Federer gives Novak ‘star’ of approval

Tennis: Roger Federer says the so-called Big Four in men’s tennis – he, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal – still exists, with one possible notation and an addition.

“Novak deserves like a little star next to his name right now because he’s been doing extremely well,” Federer said Saturday.

The Australian Open begins Monday with Djokovic set to defend his 2015 crown and aim for title No. 6 at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. Last year, Djokovic won 27 of his 28 matches in Grand Slam tournaments, capturing three majors and finishing runner-up to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open.

That run left Djokovic as No. 1, with Murray second, Federer No. 3, Wawrinka ranked fourth and Nadal, after a series of injuries, back to a spot in the top five.

Djokovic will open his defense against Chung Hyeon of South Korea and could meet No. 7 Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals and Federer in the semis.

Federer, who has won four Australian titles among his 17 majors, opens against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, and possibly Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second and No. 27 Grigor Dimitrov in the third.

No 2-ranked Murray will open against Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Nadal opens with a tough encounter against fellow Spaniard and 2009 Australian Open semifinalist Fernando Verdasco.

Fish wins Diamond Resorts Invitational: Former tennis player Mardy Fish won the Diamond Resorts Invitational in Windermere, Florida, easily holding off former pitcher Rick Rhoden in the modified Stableford event for celebrity athletes and entertainers. Fish scored 26 points in the third round to finish with 79. He earned $100,000.

Lattin’s last-second tip lifts Oklahoma

College Basketball: Khadeem Lattin’s tip-in with one second remaining gave No. 2 Oklahoma a 70-68 victory over No. 11 West Virginia in Norman, Oklahoma. Buddy Hield scored 17 points and Ryan Spangler added 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Sooners (15-1, 4-1 Big 12).

Jaysean Paige scored 18 points for West Virginia (15-2, 4-1), which was coming off the big win over Kansas. The Mountaineers were trying to become first team to beat No. 1 and No. 2 in consecutive game since Kansas beat North Carolina and Memphis in the 2008 Final Four.

Clemson upsets No. 8 Miami: Jaron Blossomgame scored 25 points and Clemson defeated a third straight ranked opponent for the first time in program history with a 76-65 victory over No. 8 Miami in Greenville, South Carolina. The Tigers (12-6, 5-1 ACC) have won five straight overall. The Hurricanes (13-3, 2-2) dropped their second straight.

Colson leads Fighting Irish: Bonzie Colson scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Notre Dame upset No. 9 Duke 95-91 in Durham, North Carolina.

Demetrius Jackson added 24 points to help the Fighting Irish (12-5, 3-2 ACC) win their second straight and beat the Blue Devils (14-4, 3-2) for the fourth time in five tries.

Baylor tops Texas Tech at buzzer: Lester Medford hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer – his only one of the game – to lift No. 22 Baylor (14-3, 4-1 Big 12) to a 63-60 victory over Texas Tech (11-5, 1-4) in Lubbock, Texas, the Bears’ fourth straight win.

Tigers rally past No. 14 Wildcats: Kareem Canty scored 26 points, including two free throws with 20 seconds left, helping lift Auburn to a 75-70 upset of No. 14 Kentucky in Auburn, Alabama.

The Tigers (8-8, 2-3 SEC) wiped out a 12-point second-half deficit to snap an 18-game losing streak to the Wildcats (13-4, 3-2).

Caldwell-Pope holds off Curry, Pistons win

NBA: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope held his own against Stephen Curry for most of the night, scoring 20 points as the Detroit Pistons handed the Golden State Warriors their second loss in three games, 113-95 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Curry scored 38 points, but Caldwell-Pope gave the Pistons a boost offensively. The Warriors (37-4) reached the midway point of the regular season a win short of the best 41-game start in NBA history.

Celtics edge Wizards: Jae Crowder scored on a go-ahead layup with 3.9 seconds left off a pass from Marcus Smart and the Boston Celtics outlasted the host Washington Wizards for a 119-117 victory.

Isaiah Thomas scored 32 points to lead the Celtics, who won their third straight and snapped a three-game skid on the road.

Crowder added 22 points for Boston, which had five players in double figures and trailed by as many as 11 before halftime.

76ers snap losing streak: Jahlil Okafor had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help the host Philadelphia 76ers snap a four-game losing streak with a 114-89 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Sixers enjoyed a rare blowout victory and improved to 5-37 with their most lopsided win of the season.

Senators rally past Kings in third period

NHL: Mika Zibanejad scored a tiebreaking power-play goal with 6:50 to play, and the Senators roared back from a two-goal deficit in the third period for a 5-3 victory over the Kings in Los Angeles.

Bobby Ryan and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored 26 seconds apart earlier in the third as Ottawa stunned the Pacific Division leaders and All-Star goalie Jonathan Quick with three goals in just over five minutes.

Rangers top Flyers: Mats Zuccarello scored in a shootout and Henrik Lundqvist reached 20 wins for the 11th straight season, leading the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the host Philadelphia Flyers.

Blair, Snedeker share lead at Sony Open

Miscellany: Zac Blair missed a 2-foot birdie putt on his final hole and had to settle for a share of the lead with Brandt Snedeker at the Sony Open in Honolulu.

Blair drilled a 3-wood into the par-5 closing hole at Waialae to just over 40 feet, lagged it short and pulled the short birdie for a 6-under 64. Snedeker missed birdie putts of 10 feet and 12 feet on the last two holes for a 66.

Wilder keeps WBC heavyweight title with KO: Deontay Wilder retained his WBC heavyweight championship with a devastating knockout of Artur Szpilka in the ninth round at the Barclays Center in New York. Wilder (36-0) knocked Szpilka out cold and flat on his back with a powerful right hand to the head.

Svindal wins World Cup downhill: Aksel Lund Svindal provisionally won a World Cup downhill on the Lauberhorn course in Wengen, Switzerland, finishing at 1 minute, 48.79 seconds.

American Pharoah voted horse of the year: American Pharoah is the horse of the year, and the vote was unanimous. The Triple Crown winner and Breeders’ Cup Classic champion received all 261 votes for top honors at the Eclipse Awards, handed out at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.