Jessica Pegula produced an impressive display in the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, as she beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.

Pegula broke her losing streak against the Belarusian having lost their last five meetings and the American has now won her last five games against top 10 players.

Sabalenka made 33 unforced errors, but it still took Pegula seven match points before clinching a 6-4 6-3 win and a place in the semi-finals.

After the match, Pegula said her improvement comes from feeling “more comfortable” playing top players this year.

Sabalenka will now play Elena Rybakina on Thursday night to determine the second qualifier from the group after Rybakina defeated Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-7 (4) 7-6 (2).

Rybakina started with a fury with a dominant first set but Sakkari fought her way back, winning the second set in a tiebreak.

Sakkari had two break point chances in the final set at 4-4, but Rybakina fought back and finished the tiebreak in a dominant fashion, skipping out to a 6-0 lead.

A number of players, including Sabalenka, Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and Iga Swiatek criticised the conditions of the courts in Cancun.

For the third year in a row, the host of the prestigious tournament – which features the top eight players of the season – was decided less than two months prior to the event.

Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs as the Texas Rangers moved within one win of their first World Series title on Tuesday with an 11-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Corey Seager added a two-run home run and the Rangers won their 10th straight postseason road game, extending their MLB record.

Texas scored five runs in the second and third innings, becoming the first team in World Series history with consecutive five-run innings.

Texas can wrap up the World Series in Game 3 on Wednesday.

Only seven of the last 49 teams to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series failed to win. The most recent team to overcome a 3-1 deficit was the Chicago Cubs against Cleveland in 2016.

Seager’s third two-run homer of the Series capped the five-run second and Semien’s blast punctuated the third.

The Rangers learned before the game that slugger Adolis Garcia and pitcher Max Scherzer will miss the rest of the World Series.

Garcia, the ALCS MVP, has a moderate strain of his left oblique and Scherzer, who was in line to pitch a possible Game 7, has a muscle spasm on the right side of his back.

Garcia hit .323 with eight homers and a major league-record 22 RBIs in these playoffs.

Travis Jankowski took Garcia’s spot in right field and had two hits and two RBIs in his first Series at-bats.

The Diamondbacks were held in check by Andrew Heaney and the Rangers’ bullpen before scoring four runs in the eighth, three on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s home run off Chris Stratton.

Heaney allowed one run and four hits in five innings.

Gabriel Moreno added a two-run single in the ninth to draw Arizona closer, but Jose Leclerc retired Christian Walker for the final out.

Arizona’s Ketel Marte extended his postseason-record hitting streak to 20 games with a first-inning single.

Charlton boss Michael Appleton admitted the 3-2 victory at Wigan – his side’s first away win of the Sky Bet League One season – was ‘job done’.

All the damage was done in the first half at the DW Stadium, with two goals from Alfie May and one from Corey Blackett-Taylor.

After substitute Tyreece Campbell came within a lick of paint of making it four shortly after the restart, the Wigan revival began.

Thelo Aasgaard hit the bar – team-mate Callum Lang had done the same in the first half – before the Norway junior international pulled one back with six minutes to go.

And a frantic finale was ensured when substitute Stephen Humphrys scored Wigan’s second goal in the last minute, only for Charlton to hold out.

“We got the job done, which was the most important thing and the first thing I said in the dressing room afterwards,” said Appleton.

“I’m not going to focus on the last 10 minutes. I’ll focus on what I’ve seen before.

“We were on the front foot. We were pressing really high. The players looked like they were enjoying working really hard and making contact with people.

“If you want to win on the road, you need that type of mentality. We knew the areas of the pitch we had to press really aggressively and we did that and got all the rewards for it.

“Even if they got the first goal, if we’d got three or four wins under our belt on the road, then I don’t think they get a second.

“It’s just that mentality of ‘oh no, surely this can’t happen’, which you could sense was dropping into one or two players.

“But, to be fair, there were a few players on the pitch who rallied round and got after some of our younger players and made sure they could see the game out.”

Wigan boss Shaun Maloney took ‘full responsibility’ for the result after making three changes to a side that had won three matches in the space of a week.

A triple change at the interval helped redress the balance, with Martial Godo coming on and laying on the goals for Aasgaard and Humphrys, but it was too little, too late.

“I spoke a few weeks ago in terms of us having a really great start to the season, and I spoke about complacency setting in,” he said. “And possibly I think that happened again.

“But I have to take full responsibility for that, I didn’t get the team right. You could see the way we played in the second half was very different.

“I didn’t get the team right, the changes I made – that I hoped would have a positive impact – didn’t contribute to a good performance by the team.

“Charlton were very good, they deserved their 3-0 lead at a minimum. But the second half was the complete opposite, and I’ll have to focus a lot on that heading into the weekend.

“As a club, from top to bottom, we have to understand that at no point can we take our foot off the gas, any of us, and that starts with me.”

Sarina Wiegman said England had made life difficult for themselves and been given a “hard lesson” after a 3-2 Nations League loss to Belgium in Leuven.

Having fallen behind to Laura De Neve’s early free-kick and then seen defender Alex Greenwood carried off on a stretcher, the Lionesses turned things around to lead via goals from Lucy Bronze in the 38th minute and Fran Kirby in the 44th.

But Belgium captain Tessa Wullaert equalised in first-half stoppage time before notching the winner with an 85th-minute penalty awarded for a Georgia Stanway handball as England slipped to third in Group A1 with two games to play.

Boss Wiegman, whose side had beaten the Belgians 1-0 in Leicester last Friday, told ITV: “This was a game (where) I think we should have been tighter on the ball.

“We weren’t as great in the tempo. We did create lots of chances, we still dominated the game totally, but at moments we lost the ball and then they were gone on the counter-attack. They had five, six moments like that and then they got two or three chances. So it was really us that made it (for) ourselves so hard.

“They played tough, were very compact, and as soon as they win the ball then they were trying to play the counter-attack, and that’s something we really have to get out of our game.

“And besides that, we did create lots of chances but we just have to do better in the final third.”

She added: “We were sloppy on the ball and they were ready for that. We have to be tight, especially in the build and create, at moments we don’t expect to lose the ball, and we didn’t do that good enough today. That’s a hard lesson for us.”

This competition provides England with the opportunity to secure a Paris 2024 Olympics qualification spot for Great Britain – they need to finish top of the group to have a chance to do that, something they are in danger of failing to achieve after their second defeat in four matches in the pool.

With six points, they are now three behind table-toppers the Netherlands – 1-0 victors over Scotland on Tuesday – and one behind Belgium.

The final two rounds of fixtures see England play the Dutch, who beat them 2-1 in Utrecht in September, at Wembley on December 1 then Scotland at Hampden Park four days later.

Meanwhile, Ives Serneels’ Belgium will host Scotland then face the Netherlands away – two wins for the Red Flames would see England miss out on top spot regardless of how they fare.

Wiegman said: “First of all we have to win with more than one goal against the Netherlands at Wembley, and then we have to win the other game too, because Belgium is in a very good place too.

“We know we have work to do – we always do, but we have put ourselves in a hard position at the moment.”

Greenwood went down around 20 minutes into the contest following an accidental clash of heads with Belgian forward Jassina Blom. She received treatment on the field for about 10 minutes before being placed on a stretcher and taken off.

While it was a worrying scene, a subsequent post from the Lionesses’ official X account said Greenwood was “conscious and talking, and…being monitored by our medical staff.”

And Wiegman said of the Manchester City player: “I haven’t talked to the medical staff yet… She’s alright – when she’s walking, she’s alright.”

Malky Mackay was disappointed Ross County did not leave Easter Road with a victory after they fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Hibernian.

The Staggies looked to be staring at defeat when they trailed to goals from Elie Youan and Jair Tavares.

But they roared back strongly to claim a point courtesy of an Allan Delferriere own goal and a strike from substitute Jordan White.

Mackay was pleased with the spirit his team showed to get a third successive away draw but he felt they could have claimed all three points after Ryan Leak and Will Nightingale both missed late chances to win it.

“I’ve got mixed feelings,” said Mackay. “I’m delighted in the performance and comeback. I’m slightly disappointed we didn’t win the game.

“In the first half we were excellent and controlled a lot of the game. We didn’t quite pull the trigger and I was really disappointed to lose the deflection before half-time because it changed things when the crowd were starting to get restless.

“Second half we started well, lost a good goal from their point of view and at 2-0 you think ‘this could get away from us here’.

“But we were brave and continued to play and find openings and we eventually got the goals. I’m disappointed because we had another couple of great chances near the end to win it.”

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery rued his team’s performance and the way they squandered a position of command ahead of this weekend’s Viaplay Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.

“I’m disappointed and frustrated,” he said. “We failed to manage the game properly. I’m disappointed in the display and result.

“Jair scored his first goal for the club, which was a fantastic moment for him, but we have to be disappointed with the goals we gave away but credit to Ross County for keeping going and throwing bodies in the box. We didn’t deal with that as well as we should.

“We felt frustration from the fans. We were winning 2-0, not playing well but if you get three points you move forward. It feels like we’ve thrown two points away but we have to move on and get ready for a big game on Saturday.”

Hibs appeared to lose their way after Montgomery made three substitutions midway through the second half.

“I wanted to get fresh legs on,” said the manager. “Some changes were enforced, some I felt would give us energy after a tough game on the weekend.

“You don’t want to risk players carrying knocks but I take full responsibility for the team selection and subs. We’ll review the game tomorrow.

“Maybe we could have been more prepared when the subs came on but that’s something we can address. I take responsibility for the team, the subs and a disappointing result.”

It emerged before the match that billionaire Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has begun talks aimed at investing in Hibs.

“I’m not going to comment on speculation, that’s for the board and the CEO and the owners,” said Montgomery. “All I’m concentrating on is football.

“Of course any club getting investment is probably looked on as a positive but it’s not right for me to comment on any speculation.”

Cambridge manager Mark Bonner was relieved to see Liam Bennett narrowly avoid putting into his own net in extraordinary fashion in the closing stages of his side’s 0-0 Sky Bet League One draw at Wycombe.

It was almost a Halloween horror story for the defender in the 89th minute of what was largely a forgettable contest when his wayward slice 35 yards from his own goal somehow bounced over.

That late escape preserved a point for Cambridge, backing up their weekend victory over Carlisle, while it extended Wycombe’s winless run to four games.

Bonner said: “It was a real spooky moment, almost a horror show there at the end, which was always possible tonight.

“It’s a horrible moment and it would have been really unfair because it’s bounced so close to the line and then you have to clear your head really quickly and defend the corner coming in, but I thought we did that well.

“Ryan Bennett has made a brilliant block at the end, JK [Lack Lankester] has got out to block one, Sullay Kaikai has got out to block one and got fouled at the edge of the box.

“Everyone had to put the shift in to do that, so it was a horrible moment that nearly went for them, but over the balance of play a point is probably fair for both sides.

“We felt like we had a couple of good chances to take maximum points and that’s the ruthlessness we need to develop.”

Ryan Bennett produced a towering header for Cambridge, only to denied by the bar and post, while Wycombe’s Garath McCleary had an effort saved by goalkeeper Jack Stevens.

His opposite number, Max Stryjek, then made a brilliant stop to keep out Lankester before Liam Bennett was momentarily left with his heart in his mouth.

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield said: “It’s slow motion, isn’t it, when the ball is travelling through the air at that point? Time stops and it’s all slow motion.

“I thought the goalkeeper was going to get his foot to it, ultimately he’s missed it and I don’t really know how it’s not gone in at that point.

“I think the way the boys have played and their effort over the last 10 days, in terms of the four games that have gone, we haven’t had loads of bodies to rotate and keep ourselves fresh.

“We had to change formation as well and I’m incredibly pleased with the application of the players, in terms of how they’re trying to go and retain their identity.

“I think because of the effort we’ve put in for the last four games, us winning the game would have been justified, but we have to be pleased with the clean sheet.”

Derby assistant head coach Richie Barker admitted he still had frustrations despite his side’s 4-0 demolition of Northampton.

Barker thought the margin of victory should have been even bigger after Derby bounced back in style from defeat to Stevenage to blow Northampton away.

He said: “I’m pleased with the result but more so with the performance, the goals were excellent.

“My biggest frustration, if I’m being honest, is that it wasn’t more. It was a good opportunity for us to send out a real message but it’s about reaction and the ability to put things behind them 48 hours later and get on with it.

“Our reaction to losing the ball was excellent, we have to do the right things. People come here to watch goals, but you have to get the ball back to do that.

“Northampton ended up playing three different formations in the first half, which shows we created issues for them.

“People have gone away from here tonight saying we have the right work ethic. I was proud of them as a group of players. At the weekend we didn’t compete physically but here we gained in confidence.”

Max Bird scored his first goal of the season in the 14th minute, steering in a cross from Conor Washington who then burst between two defenders to add a second in the 22nd minute.

Bird bagged his second 10 minutes later when he converted Conor Hourihane’s clever pass and although Northampton made three changes at the break, they were opened up again in the 49th minute with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing dispatching Tom Barkhuizen’s cross.

Barkhuizen and James Collins missed good chances to add to Northampton’s misery but the result was still Derby’s biggest win of the season.

Northampton manager Jon Brady said: “They are an incredible team, they moved the ball brilliantly well with great rotations.

“We talked defensively about the way we had to move with the speed of the ball but when you have players who aren’t moving at the speed of the ball and leaving big gaps, it was plain to see in the first 15 minutes we weren’t at the races really.

“They were probably on a night at their best and we need to have every single player at 12 out of 10 to even have a chance of competing and our levels weren’t anywhere near that.

“We had little spells but we couldn’t get anywhere near their goal. Not being disrespectful to our players but they are a high-class team in the way they played and unfortunately we were below our standards to even try and get anything out of the game.”

Lincoln interim head coach Tom Shaw was frustrated after his unbeaten run in temporary charge came to an end, with Oxford coasting to a 2-0 Sky Bet League One victory at a foggy Sincil Bank.

An early goal from Ciaran Brown, plus a second-half goalkeeping howler from home keeper Lukas Jensen, saw second-placed Oxford dominate the Imps, ending their own three-game winless run in fine style.

For Shaw it was a dose of harsh reality following two victories and a draw and he admitted his players had not reached the levels they had previously.

“It was a disappointing night after a very good run,” admitted Shaw. “There will be some reasons for it, which will be understandable, but we come away frustrated after not giving a performance we were hoping for.

“We’ve had a really tough run of games, with a lot of travel, and we just struggled to get to our physical and mental best. They [Oxford] are a very good side with some talented players.

“We were not aggressive enough with the ball. It was probably too ‘nice’ a football match which suited Oxford a little bit more.

“We started well, but then conceded a soft goal. We tried to find a spark and the lads kept trying but we just couldn’t find it and we didn’t create enough volume around their goal.”

Shaw defended big Danish stopper Jensen after his 64th-minute calamity sealed his side’s fate, adding: “He’ll be disappointed as his standards are so high. He has been fantastic and there’s no drama from us.”

The visitors took the lead after 12 minutes, from their first attack, when Brown headed Cameron Brannagan’s near-post corner into the roof of the net.

Oxford could have had more goals, but Jensen denied both substitute Stan Mills and Tyler Goodrham. However, his calamitous error gifted the visitors their second goal, when he attempted to catch Mills’ cross-cum-shot from the right, but only succeeded in fumbling it into his own net.

Oxford boss Liam Manning was delighted with his side’s showing as they bossed large parts of the game.

He said: “It was a real professional performance from us and I am delighted with the players, although it was frustrating at times as in the first half we created some terrific opportunities but didn’t take them. But huge amount of credit to the players.

“We had to make a change early on, bring Stan [Mills] on and we changed the system, and it just shows where the lads are at. I thought we restricted Lincoln to very little, especially in the second half.”

Mills came on after just eight minutes for the injured Sam Long and Manning praised his all-action display, while he also claimed an important assist.

“You forget how young he is,” said Manning. “He can change games, his behaviour is great and I thought he did really well tonight.”

Port Vale manager Andy Crosby was a proud man as his League One side saw off in-form Mansfield Town to book a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals for the first time.

Alfie Devine’s 50th-minute finish proved the difference, ending League Two Mansfield’s proud 19-game unbeaten start to the season.

Crosby said: “It feels incredible to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the club’s 147-year history. It is an amazing achievement and well deserved.

“We were the better team. We came here as underdogs as our level of performances and results recently have been poor.

“We were poor on Saturday and there was a lot of frustration from all of us.

“But the only place you can respond is not with words but out on the pitch where it matters and every single player that represented us tonight was immense and the performance was really good.

“It is a reward for everyone connected with the football club from the owners, who has developed and grown the club on and off the pitch, to everyone who works at the club and a group of players and staff who have made history.

“We had to go right to the end. We’ve been here before where we’ve played well in the first half and not taken our opportunities.

“We had to put our foot on the gas and go again and it was an outstanding goal by Alfie Devine. It was well executed and a great finish.”

Vale dominated the first half and Christy Pym had to save well from Tom Sang at his near post, while Oliver Arblaster volleyed against a post on 22 minutes.

Mansfield’s best chance came after 31 minutes when David Keillor-Dunn volleyed at the keeper from six yards.

But just after the break Devine raced down the centre and beat Pym with a low drive from 25 yards.

Added to a final-day win last season, the Stags had gone 20 games unbeaten, equalling the club record.

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough said: “We wanted to break the club record tonight which hurts as much as anything, as well as getting into the last eight.

“But to be here on the 31st October and say that’s the first game we’ve lost all season in all competitions – I am incredibly proud.

“The most important thing now is to quickly put this behind us. We mustn’t dwell on it.

“It feels a bit raw as we have not experienced this feeling since the end of last season, losing a game.

“It is not particularly pleasant in such an important game – an opportunity to get through to the last eight.

“I didn’t think we did ourselves anywhere near justice in that first half.”

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick praised his side as they overcame spirited Exeter to win a cracking Carabao Cup fourth round clash at St James Park 3-2.

League One Exeter took a shock lead with a stunning Ryan Trevitt strike but two goals in quick succession from Morgan Rogers and Sammy Silvera turned the tie on its head at the start of the second half.

Trevitt levelled things up with another brilliant long-range strike but went from hero to villain as his needless shirt pull on Rogers inside the penalty box allowed Emmanuel Latte Lath to settle a pulsating clash in the Championship side’s favour from the spot eight minutes from time.

“It’s kind of what you come to expect with games like this, there was obviously a lot to play for and a lot at stake,” Carrick said.

“I thought we started all right and we had a lot of the ball. We played OK without really looking dangerous, but we had enough of the ball and then they scored an unbelievable strike from nowhere and it gave them a lot in the game then to hold on to.

“In the second half I thought we took it up a level, the spaces started to open up, which we exploited, and we scored some really good goals, so I am delighted to be through.

“I am delighted for the travelling supporters – 1,000 came down on a Tuesday night, which is absolutely amazing – and I am delighted the goals were in front of them, so they could celebrate.

“We made a few changes to the team and it is not always easy to click straight away, so we were calm at half-time and just said to keep believing, keep penetrating the spaces and playing positively and they did that.

“There were some terrific goals as well, we probably could have had more but it was a good tie for the neutral with plenty of good goals as well.”

Exeter were aiming to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history and manager Gary Caldwell cut a proud but frustrated figure at full-time.

“It was a brilliant performance, loads of effort and endeavour,” he said. “We got asked serious questions against a top side, a potential Premier League side, next season.

“It wasn’t for the want of trying we went out of the Cup. All credit to the players, they gave everything and we got beaten by the better team tonight. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up to that and we wish them well in the next round.

“It was a brilliant atmosphere in the stadium right from kick-off, the players took that on board and we had a clear game plan.

“It was a poor start to the second half but a great reaction and Trevitt scored an amazing goal and, at that point, it was game on and it was a proper cup tie. But a soft penalty decides it.”

Mauricio Pochettino defended Nicolas Jackson after the misfiring Chelsea striker was criticised by supporters during the Blues’ 2-0 home defeat to Brentford.

Jackson has scored two Premier League goals since his summer move from Villarreal.

Pochettino clarified that a fan had told the striker to “wake up” after a poor first-half display.

Ahead of their last-16 Carabao Cup clash against Blackburn, the Chelsea boss supported his player.

“We cannot abuse, even if you say ‘wake up’, because I think it’s not right,” Pochettino told a press conference on Tuesday.

“He suffered an injury (to his hand during the last international break), it’s difficult to train, to keep fit and to score goals.

“Nico (Jackson) needs support.

“He wants to help the team and for different reasons he’s not performing. He played with a cast after he broke his hand.

“Fans can criticise us and they’re frustrated but they need to analyse the situation.

“Jackson is young, he arrived this season and there are circumstances that didn’t help him perform his best.

“You think we should throw him into the bin and say he’s useless? We have to give the confidence.

“He’s our striker, he’s our player and it’s about supporting the player.”

Chelsea’s lack of cutting-edge in front of goal saw them beaten at home for the third time this season.

Argentinian Pochettino wants his young team to be more “aggressive and nasty”,  but noted that will come with experience.

He added: “We didn’t score because we need to decide ourselves.

“We were not aggressive enough and that’s why they had their chance in the second half and we conceded.

“We need to improve and to be more competitive, more nasty.

“That is experience, team experience, as a team we need more patience.

“We need to be competitive; I feel the responsibility and we are Chelsea, we need to win this type of game.”

Erik ten Hag is convinced “it is only a matter of time” until Manchester United show their “true selves” after a poor start to the campaign was compounded in the Manchester derby.

Sunday’s 3-0 home humbling at the hands of neighbours Manchester City provided the exclamation mark on a difficult start to the Dutchman’s second season in the hotseat.

United were outclassed and outthought for the most part at Old Trafford, where Ten Hag’s men will attempt to bounce back in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash against Newcastle.

“At Manchester United, every game involves high stakes,” the Red Devils boss said ahead of the repeat of last season’s Carabao Cup final.

“Every single day, there is pressure on everybody involved with this club, but those demands and standards are a challenge which we must always meet head-on.

“While this has not been the start to the season that we had all hoped for, I am certain that we have the talent and attitude as a collective to move in the right direction.

“I believe that it is only a matter of time before we are showing our true selves. It will come, I am certain.”

Ten Hag’s comments came in his manager’s notes for Wednesday’s edition of the matchday programme, United Review.

Emotions will have been raw when producing the column in the aftermath of the City defeat but the Red Devils boss is only focused on improved performances and results.

“There is no point in feeling sorry for ourselves at this moment in time,” Ten Hag said.

“Nobody at this club enjoys defeat, particularly in a Manchester derby like last Sunday, but everything we have achieved together so far has been built on looking forward, which means we have to move on quickly from what happens, whether it is positive or negative.

“We have never spent too long enjoying our victories, so we will not spend too much time thinking about our losses. We must always look forward, together.

“I continue to believe in these players and am confident we will improve after a difficult start to the season.

“On Sunday, in the first half particularly, we showed good defensive discipline and we created opportunities to counter-attack, but we were unable to capitalise on those chances at decisive times in the game.

“Important moments went against us and we were once again reminded that any mistake is punished at the highest level.

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“Before the derby, we won three games in a row and demonstrated our character on each occasion, so we have developed in recent weeks.

“We are also gradually getting some players back from injury, which gives us more options and allows us to select players in their natural positions.”

Injuries have been a key mitigating factor in United’s shaky start, with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Amad Diallo ruled out of the Manchester derby.

Four of those played key roles in February’s Carabao Cup triumph against Newcastle – a day that has so far proven the high point of Ten Hag’s reign, rather than the catalyst for further success.

“As we welcome Eddie Howe and Newcastle United to Old Trafford, our focus moves back to the Carabao Cup and a reminder of how well we did to win this competition last season,” Ten Hag said

“Our game management throughout that cup run, especially in the final against Newcastle, showed our ability to rise to big occasions – and tonight is definitely another big occasion for us.

“We always want to do as well as we possibly can in every competition we enter.

“We know how good it feels to lift this trophy and, as holders, we want to get back to Wembley Stadium again this season and defend the Carabao Cup.”