Petra Kvitova fended off home favourite Madison Keys to reach the Western and Southern Open final and secure a return to the world's top 20.

The two-time Wimbledon champion battled to a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-3 victory in two hours and 18 minutes, saying the match had been "mentally so tough".

Both players had taken significant scalps to reach this stage, with Keys knocking out world number one Iga Swiatek and Kvitova ousting Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur.

Kvitova reached semi-finals at Cincinnati in 2012 and 2018 and lost three-set battles on both occasions, but this time she came good in the decider to earn a first final appearance at the event and a 40th overall in her WTA career.

The 32-year-old Czech slipped an early break adrift in the opening set before fighting back to force a tie-break. She came from behind in that, too, to level up at 6-6, only for hard-hitting American Keys to win the next two points, the first with a sizzling backhand winner.

Kvitova sensed she was still firmly in the match, however, and surges to 3-1 in each of the next two sets provided the platform to fully turn around the contest.

A 12th WTA 1000-level final awaits her, and she will go to 20th in the rankings should she lose Sunday's final and up to 15th if she carries off the title.

Kvitova said of her win: "It was incredibly tough. I expected it would be tough, but I didn't expect it that tough. Madison played unbelievable.

"She played an amazing tie-break, but I tried to keep going, be there and be a little calmer than before and wait for the chances. It was an incredible match, and I'm really happy that I made it somehow.

"I don't really care about the ranking. Being in the final, that's more important, and that's why I'm playing tennis: to be in finals and fighting for a trophy."

She awaited the winner of the second semi-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Caroline Garcia.

Arsenal maintained their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season with a comfortable 3-0 victory at Bournemouth.

Captain Martin Odegaard struck twice inside the opening 11 minutes to put the Gunners in control on Saturday, with Bournemouth failing to register a single touch in the Arsenal box in the first half.

William Saliba netted his first goal for the club to extend that lead in the second half, while the influential Gabriel Jesus saw a strike ruled out for offside. 

The win gives Arsenal the enviable record of being the only Premier League side so far to win their opening three matches of the season, although Manchester City can join them on nine points with victory at Newcastle United on Sunday.

Arsenal came flying out of the blocks with former City man Jesus skipping through the Bournemouth defence and teeing up Gabriel Martinelli, who was denied by Mark Travers, only for Odegaard to tap in the rebound.

Odegaard struck again six minutes later, smashing in with his left foot to cap off another fine move that saw Jesus touch Ben White's cutback into the Arsenal captain's path.

The Gunners extended their advantage swiftly after the restart, with Martinelli's deep cross knocked square by Granit Xhaka to Saliba for a curling first-time finish into the top-right corner from just inside the box.

Jesus thought he had got into the act but was denied by the VAR, shown to be narrowly offside following Odegaard's pass, and only his goal was missing as Arsenal remained on the front foot right through to the final whistle.

Brendan Rodgers explained Chelsea target Wesley Fofana was "not in the right frame of mind to play" after leaving the defender out for Leicester City's 2-1 Premier League defeat to Southampton.

Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move for Fofana since missing out on Jules Kounde to Barcelona last month, with the Blues reportedly seeing  several advances for the 21-year-old rebuffed.

Leicester manager Rodgers insisted Fofana was not for sale as recently as Friday's pre-match news conference, but he shifted to a back four on Saturday and left out the centre-back as Daniel Amartey started alongside Jonny Evans as a Che Adams double fired Southampton to a comeback win.

Speaking after Leicester slipped to just their second defeat in 11 home Premier League matches, Rodgers revealed his concerns about Fofana's state of mind.

"In terms of Wesley, it was a young player who is not in the right frame of mind to play at the moment," he said.

"There's a lot going on behind the scenes, which I understand. It's a difficult moment for him. He's a good kid who has been great for us while he's been here. 

"You can't afford to be around your team-mates and playing a Premier League game if you're not fully focused."

Youri Tielemans, who has also been linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium, was only introduced as a 65th-minute substitute, but Rodgers claimed that was a purely strategic decision. 

"Youri, it was a tactical one really," Rodgers added. "The two eights had done really well. James [Maddison] scored again. Ki [Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall] played well in the game. That's why he was on the bench."

Leicester fell to a demoralising defeat after opening the scoring through Maddison's free-kick, meaning only opponents Southampton (32) have dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League than the Foxes (26) since the start of last season.

And Rodgers admitted the negative atmosphere surrounding the club has impacted their ability to hang on to leads.

"I think it's a number of things. It's a bit of desperation," he added. "We played well for the first hour of the games here at home, and then we become a little bit anxious and desperate to get the three points. 

"Maybe it's a case of the feeling around the club. We have to forget the noise and focus. 

"We haven't got the results in the two home games; we played well enough to. We've got to sustain it. We've got to turn 60 minutes into 90 minutes. I'm pretty confident these players will do that."

Edin Terzic denounced Borussia Dortmund's late implosion as "brutally stupid" after Werder Bremen came from 2-0 behind in the 89th minute to snatch a 3-2 victory in the Bundesliga.

Goals from Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro had put an off-colour Dortmund in charge of Saturday's game and seemingly on course for three points.

However, Werder never gave up hope and pulled a first goal back through Lee Buchanan, with Niklas Schmidt equalising in the third minute of stoppage time and Oliver Burke completing the turnaround with the winner two minutes later.

With the flurry of late goals, Bremen became the first side in the history of the Bundesliga to score three goals in the 89th minute or later in a single match.

Dortmund head coach Terzic said: "You have to honestly say that it was a deserved defeat. We didn't play well, and it was a very poor performance from us, both in the first and in the second half.

"We didn't manage to control the game. The way we conceded goals at the end is brutally stupid, brutally annoying and now we're empty-handed."

Captain Marco Reus was similarly scathing, telling Sky: "I have no idea what happened. Despite being 2-0 up, we didn't have any control over the game, not even over the 90 minutes.

"Then Bremen scored the goal in the 89th minute and came again. But in the end we just didn't play well throughout the game."

 

Former Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann, working as a Sky pundit, said Werder's victory was "well deserved".

He said of Dortmund: "I have rarely seen them so confused and desolate over 90 minutes."

Bremen head coach Ole Werner savoured the moment, saying: "It was a turbulent game with a better ending for us.

"Of course there's a bit of luck involved in the end. It wasn't undeserved for the 90 minutes. The last few minutes were pure emotions, that was madness. That cannot be explained rationally."

Diego Simeone hopes Antoine Griezmann will stay with Atletico Madrid on a long-term basis after the France international helped Los Colchoneros make a positive start in LaLiga.

Griezmann came off the bench to score Atletico's third goal in a dominant opening-day win at Getafe on Monday, with Joao Felix recording three assists and Alvaro Morata scoring twice in a 3-0 triumph.

The 2018 World Cup winner is 12 months into a two-year loan spell in the Spanish capital, having endured a largely unhappy period with Barcelona between 2019 and 2021.

Reports suggest Atletico have an obligation to buy Griezmann should he hit a minimum number of appearances in LaLiga this season, and Simeone is keen to keep the 31-year-old.

"We talked about it in the Getafe post-game. I have spoken a lot about him, he is very complete, he knows what we want," Simeone said.

"Last year he already played some games in that role. We see him as adaptable because he has vision of the game, technique, he allows us to play with a more offensive player elsewhere. 

"I hope he continues with us, I appreciate him and I love him. 

"Hopefully he can continue in the line that he had in pre-season and in this Getafe game."

Only Joao Felix (13), Angel Correa (13) and the since-departed Luis Suarez (10) bettered Griezmann's tally of eight goals in all competitions for Atletico last season, despite the France forward making just 27 starts.

Meanwhile, Griezmann will be looking to build on his opening-day goal against a favoured opponent when Atletico host Villarreal on Sunday, having scored four goals in his last four outings against the Yellow Submarine in LaLiga.

It was Griezmann's fellow attacker Joao Felix who stole the headlines last time out, however, becoming the first player to provide three assists on LaLiga's first matchday since Jordi Cruyff did so against Las Palmas in 2000.

But Simeone was unwilling to get carried away with his praise for either him or in-form strike partner Morata, adding: "We are starting LaLiga. It is early to make such a deep reflection. 

"They are in a good moment, they had a great pre-season, they are both excited. They have maturity. Let's hope they continue like this."

Sam Bennett claimed his first Grand Tour stage win in two years as he held off a mass sprint to take victory on Saturday at the Vuelta a Espana.

In the second of three stages held in the Netherlands, the Irishman justified his selection for BORA-Hansgrohe by refinding his form in Utrecht.

Bennett has endured a difficult season, having been left out of the Tour de France for a second straight year, but capitalised on the lead-out qualities of team-mates Ryan Mullen and Danny van Poppel.

"Danny brought me up with speed, then he was kind of ready for me to jump, but I waited a second, and I didn't know if I'd let my speed drop too much, and I was nervous I wouldn't get on top of the speed again," Bennett said.

"Danny didn't deliver me; he launched me. It was down to the boys today.

"It's nice. I knew I'd do it again, it was just a matter of getting the right legs. What I'm really happy about is continuing my pattern of winning at least one stage in every Grand Tour I've done since 2018."

Mads Pederson came in second, having been unable to sustain an early attack, with Tim Merlier finishing third.

Jumbo-Visma dominate the general classification standings, with Mike Teunissen, who crossed in fourth place, taking the leader's jersey from team-mate Robert Gesink.

Three-time reigning champion Primoz Roglic shares that lead.

More Vuelta joy for Bennett 

Bennett has now won nine stages in GTs, with four of those coming at La Vuelta. That makes the race his favourite of the big three, with the 31-year-old having won three at the Giro d'Italia and two at the Tour de France.

STAGE RESULT 

1. Sam Bennett (BORA-Hansgrohe) 3:49:34
2. Mads Pederson (Trek-Segafredo) same time
3. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Deceuninck) same time
4. Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) same time
5. Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS 

General Classification

1. Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) 4:14:14
2. Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) same time
3. Sam Oomen (Jumbo-Visma) same time

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (BORA-Hansgrohe) 50
2. Mads Pederson (Trek-Segafredo) 50
3. Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) 26

King of the Mountains

1. Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) 2
2. Thibault Guernalec (Arkea-Samsic) 1

Christian Eriksen feels victory over Liverpool on Monday would represent a "stepping stone" for Manchester United following their poor start to the season.

United host Liverpool at Old Trafford seeking their first points of the season after following up a 2-1 home defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion with a 4-0 loss at Brentford.

It is the first time since the inaugural Premier League campaign in 1992-93 that United have started a season with successive losses, placing them bottom of the embryonic table. 

Erik ten Hag's task does not get any easier as United have won just one of their past 12 league meetings with Liverpool and are winless in eight since a 2-1 victory in March 2018.

However, Denmark international Eriksen believes a home clash with United's fierce rivals can potentially kickstart their campaign.

"If you get a result in a big game, you get the confidence to go on to the next one, and that's definitely going to help you," he told United Review.
 
"First we need to do better than we did in the last home game [against Brighton]. So we need to get the fans going. 

"We need to start well, get going into the game and play well in general. The fans expect a good game and so do we. But it's definitely a good stepping stone to win the derbies."

Liverpool are themselves seeking a first league victory of the campaign following surprise draws with Fulham and Crystal Palace in their opening two games.

Monday's match will therefore mark the first time both of these sides have been winless heading into this fixture in Premier League history.

That will make for a feisty encounter at Old Trafford, where Eriksen is relishing his first taste of this famous clash.

"I think you feel the vibe going up to the game," he said. "You build up to it. You get a feeling of 'Monday will be Liverpool – how are we going to play against them?'

"Then you build up slowly, to really be on a good note and be in a good place mentally to play the game. 
 
"Of course, you don't know what's going to come to you from the fans, before the game or in the game.

"But when you're locked into the game, you don't really recognise the feeling around you. You're just really locked in and focused on the game."

Saint-Etienne suffered a club-record loss and became just the second Ligue 2 team to have three players sent off in a single match as they were thrashed 6-0 by Le Havre.

One of France's historically nost successful clubs, Saint-Etienne were relegated from Ligue 1 last season, with their misery compounded by a points deduction.

They had opened their season with two draws and one defeat, but were humbled on Saturday.

Saint-Etienne had three players sent off, with two of those dismissals coming in the first half. Anthony Briancon picked up two bookings in the space of four minutes, and Mathieu Cafaro received his marching orders soon after.

It was the first time Saint-Etienne had received two red cards in the first half of a league match in the 21st century, and they then matched a Ligue 2 record set by Valenciennes in 2019 when goalkeeper Etienne Green saw red in the 66th minute.

Le Havre were 3-0 up by that stage, and capitalised on their numerical advantage to inflict a true thrashing, as Saint-Etienne lost by six goals in a home game for the first time in their history.

Chelsea have banned a supporter from Stamford Bridge after carrying out an investigation into the alleged racist abuse aimed at Tottenham's Son Heung-min.

The incident occurred in the second half of last Sunday's 2-2 draw between the rival London teams, as hosts Chelsea were twice pegged back and denied victory.

Footage emerged on social media on Wednesday appearing to show Son being targeted with a racist gesture from the Stamford Bridge stands as he went over to take a corner in front of home fans.

That was followed on Thursday by Chelsea condemining "idiots like this that attach themselves to this club as so-called 'fans'", saying such an incident brought shame on the Blues.

Chelsea pledged to take "the strongest action" as they worked to identify the fan in question, and on Saturday the Premier League club revealed they had found a culprit.

The club said: "Following our statement this week on racist abuse at the Tottenham game last Sunday, Chelsea Football Club can confirm that it has identified and banned a season ticket holder indefinitely."

Antonio Conte suggested Harry Kane would gladly swap his goalscoring accolades for a major trophy after he broke the Premier League's one-club goals record in a hard-fought win over Wolves.

Kane nodded home from close range to earn Tottenham a 1-0 victory over Bruno Lage's men on Saturday, with his 185th Premier League goal for Spurs moving him clear of Sergio Aguero's tally of 184 strikes in the competition for Manchester City.

The 29-year-old's second-half winner also represented his 250th goal for the club in all competitions, as well as Tottenham's 1,000th Premier League goal on home soil.

But for all his goalscoring prowess, Kane is yet to lift a major trophy, finishing as an EFL Cup and Champions League runner-up with his club and failing to lead England to glory in the Euro 2020 final last year.

While Conte was full of praise for Kane when speaking to BT Sport after the win, he emphasised the striker's desire to play his part in a collective triumph.

"It is a great achievement, a great personal achievement, but I know that Harry would like to exchange this achievement with a trophy," Conte said.

"I know this, he is working for this and we are working for this, to try to improve the team and bring the club on another level, not only to have big personal achievements.

"At the same time, you know very well my consideration about Harry, we are talking about a world-class striker.

"But what makes me happy is not only with the ball – that we have in our team a top scorer, a top player – but we have a player totally involved with the other team-mates and [who] works a lot for the team. 

"For this reason, I am really pleased to have him and to be his coach."

Tottenham's win means they have remained unbeaten through their first three matches of the Premier League season, just as they did under Nuno Espirito Santo last term. This is the first time Spurs have done so in consecutive campaigns since 2004-05 and 2005-06.

And Conte believes Tottenham's run of positive results – all against teams who won the corresponding fixtures last season – is a reflection of their development in recent months. 

"The performance at the end was good, because I had to consider everything, first of all the importance of the opponent," he said.

"Wolverhampton I think in the last week signed important players like [Goncalo] Guedes, like [Matheus] Nunes. I think when you see their starting XI today, you have to be a bit scared. 

"I think it's a really good team. In the first half we struggled a bit, but in the second half I think we deserved to win, we created many chances to score. The first half was good to stay calm, to stay focused, to suffer together. 

"Don't forget, last season with these three teams we played this season, we lost. Against Southampton, against Chelsea and against Wolverhampton, with me [as coach]. 

"Now we've got seven points, I think that is a good sign. The team is continuing to improve."

Harry Kane declared "I always love scoring" after netting his landmark 250th goal for Tottenham in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Wolves.

The England captain headed in from an Ivan Perisic flick-on in the 64th minute to settle the Premier League clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As well as hitting the 250-goal mark in all competitions, Kane's goal was his 185th for Spurs in the Premier League, seeing him surpass Manchester City great Sergio Aguero to become the top-scoring player in the division for a single club.

Having only recently turned 29, Kane will be aiming to beat Alan Shearer's record of 260 Premier League goals, with Andy Cole (187) and Wayne Rooney (208) the only others ranked above him.

Speaking to BT Sport, Kane said: "It's been a fantastic nine or 10 years in the Premier League.

"Hopefully there are many more years to go. I always love scoring. The most important thing is winning games and we've started the season doing that.

"I've got to give credit to the boys – they dug deep and got a clean sheet today."

Kane's goal was also the 1,000th scored by Tottenham at home in the Premier League, seeing them join Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in that elite group.

The striker's headed winner came from one of 11 attempts by Tottenham, compared to 20 from Wolves, who edged the first half but failed to truly test Hugo Lloris.

"Credit to Wolves, they made it difficult," Kane said. "In the second half we came out with real intensity from the off.

"We created chances and pressed better and got the goal we deserved. We didn't create too many chances after that, but neither did they."

Tottenham have started the season unbeaten in their first three Premier League games – the first time they have done so in consecutive campaigns since 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Antonio Conte's side recovered from going behind to beat Southampton 4-1 in their opener before twice battling back to draw 2-2 with Chelsea.

While Spurs were able to keep out a still-winless Wolves on Saturday, Kane accepts they need to perform with greater purpose at the beginning of games.

"We need to start games better – it was the same against Chelsea," he said. "We need to improve, but the sign of a good team is winning when you don't play your best."

Stefano Pioli has rejected suggestions Milan are favourites to retain the Serie A title this season, claiming the Rossoneri will struggle to match last campaign's tally of 86 points in a "very competitive" league.

Milan ended an 11-year wait for the Scudetto when they edged out rivals Inter at the end of a fierce title race in May, and began the new campaign with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Udinese last week.

But several sides, including Inter, Juventus, Napoli and Roma – all of whom also started the season with a victory – have been tipped to challenge Milan for their crown, and Pioli expects a difficult fight.

"We have to be an interchangeable team," Pioli said ahead of Sunday's trip to Atalanta.

"It will be such a balanced championship that it will be difficult to score last year's points. Difficulties will come for everyone, even with teams that you don't expect.

"There are seven or eight strong teams, a very balanced and competitive league. One game at a time we must continue on our path and work to become more and more competitive.

"We are strong, here we all have to feel important, but nobody is indispensable. What is indispensable is the mentality and the work. 

"The winner will be whoever is the most consistent in results and performances. You have to play with intensity and quality. 

"Head-to-head matches are important and last year we won precisely because we scored so many points with the big teams."

Milan started both of their previous full Serie A seasons under Pioli with consecutive victories, beating Bologna and Crotone to begin the 2020-21 campaign before overcoming Sampdoria and Cagliari last term, and will be looking to maintain that record in Bergamo on Sunday.

Meanwhile, since clinching the title, Milan have acquired Belgian attackers Charles de Ketelaere and Divock Origi, and Pioli has refused to rule out further activity before the closure of the transfer window.

However, the 56-year-old insists the Rossoneri will only move for the right target, as he revealed Simon Kjaer is closing in on a return after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury last year.

"As for the market, we have the will - if the situation were right - to improve certain situations," he added.

"But the squad is strong, Kjaer is approaching 100 per cent. I repeat, if we find something to improve well [we may be active], otherwise we are already competitive like this."

Wesley Fofana was left out of the Leicester City squad for Saturday's game against Southampton amid ongoing transfer interest from Chelsea.

The Blues have reportedly seen several advances for the Frenchman rebuffed, with Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers insistent the club do not want to sell the defender.

Speaking in Friday's press conference, Rodgers reiterated the club's stance has not changed and Fofana is not for sale.

"The idea is that he is very much a Leicester player. He's not for sale. Unless anything changes, I would expect him to be here," Rodgers said.

The 21-year-old Fofana is reportedly keen to secure a move to Stamford Bridge though. With that distraction a factor, he was not included for the visit of Saints on Saturday.

Fofana played in both of Leicester's previous games this season, where the Foxes drew with Brentford on the opening weekend before enduring a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Arsenal.

Youri Tielemans, who has entered the final year of his contract with Leicester and has been linked with a transfer to Arsenal, dropped to the bench against Southampton.

Leicester faced a youthful Southampton, with the Saints starting XI showing an average of 23 years and 238 days – the youngest named in a Premier League game since Manchester United's line-up against Crystal Palace in May 2017 (22y 284d).

Harry Kane set another Premier League record and maintained Tottenham's positive start to the campaign by heading his side to a 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.

Spurs beat Southampton in their opener and battled to a 2-2 draw at Chelsea last weekend, but they struggled to get going in a quiet first half against a still-winless Wolves.

Antonio Conte's men stepped things up in the second half and were rewarded after 64 minutes when Kane met full debutant Ivan Perisic's flick-on and nodded in from close range.

That was Kane's 250th goal for Spurs and his 185th in the Premier League – the most of any player for a single club – and was enough to secure all three points for the hosts.

Wolves had 12 shots in a first half the visitors edged, but the closest they went to a breakthrough was a glancing Ruben Neves header and a deflected shot from new signing Matheus Nunes.

Neither of those efforts tested Hugo Lloris, however, whereas Tottenham's only attempt of the first half saw Jose Sa brilliantly tip over Kane's looping header.

Conte elected against making any half-time changes but Tottenham improved considerably in the second half, with Kane thumping another header against the frame of the goal.

Son Heung-min was next to hit the post, doing so from closer range with a shot on the turn, though Tottenham did not have to wait much longer for their opener.

Perisic guided Son's corner into the path of Kane and the England striker could not miss from a few yards out as he brought up his landmark goal, with that proving enough.

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