Federer, Djokovic in same half of Australian Open

Defending champion Roger Federer has been drawn in the same half of the Australian Open as six-time winner Novak Djokovic, who is returning from an elbow injury and is seeded 14th.

Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the final here last year on his return from six months on the sidelines and is seeded No. 2 as he bids for a 20th Grand Slam singles title.

Serena Williams has opted not to defend her title four months after giving birth to her first child, leaving the women’s draw open.

Venus Williams, who lost the all-Williams final last year, has a tough opener against Belinda Bencic and is also in the same quarter as U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens.

NFL

RAIDERS TO BE INVESTIGATED OVER ROONEY

RULE » The NFL said Thursday it will investigate whether the Oakland Raiders violated the “Rooney Rule” when they hired Jon Gruden as coach.

The Fritz Pollard Alliance called for the investigation on Wednesday out of concern that Raiders owner Mark Davis came to an agreement with Gruden before the team interviewed any minority candidates as required by the NFL since 2003.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement that the NFL will “look into this.”

Davis fired Jack Del Rio on Dec. 31, and the team officially hired Gruden on Jan. 6. Davis also said he wouldn’t have fired Del Rio if he didn’t believe Gruden would sign on as coach.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said Tuesday he interviewed two minority candidates before Gruden’s hiring was announced. Those candidates were Oakland tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and Southern California offensive coordinator Tee Martin.

NFL ANNOUNCES 2018

ENGLAND GAMES » The Oakland Raiders will host the Seattle Seahawks in the first NFL game at the new London stadium of English Premier League club Tottenham.

The game will be played in Week 6 of the season on Oct. 14.

There will be three consecutive weeks of games in London. The other two will take place at Wembley Stadium, English soccer’s national stadium, on Oct. 21 and 28.

The Philadelphia Eagles will play the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Tennessee Titans will take on the Los Angeles Chargers.

Soccer

PULISIC NAMED U.S. PLAYER OF THE YEAR » Christian Pulisic is the runaway winner of the 2017 U.S. Player of the Year award. At 19, he’s the youngest to gain the honor in the award’s 27-year-history.

The Borussia Dortmund midfielder received 81 first-place votes and 254 points in balloting conducted among 104 media by the radio network Futbol de Primera that was announced Thursday. Jozy Altidore was second with 95 points and captain Michael Bradley third with 75 points.

A midfielder from Hershey, Pennsylvania, Pulisic had six goals and four assists in nine games for the national team last year.

Pulisic won the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Male Player of the Year award last month.