MacKinnon, 25, has two goals and a team-leading 12 assists this season. The four-time All-Star was the runner-up for the Hart Trophy last season, when he scored 35 goals and 93 points in just 69 games.

"We'll figure this out and keep working," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said before Tuesday's game. "There's no other way to answer this than we're going to keep working."

The injury to MacKinnon is the latest for the short-handed Avalanche (7-3-1), who are tied for first in the West Division with 15 points. Colorado also is without left wing Matt Calvert (upper body), defenseman Erik Johnson (upper body), center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (lower left leg), defenseman Devon Toews (foot) and goaltender Pavel Francouz (lower body). Calvert and Francouz have been placed on injured reserve.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.