Sergio Garcia is adamant LIV Golf "is the future" for the sport as the PGA Tour fights to keep its stars out of the clutches of the lucrative Saudi-backed circuit.
It remains to be seen whether players signed up to the new series are kissing goodbye to playing the majors, which would be diminished by the absence of stars such as Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and new defector Cameron Smith.
The PGA Tour has banned those players from its events for now, though they are still allowed to participate on the DP World Tour – previously known as the European Tour – whose sanctions have been put on hold until a hearing is heard early next year.
Ahead of this weekend's Boston leg of LIV Golf, Garcia told Stats Perform he had no regrets about committing to the controversial series, with the 42-year-old having been one of the first to sign up.
"Yeah, I love it. I think it's great. I think it's getting more and more momentum," the Spaniard said.
"I think that everyone is really enjoying the format and the way we're playing. We all believe that is the future of golf, keeping it fresher, even quicker and all the things that people are asking for. We're very excited about it."
There is a team element as well as individual honours at stake, while each event has so far been contested over 54 holes, rather than 72 as has long been the custom in the men's game. Players are joining on huge signing-on fees, while the level of tournament prize money is also proving appealing.
Saudi Arabia's often-criticised human rights record has led to accusations that LIV Golf is an attempt at 'sportswashing', looking to improve the reputation of a country by investing heavily in a glitzy event featuring widely admired international stars.
Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, insists he has no problem with where the money behind the series originates.
"I think that a lot of people make business with Saudi Arabia and the government is fine. So there's nothing to do there," Garcia said.
"LIV Golf is international Even this year, with just eight tournaments, we're playing some abroad. Next year coming up, there's going to be a lot more tournaments worldwide. So it definitely is [international]."
Paul Casey, an Englishman who won three PGA Tour titles and added 15 tournament wins on the European Tour, is another who has accepted a big cheque to join LIV Golf.
"I saw the first two events before my first event at Bedminster," Casey said.
He told Stats Perform he was impressed by "the energy", "the youngness of the crowd" and the "passion and excitement for everybody involved".
"This is like a start-up. This is something different," Casey said.
The likes of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have insisted they will not be swayed by the huge sums on offer by LIV Golf, standing steadfastly by the PGA Tour and insisting it is that established circuit that is committed to golf's best interests.
McIlroy, who has played on Ryder Cup teams with Garcia and Casey, spoke recently of his opposition to LIV Golf, saying: "I hate what it's doing to the game of golf."
LIV is pumping enormous funds into the Asian Tour, too, with a host of LIV Golf players set to take part in that circuit's International Series.
Casey said: "A lot is always talked about growth of the game and stuff, and that is still an area where there is massive potential. There's been great growth in the game all over, but there's massive potential on the international front and I think the guys who are out here understand that and they're embracing it, and we'll see.
"I mean, I've always enjoyed playing international golf and enjoy playing golf certainly in Asia. And I'm looking forward to being in Bangkok, in Jeddah.
"There's rumours about maybe Australia or something like that as well coming back for us. So that's going to be pretty cool."
Lewis Hamilton declared he was "more impressed" by the efforts of Red Bull's engineers than by Max Verstappen's driving ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Having beaten Hamilton to the drivers' championship in controversial circumstances last year, Verstappen has been dominant throughout 2022, and holds a 93-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez at the top of the standings.
Red Bull also appear certain to end Mercedes' eight-year stranglehold on the constructors' title, having built a 118-point advantage over Ferrari.
Not since the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix have Red Bull failed to get at least one driver onto the podium, while Verstappen has secured nine victories in his last 11 outings.
But when asked about Verstappen's performances, Hamilton chose to shower praise on those behind his car, responding: "I'm more impressed with [Red Bull's chief technical officer] Adrian Newey and his team.
"I think the team, it is a great team. They've generally had really great cars.
"I think they used to have really high ride height and more drag than before, but I think they've realised this year that their engine isn't actually slower than others. They've done a fantastic job.
"When you've got a stable platform like that… it's a great team. They've done an amazing job. I've got to take my hat off to Red Bull. They had a great car last year as well."
In 2011, Hamilton famously dismissed Red Bull as "just a drinks company", but now acknowledges his criticism was misplaced.
"Anything I would have said in the past about the team... I didn't mean it in a negative way," the seven-time world champion added.
"A few years ago, I said something about them being a drinks company and it was really just highlighting that you would bet on a car manufacturer more than them.
"But they've proved me wrong, and they've done a great job."
Meanwhile, Hamilton's strained relationship with 2021 title rival Verstappen could mean the Briton receives a hostile welcome in Zandvoort ahead of Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished as runner-up to Verstappen at the 24-year-old's home race last year, but refuted suggestions his next outing will resemble an "away fixture".
"It's just another race," Hamilton said. "I'm here to do a job."
Serena and Venus Williams saw hopes of one last US Open glory run together scuppered by a Czech pair who apologised for knocking out the American superstars.
The Williams sisters lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 against Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the doubles match given top billing in the New York night session.
Such scheduling had previously been unheard of, but such is the attention being foisted on the sisters that first-round doubles encounter was the match everyone wanted to see, knowing it could well be the last time the siblings play as a team.
Serena has indicated, albeit couched in somewhat vague terms, that this US Open will be her farewell to tennis. Venus, now 42, may follow suit and also retire from the sport.
While 40-year-old Serena remains in the singles, having beaten world number two Anett Kontaveit in round two to set up a Friday night clash with Ajla Tomljanovic, the dream of one more Flushing Meadows doubles title is over.
It was Czech-out time for the duo who have won 14 grand slam doubles titles together, and Hradecka said sorry to the partisan crowd for spoiling the party.
"I'm still in shock that we won, because we were playing for the first time with each other and I think we did a very good job," Hradecka said.
"I'm so sorry for you that we beat them, but we are so happy that we did it."
Hradecka had been planning on playing with Indian Sania Mirza, but an injury for Mirza put paid to that idea, meaning a new partner was required.
Noskova, 17, answered the 37-year-old Hradecka's call, and enjoyed a night to remember.
"Playing against the Williams sisters is a special moment for everybody, anytime," Noskova said.
"I was really lucky I could play with my doubles partner and we could win and pull out a good fight."
It was the Williams' first doubles match at a grand slam since the 2018 French Open, and their first at the US Open since 2014, and although it was a tight contest the younger pair just had the edge.
Neither sister gave an on-court interview or a press conference after the match, with all eyes now turning towards Serena's singles campaign, and the possibility of that extending deep into the second week.
If there is one thing football fans will simply never be calm about, it is the amount of money their club spends on transfers.
No matter how many new, shiny players their team signs, that brief release of endorphins they get from watching YouTube compilations, checking Twitter for updates and finally seeing some over-produced nonsense of a reveal video soon dissipates and it's on to the next one.
Having said that, you wonder what it must have been like to be a Nottingham Forest fan during the transfer window, which finally closed on Thursday.
Back in the Premier League for the first time since 1999, Forest are determined to cement their place in the top tier.
Whatever anyone thinks about the quality of the arrivals, the club absolutely went for quantity as an incredible 21 players came through the door at the City Ground at a total cost – according to Transfermarkt – of £145.76m. Only Chelsea (£251.09m), Manchester United (£214.22m) and West Ham (£163.80m) spent more in the Premier League.
At the other end of the scale, the spending of the team that finished two places above Forest in the Championship last season, Bournemouth, has been comparatively meagre.
The Cherries committed just £24.21m to incomings, with three of their six new arrivals in the window coming in on free transfers, and one a loan.
Head coach Scott Parker was sacked on Tuesday after making his feelings known on the lack of investment from above after his team's 9-0 humbling at Liverpool.
But which approach is likelier to pay off in the long run? You would think Forest's launching of money at anything and everything will give them a better chance of staying up, and possibly even challenging higher up the table in future, but football is rarely that simple.
Using fees from Transfermarkt, Stats Perform has taken a look at the past 10 years of spending from the Premier League's promoted clubs to see how those who splashed the cash in their first season back in the big time fared.
Forest have, unsurprisingly, spent more than any promoted team in Premier League history.
The only club to have come close was Aston Villa in 2019-20, forking out £143.55m after they got themselves back into the top flight.
While it worked as they avoided relegation, they did so by the skin of their teeth, with the final-day draw at West Ham keeping them safe by a single point.
Their survival was largely down to the brilliance of Jack Grealish, who was already there, though some of their signings that season remain at the club - such as Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba.
There have only been two other clubs to spend more than £100m in their first season back in the English top flight and both came in the 2018-19 campaign, with very different results.
Wolves' outlay of £101.48m saw them challenging for the European spots, finishing seventh with 16 wins and 57 points, ahead of Everton, Leicester City and West Ham.
Fulham, on the other hand, spent slightly more (£104.85m), but it did them no good at all as they finished 19th and went straight back down to the Championship, leaving them lumbered with a lot of expensive players with big contracts.
They have managed to recover since, and invested £55.26m after promotion last season, but it was proof if it were needed that big spending is not even a guarantee of survival, let alone success.
There have been just five clubs that have spent less than Bournemouth in preparation to make the jump from the second tier to the Premier League since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Two of them came in that campaign, and as above, with mixed results. Reading spent just £9.74m and unsurprisingly went back down, while West Ham forked out £21.51m on new recruits and finished 10th, and have remained in the Premier League ever since.
The same thing happened in 2014-15 as Burnley's spend of £11.36m was not enough to keep them up, while Leicester's outlay of £20.57m is the least any promoted team has spent without going back down in the past decade. A year later, they won the league.
The least any promoted team has ever spent was fairly recently, with Norwich City deciding they would try and mix it among the best in the land in 2019-20 with an outlay of just £7.93m. It did not work.
Those stories do not really allow us to draw any conclusions though, given the vastly differing fortunes between clubs who appeared to follow similar volumes of spending.
That rings true throughout the past 10 years, with some interesting outcomes along the way.
In the 2013-14 season, Cardiff City (£41.23m) spent more money than both fellow promoted sides, Hull City (£27.99m) and Crystal Palace (£29.70m), but were the only one of the three to go back down.
The 2017-18 campaign is the only one in the past decade that has seen all three promoted sides stay up, with each of them spending between £40-60m (Newcastle United - £41.85m, Huddersfield Town - £51.08m, Brighton and Hove Albion - £59.85m).
In the 2020-21 campaign, only high-spending Leeds United (£96.12m) stayed up of the promoted teams, with West Brom (£37.93m) and Fulham (£33.53m) going back down.
However, last season, only low-spending Brentford (£33.03m) stayed up, with Watford (£39.15m) and Norwich (£57.20m) going back down.
Across the past 10 seasons, the team that spent the most out of the three newly promoted sides has ended up being relegated in five of them, while in seven of the past 10 seasons, the team that spent the least of them has been relegated.
So, what can we gleam from all this?
Essentially, spending money does appear to provide a slight upper hand. Those who have spent more have given themselves a better chance of staying up, but arguably not by the extent you would expect, or even to the extent that makes doing so worthwhile.
Those who choose to be more frugal seem to pay for it eventually, apart from those who already had a strong squad or structure anyway, such as West Ham in 2012-13.
As is the case throughout the game, spending money will only work if it is done with intelligence and the players purchased are utilised efficiently.
Forest will be hoping Steve Cooper can continue to control the wheel as ably as he did in the Championship, but for whoever takes over at Bournemouth, this season might be like getting ahead of Formula One cars in a Ford Focus.
As the old adage goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.
It can happen to the best. Harry Kane, for example, scored just once in his first 13 Premier League games for Tottenham last season, before netting 16 in his next 24 outings once he had his mojo back.
Going under the radar slightly given their results did not particularly suffer as they hunted down an unprecedented quadruple, but opposite to Kane, Mohamed Salah's outstanding goalscoring form in the first half of the season for Liverpool regressed after the turn of the year.
Salah scored 20 non-penalty goals in 26 games in all competitions before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, where his Egypt team suffered an agonising defeat on penalties to Sadio Mane's Senegal in the final.
On his return, Salah scored just five non-penalty goals in 25 outings. The assumption was that the 30-year-old needed a break, and he began the new campaign with a penalty against Manchester City in the 3-1 Community Shield victory and scored the equaliser at Fulham in an opening day 2-2 draw.
However, he has failed to score in three home games against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Newcastle United, with his only other goal so far being a consolation in the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.
That is not to say Salah is necessarily out of form (three goals in six outings is hardly bad so early in the season) but when he has set such high standards, seeing Liverpool have to so often rely on goals from elsewhere just feels a bit... strange.
Ahead of the Merseyside derby on Saturday, Stats Perform has taken a look at why Salah might not be producing the numbers we so often associate with him in front of goal. And in fact, playing against Everton at Goodison Park could be just the tonic.
Three of Salah's four Premier League goals for Liverpool against Everton have come at the home of the Toffees, with only Michael Owen (four) having scored more away goals for the Reds against their local rivals in the competition.
Salah's next goal in the Premier League will see him overtake Steven Gerrard's haul of 120 for the club.
It is frankly remarkable the goal has not already arrived, with Salah somehow unable to score in Liverpool's win against Bournemouth last weekend, even though almost everyone else did as Jurgen Klopp's men ran out 9-0 victors at Anfield.
He had chances, incredibly missing from close range after excellent build-up down the left in the first half, before controlling a lofted Fabinho pass in the second and firing over the bar.
In the much more difficult 2-1 win against Newcastle on Wednesday, Salah was relatively anonymous in front of goal, having just two shots, with neither on target.
Is this bad form though, or is Salah just being asked to fill a different role by Klopp?
The sale of Mane to Bayern Munich always felt like it was going to have a significant impact, with the Senegalese attacker such a vital part of their forward line in recent years.
Luis Diaz's January arrival looked to be setting the table for the next evolution of the attack, with Mane playing down the middle after the Colombia international came in, but the signing of striker Darwin Nunez at the end of the season seemed to signal a slightly more drastic change.
What would it mean for Salah? Well, so far it appears to have had an impact on his role, even with Nunez missing for the last three games through suspension after getting sent off on his home debut against Palace.
Last season, Salah averaged 56 touches per 90 minutes in the Premier League. So far this season he has averaged just 48, seemingly indicating fewer moves are going through him.
More noticeably, although the season is still very young, he is taking fewer shots than usual. Last season he was taking 4.5 shots per 90 in the league, which so far this campaign is down to just 2.8.
You might think that could be due to being more selective in his shots, but that also does not appear to be the case, with his shooting accuracy down at 33.3 per cent from 59.4 last season.
It is not all numbers going down though, as Salah appears to be on a mission to act as chief creator, having already crafted 21 chances from open play for team-mates in his five Premier League games, already more than a third as many as the 62 he created in 35 league games last campaign.
He made eight key passes in the draw with Palace, four at United and six against Newcastle, more than any other Liverpool player in each game, suggesting Salah is preparing himself for life alongside Nunez, who gobbled up chances at Benfica last season.
The 23-year-old had a shooting accuracy percentage of 62.3 per cent in the Primeira Liga in 2021-22, and a shot conversion rate of 30.6 per cent, compared to Salah's conversion rate of 22.8 per cent in a season in which he still scored 23 Premier League goals.
This could mean that, while not exactly reverting back to being the winger he was at Roma when playing with Edin Dzeko, Salah's job in the team may be evolving from main goal-getter to someone who can either score or create in equal measure, making Liverpool a little less predictable.
In his final season with Roma in 2016-17 before moving to Merseyside, he averaged 2.9 shots per game and created 2.5 chances from open play, not entirely dissimilar to the numbers he has put up in the early stages of the new season.
The plan with the presence of Nunez is presumably to cause one of two things, either lead to the Uruguayan making use of the space left by defenders all rushing to stop Salah, or allow the Egyptian more room than usual as opposition players are forced to keep an eye on his new team-mate.
You will never extinguish Salah's thirst for goals. Breaking scoring records is what he lives for, but as he said recently in an interview with Sky Sports: "I never say before the season [my individual goals]. But the collective one is the Premier League and Champions League. It has to be. That was my target last season and I go again until I win both again."
Whatever it takes to win more silverware at Liverpool, Salah will do it, and don't be surprised if that starts with a return to form against winless Everton.
After all, class is permanent.
Jimmy Garoppolo was as surprised as everyone else to stay with the San Francisco 49ers for the 2022 season.
Garoppolo was expected to be released by the 49ers before Tuesday's deadline for teams to cut their rosters to 53 players ahead of the regular season but instead agreed a renegotiated one-year deal to stay in San Francisco.
The team had attempted to move Garoppolo this offseason as part of the transition to Trey Lance as their starting quarterback, having traded three first-round picks to select the younger man with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
An offseason shoulder injury for Garoppolo did not help matters, though, and he will instead serve as back-up to Lance after 45 starts for the 49ers and a strong 31-14 record.
"[Returning] really wasn't on my mind to be completely honest," Garoppolo said on Thursday, speaking for the first time since the news broke.
"I was training out here. I had to be here, so I was here for that reason. I was just trying to get my body right.
"I felt very confident out there, and I knew that I was ready to roll. I just needed to figure out where it was. Things kind of fell into place these last couple days."
Garoppolo had considered asking to be released by the team but said it "just wasn't the way I wanted to go".
Now, with clauses to prevent him being traded or tagged, the quarterback will have control of his career beyond 2022.
"Trust me, there was a lot of back and forth going on just with other teams and what I wanted my future to look like," he explained. "This is what I wanted."
For now, Garoppolo will continue to work with Lance, who insists that is no issue.
"It's not my decision; it's an organisation decision," Lance said.
"Jimmy's been on the roster this whole entire time. Obviously, I knew it was a possibility of bringing him back.
"There's been no bad blood at all between me and Jimmy since day one. I was all arms open, excited to have him back."
Rafael Nadal feared he had broken his nose after being struck by his own racquet in the second-round win over Fabio Fognini at the US Open.
The Spaniard, seeking a 23rd grand slam title, once again recovered from losing the opening set to claim a 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 triumph at Flushing Meadows.
He will now face Richard Gasquet after extending his winning streak at majors in 2022 to 21 matches.
But he will hope the pain from a nasty-looking injury has subsided by then, with Nadal's racquet having bounced off the court and into his nose while he was stretching to make a return in the fourth set.
The world number three needed a medical timeout and treatment, returning with a plaster on his face as the incident ultimately did little to slow his momentum.
"It was just a strong hit," said Nadal. "At the beginning I thought I had broken the nose because it was a shock at the beginning. It was very painful.
"I lost a little bit of the feeling in my head. It was like being a little bit out of this world.
"I don't know, it seems like it is not broken. I am not sure yet. I don't know. I think it's getting bigger and bigger."
For the second match in succession, Nadal had to come from a set behind, having also lost the opener to first-round opponent Rinky Hijikata.
Having struggled to find his rhythm early on, the 36-year-old was pleased that his persistence paid off.
"I'm happy after a terrible start. I don't understand yet how I started that bad because the feeling before the match was good," he said, the win having secured his spot at the ATP Finals for a 17th time.
"But these kind of things sometimes happen, so you need to accept and keep going. That's what I did.
"I'm lucky that Fabio made some mistakes and I was able to start putting some balls in and finish the match playing obviously better, much better."
With matchday six just around the corner, fresh off the first midweek Premier League fixtures of the season, now is when things can start to get tricky.
Some regular starters will likely be rested, and some new faces could emerge and force their way into the calculations going forward.
In a sink-or-swim week, it will be important to focus on players considered too important to their respective side to leave out – but who are those players?
Using Opta data, Stats Perform is here to help, with four suggestions of players that are in form that is impossible to ignore.
David Raya (Brentford v Leeds United)
Brentford's David Raya produced one of the more unlikely goalkeeping performances of the season in his side's 4-0 win over Manchester United – although maybe it should not have been unexpected.
The Spain international has only the one clean sheet to his name this season, but he ranks second in saves-per-90-minutes, and since the start of last season, he ranks second in save percentage.
Only Jose Sa (75.7 save percentage) has a higher save percentage than Raya's 74.2, and only Dean Henderson (five saves per 90 minutes) stops more shots per game this campaign than Raya's 4.4.
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City v Aston Villa)
Manchester City's Portuguese full-back has established himself as one of the most reliable fantasy picks as a crucial part of one of the Premier League's best defences, while also proving to be a consistent source of goals.
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Cancelo ranks fourth out of all defenders for goal involvements with two goals and seven assists, while only Virgil van Dijk (22) is credited with more clean sheets than Cancelo's 21.
He gets a friendly matchup against Aston Villa as well, who this season have scored four goals and conceded nine from their five matches, placing them in the bottom-five in both categories.
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal v Manchester United)
Arsenal are enjoying their best start to a Premier League season since 2003-04, with five wins from five matches, and 20-year-old winger Bukayo Saka is a big reason they are such a threat going forward.
Among Arsenal players, Saka ranks second in both assists (two) and chances created (10) – and it is no product of a small sample size.
Since the beginning of last season, only Kevin de Bruyne (102), Mohamed Salah (84) and Son Heung-min (80) have created more chances than Saka (78) – with a gap back to Mason Mount in fifth (66).
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham v Tottenham)
It should never be a surprise to see Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring goals, but to be going at a goal-per-game in a newly promoted side is evidence of the special talent the Serbian possesses.
Only Erling Haaland has more goals than Mitrovic's five so far, and he is tied with the Norwegian for the Premier League lead in both shots (22) and shots on target (12).
Mitrovic's hot start follows his Golden Boot win in the Championship last season, where he netted 43 goals in 44 appearances. Out of England's top four leagues, Mitrovic is 19 goals clear of any other player since the start of that campaign.
For a moment it seemed Rafael Nadal was in danger of a premature exit from the US Open against Fabio Fognini on Thursday but he steadied to improve his 2022 grand slam record to 21-0.
Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open titles earlier this year, but an abdominal injury forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon at the semi-final stage, handing Nick Kyrgios a passage to the decider won by Novak Djokovic.
The 22-time major champion is on a mission to make it three from four grand slam titles this calendar year in Djokovic's absence in New York.
The 36-year-old Spaniard will take on veteran Richard Gasquet next in the third round, whom Nadal boasts a remarkable 17-0 head-to-head record against.
Nadal's 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 win over Fognini also meant he became the first player to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin too.
But the current world number three has bigger fish to fry, needing to maintain his perfect 2022 record at majors for a fifth US Open crown.
If he succeeds, Nadal will not quite claim a calendar Grand Slam - achieved only by five players in singles history in Don Budge (1938), Maureen Connolly (1953), Rod Laver (1962, 1969), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) - but he would have achieved a staggering 26-0 record at majors for 2022.
For a moment it seemed Rafael Nadal was in danger of a premature exit from the US Open against Fabio Fognini on Thursday but he steadied to improve his 2022 grand slam record to 21-0.
Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open titles earlier this year, but an abdominal injury forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon at the semi-final stage, handing Nick Kyrgios a passage to the decider won by Novak Djokovic.
The 22-time major champion is on a mission to make it three from four grand slam titles this calendar year in Djokovic's absence in New York.
The 36-year-old Spaniard will take on veteran Richard Gasquet next in the third round, whom Nadal boasts a remarkable 17-0 head-to-head record against.
Nadal's 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 win over Fognini also meant he became the first player to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin too.
But the current world number three has bigger fish to fry, needing to maintain his perfect 2022 record at majors for a fifth US Open crown.
If he succeeds, Nadal will not quite claim a calendar Grand Slam - achieved only by five players in singles history in Don Budge (1938), Maureen Connolly (1953), Rod Laver (1962, 1969), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) - but he would have achieved a staggering 26-0 record at majors for 2022.
Rookie right-hander Spencer Strider made history with a franchise-record 16 strikeouts in the Atlanta Braves' 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
The 23-year-old's 16 K's was the most ever by a Braves pitcher in a nine-inning game, bettering John Smoltz's previous record of 15, coming in only his 17th career Major League start.
Strider, who had 79 strikes from 106 pitches, allowed two hits and did not walk a batter, with a mix of fastballs and sliders across eight innings.
The 16 strikeouts were the most in the majors since Walker Buehler had 16 against the Rockies in June 2019.
"I lost track after five [innings]," Strider said about his strikeouts count. "I came out of the game and Kyle [Wright] was telling me something about John Smoltz or whatever. It didn't make any sense.
"It's pretty wild, the guys who've thrown in this organization, it's a long, incredible list. I'm just grateful to be here and having success."
Austin Riley and Michael Harris II hit solo home runs for the Braves, who improve to 81-51 to be three games behind the New York Mets (84-48) in the National League East.
Kershaw shakes off the rust in Dodgers defeat
Clayton Kershaw returned from the injured list with an efficient display but he could not inspire the Los Angeles Dodgers to victory, losing 5-3 to the New York Mets.
After a rusty start, Kershaw had six strikeouts across five innings, allowing one hit, one earned run while walking three batters.
Francisco Lindor was the hero with a tying RBI double in the sixth inning before scoring the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, while Edwin Diaz struck out Gavin Lux to escape a jam in the eighth.
Red Sox rally wth Refsnyder career-first walk-off
Rob Refsnyder's single clinched a walk-off win for the Boston Red Sox who rallied with a four-run ninth inning to win 9-8 over the Texas Rangers.
The Red Sox, who had been behind 8-3 in the eighth, trailed 8-5 entering the ninth with Rafael Devers hitting a two-run double to narrow the deficit before Kike Hernandez's RBI single tied it up.
Refsnyder walked it off for the first time in his career with a line shot that drove home Devers.
Rafael Nadal's quest for a 23rd grand slam title remains alive after overcoming a slow start to defeat Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in four sets on Thursday.
Nadal lost the opening set and trailed 4-2 in the second frame before responding in trademark fashion, winning 16 of the next 19 games, to set up a third-round meeting against Richard Gasquet.
The Spaniard won 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 in two hours and 42 minutes, having also lost the opening set in the first-round win over Rinky Hijikata.
This year's Australian Open and French Open champion's surge to victory was momentarily halted in the fourth set when his racquet bounced off the hard court and into his nose when stretching for a shot.
Nadal needed a medical timeout and treatment but would return to play on, appearing relatively untroubled despite wearing a bandage over his nose, to complete the win.
The four-time US Open champion found himself in a spot of bother after losing the first frame with Fognini converting both of his two break points, before a wild second set that included seven breaks of serve.
Fognini appeared on course for a two-set lead at 4-2 but 23 unforced errors in the second set let him down with Nadal's pressure rising.
The Spaniard's game went up a level in the third, improving his first serve percentage to 75 per cent and only omitting five unforced errors and he carried that momentum through the fourth where he broke Fognini in the second and sixth games, before serving it out.
Data Slam: Breaks galore as Rafa gets revenge
Way back at the 2015 Open playing in a similarly late evening match past midnight, Fognini came from two sets down to defeat Nadal but the Spaniard reversed that this time around. Back in 2015 there were 17 breaks of serve for the match, while in 2022, with a set less played, there were 15 breaks for the match. Almost half of those were in a crazy second set.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 20/37
Fognini – 24/59
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 4/2
Fognini – 1/9
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 9/14
Fognini – 6/10
Rafael Nadal's quest for a 23rd grand slam title remains alive after overcoming a slow start to defeat Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in four sets on Thursday.
Nadal lost the opening set and trailed 4-2 in the second frame before responding in trademark fashion, winning 16 of the next 19 games, to set up a third-round meeting against Richard Gasquet.
The Spaniard won 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 in two hours and 42 minutes, having also lost the opening set in the first-round win over Rinky Hijikata.
This year's Australian Open and French Open champion's surge to victory was momentarily halted in the fourth set 3-0 up in the fourth game when his racquet bounced off the hard court and into his nose when stretching for a shot.
Nadal needed a medical timeout and treatment but would return to play on, appearing relatively untroubled despite wearing a bandage over his nose, to complete the win.
The four-time US Open champion, who amassed 37 unforced errors for the match, found himself in a spot of bother after losing the first frame with Fognini converting both of his two break points, before a wild second set that included seven breaks of serve.
Fognini appeared on course for a two-set lead at 4-2 but 23 unforced errors in the second set let him down with Nadal's pressure rising.
The Spaniard's game went up a level in the third, improving his first serve percentage to 75 per cent and only omitting five unforced errors and he carried that momentum through the fourth where he broke Fognini in the second and sixth games, before serving it out.
Data Slam: Breaks galore as Rafa gets revenge
Way back at the 2015 Open playing in a similarly late evening match past midnight, Fognini came from two sets down to defeat Nadal but the Spaniard reversed that this time around. Back in 2015 there were 17 breaks of serve for the match, while in 2022, with a set less played, there were 15 breaks for the match. Almost half of those were in a crazy second set.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 20/37
Fognini – 24/59
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 4/2
Fognini – 1/9
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 9/14
Fognini – 6/10
Tennis great Roger Federer has congratulated outgoing 23-time major winner Serena Williams on an "incredible career".
The 41-year-old Swiss revealed in a video message posted by the ATP Tour that he stayed up as a teenager to watch Williams' maiden US Open triumph in 1999 and lavished praise on her impact in the sport.
Williams, 40, last month announced her intention to evolve out of tennis after the US Open, where she has remarkably progressed to the third round following her upset win over second seed Anett Kontaveit on Thursday.
"I wanted to congratulate you for a most incredible career," 20-time grand slam champion Federer said.
"You know what you've achieved. I know what you've done. You know what it is, it just beyond incredible.
"I know it's probably with mixed feelings you're leaving this wonderful sport that has given you everything and more. I wish you all the best with your family."
Williams has won six US Open titles during her decorated playing career, including her maiden Flushing Meadows triumph in 1999.
"I think back at '99 at the US Open when you played Martina Hingis, I stayed up late to watch you battle it out as that was the beginning to your incredible career that you've had ever since," Federer said.
"I think the future is going to be wonderful for you. I'm sure it is. Please return to tennis. The tennis community and family will always welcome you with open arms and always be happy to see you again, so please return.
"For now enjoy this moment, enjoy the US Open, enjoy everything that's coming this next couple of weeks even though it might be hard for you.
"But I'm thinking of you and all my respect. I wish you all the very best for your future. Take care Serena."
Federer has not played professional tennis since Wimbledon last year, but has not retired and the former world number one is hoping for a return to action soon.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
