Sports Shorts: Venus settles lawsuit over fatal Florida car crash

Tennis star Venus Williams settled a wrongful death suit related to a fatal traffic accident she was involved in near her Florida residence in June 2017, according to court records.

The terms of the agreement between Williams and the estate of Jerome Barson, 78, who died in the crash, were not disclosed in the court documents. The lawsuit, which was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, was settled on November 15.

Representatives for Williams and Barson's estate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Barson, who was a passenger in a sedan that collided with the SUV that Williams was driving, died 13 days after the accident. His wife, Linda Barson, 68, was driving the sedan.

Williams was originally found at fault for the accident, which occurred near her home in Palm Beach Gardens days before she was to compete at Wimbledon.

Police had said Williams had failed to yield the right-of-way. Later they decided not to charge her because video surveillance showed she entered the intersection lawfully and a car not involved in the collision forced her to stop in the intersection, where Williams' vehicle was struck by the Barsons'.

Williams is currently ranked 39th in the world, according to the Women's Tennis Association.

Saina, Kashyap advance in Syed Modi

Defending champions Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy crashed out in the mixed doubles opening round but Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap notched up easy wins to make a positive start at the Syed Modi World Tour Super 300 in Lucknow on Wednesday.

Top seeds Pranaav and Sikki lost 14-21, 11-21 to China's Ren Xiangyu and Zhou Chaomin in just 31 minutes.

Second-seeded Saina, who has won the Lucknow tournament thrice in the past, thrashed Mauritius' Kate Foo Kune 21-10, 21-10 in the women's singles, while former Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap outclassed Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-14, 21-12 in a one-sided men's singles match.

London Olympics bronze medallist Saina will face compatriot Amolika Singh Sisodiya next, while Kashyap will meet Indonesia's Firman Abdul Kholik.

Former Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth also crossed the men's singles opening hurdle, beating Russia's Sergey Sirant 21-12, 21-10. He will clash against Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia in the next round match.

Subhankar Dey, who had claimed his maiden title at SaarLorLux Open, beat Sweden's Felix Burestedt 21-15, 21-13 to set up a clash with Lu Guangzu of China.

Former national champion Rituparna Das, seeded eighth, saw off Russia's Natalia Perminvova 21-19, 18-21, 21-10 and will next face compatriot Shruti Mundada in the women's singles.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, seeded sixth, also notched up a 21-10, 21-10 win over compatriots Krishna Prasad Garaga and Rutaparna Panda in the mixed doubles opening round.

Among others, Prashi Joshi, Saili Rane, Riya Mookerjee, Pardeshi Shreyanshi, Reshma Karthik and Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka also made it to the women's singles second round.

Italian Bracciali banned for life, Starace for 10 years

Italian former world top-50 player Daniele Bracciali has been banned from tennis for life after being found guilty of match-fixing, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) said.

Bracciali, 40, was found guilty by an Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing of match-fixing offences at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona on 2011. He was also fined $250,000.

Former Italian player Potito Starace was also handed a 10-year ban from any future involvement in tennis, and a $100,000 fine after being found guilty of match-fixing and associated offences at the same tournament.

Both men will have the right of appeal through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"In a decision announced today, which follows a disciplinary Hearing held in London on 18-19 September, Prof (Richard H) McLaren found (Bracciali) guilty of match-fixing offences relating to the ATP 500 World Tour tournament in Barcelona in April 2011," a TIU statement said.

"He was also found to have facilitated betting relating to the Barcelona match."

Bracciali is currently ranked 100 in the world in doubles. As a singles player he reached number 49 in 2006. Starace reached a career-high 27 in 2007.

Starace, whose case was heard by the same tribunal, will be prohibited from attending any sanctioned events organised or recognised by the governing bodies of the sport.

The TIU is an initiative of the sport's various governing bodies, the Grand Slam Board, the International Tennis Federation and the ATP and WTA Tours.