Carlos Alcaraz believes New York provides a perfect stage for the first grand slam semi-final of his career after the Spanish teenager edged a late-night thriller with Jannik Sinner.

In the last of the men's singles quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz prevailed in the latest finish on record at the tournament, sealing a 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (0-7) 7-5 6-3 victory at 02:50 local time on Thursday.

Sinner was left crestfallen, saying the defeat was in his "top list" and would hurt "for quite a while". He had served for the match in the fourth set but could not see it out, the 21-year-old seeing Alcaraz exact revenge for defeat in the fourth round at Wimbledon.

At the age of 19, Alcaraz is leading the men's tour for wins this season, one short of reaching 50 for the year, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowds have taken him to their hearts.

He is the youngest men's grand slam singles semi-finalist since Rafael Nadal marched to the 2005 French Open title, and the youngest man to reach the last four at the US Open since Pete Sampras in 1990, also on a run to the trophy.

The clash with Sinner was an epic that spanned five hours and 15 minutes, yet Alcaraz said afterwards: "During the whole match, I feel great physically.

"I feel great to be in my first semi-final in a grand slam. I feel better reaching the semi-final here in the US Open. This tournament is amazing. The crowd is amazing, I would say the best in the world.

"The energy I receive in this court at 3am, it was unbelievable. Probably in other tournaments, other places, everybody would have gone to their house to rest. But they keep in the court, supporting me. It was unbelievable.

"I feel great to have a semi-final here in the US Open."

Frances Tiafoe awaits him, after the American took down Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Wednesday, following up his fourth-round win over Rafael Nadal with another accomplished display. The crowd will likely have split allegiances for that semi-final on Friday.

"It's going to be really, really tough," said Alcaraz. "Everybody knows the level of Frances. He has beaten Rafa Nadal, Rublev in three sets. He's playing unbelievable right now, high in confidence.

"He loves the crowd. He loves this court. I'm going to have to play my best. But right now I'm thinking about this match. I'm enjoying this moment. I have a day of rest to think about the semi-final."

Alcaraz also said the possibility of becoming world number one did not cross his mind during the Sinner battle. He would hit the top spot by winning the title, and would also be assured of number one by reaching the final if Casper Ruud loses to Karen Khachanov in the other semi-final.

Sinner can only dream of reaching such heights for now, although his time may come.

He has a 9-20 losing record against top-10 opponents after this setback, but wins over Alcaraz at Wimbledon and later at a smaller event in Umag, Croatia, suggest his game is developing nicely.

The Italian had a strong tournament in New York but was left with regrets after failing to see this one through.

"I've had some tough losses, for sure. This is in the top list," Sinner said. "I think this one will hurt for quite a while.

"But tomorrow I wake up, or today I wake up, trying to somehow take only the positives, trying to take away the other part.

"But it's tough, for sure. In my next tournament I will play Davis Cup. Before, I want to practise again in the best possible way, trying to improve. Maybe next time I can win this, no?"

The NFC houses the reigning Super Bowl champions, but it enters the 2022 season viewed as the weaker of the two conferences.

Given the plethora of talented young quarterbacks residing in the AFC, the road to the Super Bowl appears to be an easier one in an NFC where the level of supply at the game's most important position is not quite as impressive.

But it would be wrong to suggest this is a conference lacking in depth, and there are several teams who could emerge as new and legitimate contenders to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona.

Which teams are most likely to earn that honour? Stats Perform previews the NFC with the help of its AI season simulation and pre-season position rankings.

Favourites

No team in the league is seen as having a better chance to win the Super Bowl than the Rams, with Stats Perform AI giving the defending champions a 15.3 per cent chance of retaining the Lombardi Trophy despite the loss of Von Miller and the absence of Odell Beckham Jr, who remains a free agent following the torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl.

Even without Beckham, the Rams' skill position players are ranked fifth. On top of that, the Rams enter the season first in pass rush, third in pass defense and first in run defense. That's what having Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey on the same team will do for you.

Their most obvious competition comes from the team they beat in a Divisional Round thriller last season, though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are projected to have just a 6.6 per cent chance to win the Super Bowl by stark comparison.

Despite the loss of center Ryan Jensen to injury and an offseason of change on the interior of the offensive line, the Buccaneers are still ranked sixth in pass protection. Tampa Bay's ability to justify that lofty position will go a long way to deciding whether Tom Brady - who had more passing plays of 25 yards or more than any other quarterback (42) in 2021 - can lead Tampa to a second title in three seasons.

Brady will have the benefit of a stacked wide receiver group, which is a luxury Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers do not enjoy as the four-time MVP launches another quest for a second Super Bowl ring.

Rodgers will be tasked with elevating a Davante Adams-less supporting cast to contention. However, though the trade of Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders dropped Green Bay's skill position players to 23rd, the Packers are still projected to win 11.5 games, the third-highest total in the NFL and a number tied in part to the continued improvements of a defense ranked third in pass rush and 10th in pass coverage that could give Rodgers the support he needs for a deep postseason run.

In the mix

The Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings combined to win a grand total of zero playoff wins in the 2021 season.

Yet all three are projected to threaten double-digit wins in 2021.

Philadelphia, blown out in the Wild Card Round by the Buccaneers last season, have a win projection of 11.9, the second-highest in the NFL behind the Rams, illustrating the strength of the roster and the level of pressure on quarterback Jalen Hurts as he heads into a critical second season as the starter knowing the Eagles have the draft capital to move on from him should he fail to deliver.

The Eagles' NFC East rivals the Cowboys have a win projection of 11 even after an offseason in which they traded wide receiver Amari Cooper and lost edge rusher Randy Gregory in free agency. Dallas will also start the year without left tackle Tyron Smith after he suffered a knee injury that will keep him out until December.

Though the Cowboys head into the season ranked sixth in pass defense, much of their success in that area was tied to takeaways and an 11-interception season from Trevon Diggs that history says is unlikely to be repeated. This is a roster that lacks depth in several key areas and the onus will be on Dak Prescott to maintain the form that saw him finish 2021 fifth in quarterback Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE) - which measures performance in expected passing situations compared to the league average - for the Cowboys to live up to their projection.

Minnesota are also predicted to produce an 11-win season in their first under the guidance of new head coach Kevin O'Connell, who will have a top-seven quarterback by EVE last season in Kirk Cousins and a skill-position group that goes into the campaign ranked eighth to work with as the Vikings aim to keep pace with the Packers in the NFC North.

Will Lance live up to expectations?

The most pertinent question in the NFC surrounds the San Francisco 49ers, who are given just a 10.6 per cent chance of making the playoffs for the third time in four seasons despite possessing one of the better all-round rosters in the league and coming within minutes of beating the Rams in the NFC Championship Game back in January.

Doubt around the Niners' ability to contend again is based on the complete unknown that is Trey Lance, the third overall pick from 2021 with just two NFL starts to his name.

Lance takes over from his now backup Jimmy Garoppolo, who was 10th in QB EVE in 2021, and the move from Garoppolo's down to down efficiency to a quarterback who is, for all intents and purposes, coming off a redshirt year, is a significant factor behind the Niners' projection of 7.1 wins.

Yet Lance is a quarterback with the big-play upside as both a passer and a runner to take an offense that finished 2021 first in EVE to an even higher level, and he will be working with a group of skill-position players ranked as the league's sixth best.

Supported by a defense that, according to the rankings, boasts the second-best pass rush and a top-seven pass coverage unit, Lance is in a tremendous situation to vindicate his lofty draft status.

Should he do so, an ultra-talented team will likely dramatically outperform their projection. If he endures the kind of growing pains associated with rookie quarterbacks, the Niners may be tempted to revert back to Garoppolo. It is that range of outcomes that makes the 49ers the most interesting team in the NFC if not the NFL.

Time to believe in the Saints?

The final few days of build-up to the new season have brought some perhaps unexpected hype about the prospects of the New Orleans Saints.

Is it justified? Well, their projection seems to suggest they have a strong chance of making it to the dance, New Orleans going into the season tied with the Los Angeles Chargers tied for the 10th-best playoff odds in the league at 60 per cent.

It is not overly difficult to make a case for the Saints, who retain one of the premier defenses in the NFL. New Orleans' defense is ranked first against the pass and fifth against the run. The coordinator who has overseen that defense, Dennis Allen, is now the Saints head coach after Sean Payton stepped away.

On offense, Alvin Kamara is a dual threat on the ground and as a receiver from the running back position, while the Saints are hoping Michael Thomas can get back to his All-Pro best at wideout after playing just seven regular-season games in the last two years.

The problem is that much of the external belief in the Saints appears to be built on hope rather than evidence. They are hoping Thomas can return to his old self, that Chris Olave can quickly become a rookie sensation at receiver and that Jameis Winston's encouraging seven-game pre-injury stretch last season was not a mirage.

Simply put, the Saints need a lot to happen for them to truly contend as many seemingly expect them to, but the undoubted quality of their defense does at least give New Orleans a reasonably high floor.

New quarterbacks, new places, same old results

Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz will each ply their trade in new locations following offseason trades.

Mayfield will look to rehabilitate his career with the Carolina Panthers while the Washington Commanders are the latest team to tell themselves they can succeed with Wentz.

Reality, however, begs to differ.

Even in what was a largely turnover-free 2021 season for the Indianapolis Colts, Wentz was still only 23rd among quarterbacks (min. 100 attempts in expected passing situations) in QB EVE.

It is no surprise, then, that the Commanders are projected to win 7.9 games, and spend another year mired in mediocrity, with Wentz unlikely to be helped by a skill-position group lacking proven playmakers outside of Terry McLaurin and ranked 31st in the league.

Mediocrity will also be the order of the season in Carolina, with the Panthers' reward for an offseason in which they traded draft capital for both Matt Corral and Mayfield a win projection of 6.8. Seven wins would represent an improvement for head coach Matt Rhule but is unlikely to be enough progress to prevent the Panthers from cleaning house come the end of the campaign.

West Ham forward Michail Antonio has declared VAR should be "binned" following a weekend of controversy in the Premier League.

The Hammers saw an equaliser against Chelsea ruled out after Jarrod Bowen was perceived to have fouled goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, which stood among several contentious VAR decisions in England's top-flight.

Newcastle also saw a Tyrick Mitchell own goal against Crystal Palace chalked off for a foul on Vicente Guaita, with the PGMOL admitting on Sunday that both decisions were incorrect.

Those incidents have sparked a debate around the application of VAR in England and Antonio has made his feelings clear by suggesting the technology should no longer be used.

 "It was a madness, that's what I am going to call it. An actual madness. I have said this many times. It needs to be binned," he told the BBC's Footballer's Football Podcast.

"As a player we all knew it [the incident] was nothing. It is all about opinions - about the referee's opinion, about the fourth official's opinion and about the opinion of whoever is watching.

"If the referee makes a decision, then there is another person who goes 'that might not be the right decision'. He goes to the referee 'you might have to have another look at that'.

Ousmane Dembele has shown the same ability to beat defenders as Neymar did in his Barcelona prime, according to head coach Xavi.

The French winger delivered three assists on Wednesday as Barcelona hammered Viktoria Plzen 5-1 in their Champions League group opener, an ideal result ahead of tougher tests against Bayern Munich and Inter.

Robert Lewandowski grabbed a hat-trick, with Dembele setting up the striker's second as well as goals for Franck Kessie and Ferran Torres.

It is remarkable to think that Barcelona and Dembele were in a fractious stand-off barely eight months ago, which at one point saw the club tell the winger to leave amid a contract row.

He has since signed a new deal at Camp Nou, giving club and player security through to 2024, and his form on the wing has been largely outstanding.

"I don't want to throw flowers, but the ability he has in one-on-one situations is at the level of the best Neymar," said Xavi, who played alongside Neymar for Barcelona.

The only aspect where Xavi would ask more of Dembele is in pushing to add to his goals tally.

"He has to dare more to shoot at goal and score," said Xavi. "He's a good boy and he has to take advantage of these characteristics. He's here to make a difference and he's doing it."

Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 and remains with the French giants.

His prowess in front of goal is something Dembele can only aspire to, as despite Xavi's assertions there is a huge gulf between Neymar's output and Dembele's own.

Since the start of 2022, Dembele and Neymar have played a similar number of minutes across all competitions (Dembele – 1,814; Neymar – 1,681) and Dembele edges the assists comparison 13-11 but is 66-62 behind on chances created.

However, their form in terms of finishing has been strikingly different, with Neymar scoring 19 goals and Dembele managing just three. That is despite Dembele attempting 68 shots to Neymar's 54.

Of that high shot tally, Dembele only hit the target 15 times, while Neymar has done so on 31 occasions.

Neymar is exceeding his expected goals (xG) tally of 12.44, while Dembele's xG of 4.99 suggests his shots are often coming from areas where it is highly unlikely he would score. The xG metric looks at the quality of a chance and the likelihood of it resulting in a goal.

Neymar's shots-to-goals conversion rate is an excellent 35.19 per cent, while Dembele is found lagging on 4.41 per cent.

Excitement levels for the 2023 Rugby World Cup have ramped up another notch with Thursday marking exactly one year to go until the tournament gets up and running.

For some teams, the next 12 months will present a chance to continue building momentum ahead of the showpiece event. For others, a year of uncertainty awaits.

While it is still too early to pick out a strong favourite to win the event, a handful of teams – major issues or not – stand out among the top candidates to lift the famous trophy.

Here, Stats Perform looks at how the leading lights are shaping up ahead of the quadrennial world championship in France.
 

SOUTH AFRICA

Where better to start than with the reigning world champions? The Springboks triumphed somewhat against the odds in Japan three years ago, becoming the first team to win the title after losing a match in the pool stage.

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, South Africa went 20 months between beating England in the 2019 final and cruising to a 40-9 victory over Georgia in July last year, though series victories over the British and Irish Lions, England and Wales have helped get any rustiness out of the system over the past 12 months or so.

The ongoing Rugby Championship is a better litmus test of what to expect in a year's time, and the Boks find themselves third with four matches played, albeit with only a point separating the four sides. Consistency is proving to be a major issue, having strung together successive wins only twice in their past 14 outings, something that must be put right.

NEW ZEALAND

Perennial World Cup favourites New Zealand won back-to-back tournaments prior to South Africa's triumph three years ago. If they are to have any chance of wrestling back the Webb Ellis Cup, then a number of issues must be resolved.

The All Blacks opted to put faith in under-fire boss Ian Foster amid a run of desperately disappointing results, which included three successive home Test losses for the first time in their history, with Ireland winning their maiden Test series in the country.

Defeat against Argentina two weeks ago may well have forced New Zealand chiefs to reconsider their options before it is too late, but Foster's side responded with an emphatic 53-3 victory against the same opponents in Hamilton to move top of the Rugby Championship standings and send out a message to their critics.

Back-to-back fixtures with Australia, followed by Tests with Wales, Scotland and England, will provide a better indication of exactly where this New Zealand side are ahead of the World Cup after a turbulent period.

IRELAND

Ideally for Ireland, the World Cup would start this week rather than in a year's time on the back of what has been a stellar period. Andy Farrell's side closed out the momentous series win in New Zealand in July and have won 13 of their past 16 matches.

Despite that consistent run of results, Ireland have gone four years between Six Nations titles, with their solitary loss to France in this year's competition prolonging their wait for silverware.

Ranked at number one in the world a year out from France 2023, Ireland need to fine tune one or two areas and ensure they keep their star players – Johnny Sexton among them – fit and firing.

FRANCE

Having lived up to the hype by ending a 12-year wait for Six Nations success, followed up by their recent series win over Japan, France are now under pressure to win the World Cup for the first time in their history on home soil next year.

Les Bleus have won 10 in a row since their most recent defeat, coming at the hands of Australia in July 2021, and will test themselves against Australia and South Africa prior to their Six Nations title defence getting under way in February.

A fit Antoine Dupont remains crucial to any chance France have of ending their World Cup hoodoo following a record three defeats in finals. Beyond wrapping certain players in cotton wool, Fabien Galthie must ensure the hunger remains and that his men can cope with the pressure that comes with being the host nation.

ENGLAND

If results in both hemispheres over the past few months have taught us anything, it is that any of the major rugby nations can beat any other on their day. Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Argentina have each produced some big victories, for example, while Australia as ever will fancy themselves on the biggest stage of them all.

The same is very much true of England, who earned an impressive series win Down Under to silence Eddie Jones' growing list of critics following yet another underwhelming Six Nations campaign.

And therein lies the problem for England. Jones has constantly said hitting form in time for the World Cup is all that matters, and the Red Rose simply cannot afford for one of their off days to come in a knockout match. 

As runners-up last time around, and as one of only four teams to have ever lifted the trophy, this will be another win-or-bust tournament for England in what will be Jones' final bow before being replaced.

Graham Potter will forego his pre-match media duties with Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday as he closes on a move to Chelsea.

The Blues surprisingly parted company with Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday, just a day after a shock 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener.

It quickly became apparent Brighton boss Potter was a leading candidate to take over at Stamford Bridge, with talks said to have taken place over a switch.

Former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino had also been linked with the position, but Potter now looks like a clear front runner.

As such, local media reported Potter would not be speaking to the press on Thursday prior to Brighton's trip to Bournemouth, another apparent pointer that he will switch to Stamford Bridge.

Losing Potter will be a huge disappointment for a Brighton side who have taken 13 points from a possible 18 to sit fourth in the infant Premier League table.

The timing of Tuchel's dismissal came as a surprise, even accounting for the Blues' indifferent start to the campaign, with three wins, two losses and a draw in the league coming before their Zagreb setback.

New owner Todd Boehly bankrolled a spending spree in the transfer window, which saw the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang bolster Chelsea's squad.

Six days on from the window closing, and Champions League winner Tuchel became the second boss to lose his job in the Premier League this season, after Scott Parker departed Bournemouth.

Carlos Alcaraz survived a Jannik Sinner match point before going on to clinch his maiden grand slam semi-final berth with an epic five-set victory in more than five hours at the US Open.

The Spanish third seed triumphed 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (0-7) 7-5 6-3 in the latest-ever finish at the US Open, officially ending at 2:50am Thursday local time.

The match was within nine minutes of being the longest ever in US Open history, the record held by Michael Chang and Stefan Edberg from 1992 of five hours and 26 minutes.

The 19-year-old fought back from a Sinner match point in the fourth set, rallying to force a fifth, where he broke the Italian 11th seed in the eighth game before serving it out for victory.

Alcaraz blew opportunities too, including five set points in the second set, while he failed to serve out the third set before Sinner won the tie-break 7-0 to take all the momentum into the fourth.

But the emerging Alcaraz showcased his doggedness even after falling a break behind in the fourth, to set up a semi-final date against 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe, who has beaten Andrey Rublev and Rafael Nadal in his past two matches.

The win also means Alcaraz is a step closer to claiming the world number one ranking for the first time, which will be achieved if he wins the title, or even if he makes the final and fifth seed Casper Ruud does not.

Data slam: Alcaraz cannot help Nadal comparisons

Alcaraz, 19, is not fond of comparisons to compatriot Rafael Nadal, but his victory means he becomes the youngest grand slam semi-finalist since the 22-time major winner in 2005. 

Little separated Alcaraz and Sinner who will both have won huge admiration, but the Italian's 63 unforced errors compared to the Spaniard's 38 was an outlier.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Alcaraz – 5/5
Sinner – 8/11

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Alcaraz – 58/38
Sinner – 61/63

BREAK POINTS WON

Alcaraz – 11/26
Sinner – 7/16

Manchester United don't want to be in the Europa League, though they have become a little more familiar with UEFA's second-tier competition in recent years.

Nevertheless, this is the first time since the 2019-20 season that they've entered the Europa League in the group stage and there were positives to take from that campaign.

Those positives generally revolved around United being able to give young players the chance to impress.

Tahith Chong, Axel Tuanzebe, Angel Gomes, Brandon Williams, James Garner, Largie Ramazani, Ethan Galbraith, D'Mani Mellor, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Laird and Di'Shon Bernard all got opportunities to play in that group stage, with many of them making their debuts.

Granted, a scan of that list doesn't show many players who've gone on to become regulars at United – a few remain at the club but are either down the pecking order or unlikely to have long-term futures, while Garner recently joined Everton and Gomes and Ramazani are impressing elsewhere in Europe.

United allowed a lot of players to leave the club on permanent deals and loans in the most recent transfer window, so there is every reason to expect any youngsters given chances in the group may not be familiar faces.

Ahead of Thursday's group opener against Real Sociedad, Stats Perform takes a look at the young talents who might emerge for United over the next few months.

On the fringes

United fans will hope the Europa League final provides them with an opportunity to see Facundo Pellistri in action. The Uruguayan winger joined the club nearly two years ago but hasn't played a single minute of competitive action, and neither of his loan spells at Deportivo Alaves were particularly impressive.

He caught the eye in pre-season last year but was still shipped out – he made a couple of appearances this time around before suffering an injury, which also ended any plans for another loan spell.

But if there's any South American winger likely to stake his claim for more first-team minutes, it's Alejandro Garnacho. The 18-year-old has already played for the senior side, including once this term, and has been a regular among the substitutes for Erik ten Hag.

An explosive, direct winger, Garnacho appears to be one of the most talented players to come through at United in recent years.

Such statements had been reserved for Shola Shoretire until fairly recently. The gifted – albeit diminutive – forward became United's youngest ever player in European competition (17 years, 23 days) when appearing against Thursday's opposition in February 2021, so he still has time on his side, but he hasn't really kicked on since in terms of collecting first-team minutes.

Having said that, United reportedly shelved plans for him to go on loan just before the transfer window closed, with Ten Hag apparently keen to keep him around until January – perhaps an opportunity or two is around the corner?

Out to make a name

It's fair to say United have a lot of promising talent coming through at the moment. Among those yet to play for the senior side, Kobbie Mainoo looks the biggest prospect of them all.

Only 17, Mainoo is an elegant playmaker who possesses exceptional technical attributes – he ran the show as United's Under-21s beat Carlisle United's first-team 2-1 in the EFL Trophy last week and has been training with Ten Hag's main squad ahead of Thursday's match.

Mainoo's by no means the only midfielder exciting people at Old Trafford, though. Isak Hansen-Aaroen courted attention in pre-season when a pre-match photo showing his impressive tattoo collection went viral on social media – at the time he was 17, though there is no 18-plus restriction on body art in his native Norway.

Unbeknownst to many of those sharing the photo, Hansen-Aaroen is an extremely gifted and versatile player capable of featuring in midfield and attack. He's quick, a wonderful dribbler, creative and difficult to knock off the ball. He's clearly already got Ten Hag's attention as he featured briefly against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season – a competitive debut certainly isn't out of the question this season.

Former Manchester City youngster Charlie McNeill is another who has been training with the seniors this week. Something of a goal machine at youth level, the 18-year-old is a well-rounded striker who works hard and possesses strong associative attributes. Given Anthony Martial's continued absence, McNeill could be an understudy to Cristiano Ronaldo in Europe over the next few weeks.

Charlie Savage, son of former Wales international Robbie Savage, made his first-team debut under Ralf Rangnick last season – as did Zidane Iqbal. The two midfielders both have plenty of potential, with the former possessing some of the bite his dad was renowned for, and each will be hopeful of kicking on after a brief introduction to senior football in 2021-22.

Iga Swiatek may be the world number one and have had a 37-match winning streak this year but says she is surprised to reach this week's US Open semi-finals.

Swiatek qualified for her third grand slam semi-final for the season with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory over American eighth seed Jessica Pegula in one hour and 53 minutes on Wednesday.

The 2022 French Open champion and 2022 Australian Open semi-finalist became the first women's top seed to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 2016.

The victory comes after Swiatek's 37-match winning streak was ended in the third round at Wimbledon in June by Alize Cornet, winning four out of seven matches at three tournaments following that as the WTA Tour moved to hard courts in the lead-up to the US Open.

Swiatek expressed her surprise at making the last four during her on-court interview after the match and explained that, following early losses in the lead-up tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto.

"Looking logically at the last tournaments, I just didn't know if this one is going to be possible for me to be consistent and to win so many matches in a row," Swiatek told reporters.

"I feel like I've been playing better and better every week since the start of this swing. So it surprised me because after the losses that I had in Toronto and Cincinnati, I just wasn't expecting to play so well here.

"It gave me actually a lot because I could be kind of an underdog again, not maybe fully, but just not expect from myself that I'm going to win everything right now."

The Pole said her game "clicked" against Pegula, hitting 22 winners compared to the American's 14, winning 43-of-71 points on return.

"I'm pretty proud of it because I feel like I'm playing better and better every match," she said.

"Jessie was a tough opponent today, for sure. Second set was really tight. We both were fighting till the last point. I'm proud of myself that I could be the one to win the last one."

Swiatek will take on Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, while Pegula bows out having reached the quarter-finals at three of the four majors this year.

"I go back and forth, I should be positive," Pegula said. "At the same time I'm like, three quarterfinals. Sorry, but it sucks. It sucks.

"I wish I could have done it here at my home slam, but I guess not. I wish I didn't have to play Iga every quarter-final or Ash Barty, which seem to be the two people that don't really lose that often. So it just sucks.

"I had a great year at the slams. I know there's still some tournaments left. I'm a little deflated right now. I'm not real happy. It just sucks to lose. I just wish it would have been different tonight."

Aaron Judge's history-making season continued after hitting his 55th home run in the New York Yankees' 5-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings on Wednesday.

With the Yankees trailing 3-0 at the bottom of the fourth inning, Judged lined a drive over left field to cut the deficit with a solo blast.

The drive meant Judge has the most home runs in a single season in Yankees' history for a right-hander, breaking a tie with Alex Rodriguez.

Judge homered for a fourth straight game, keeping him on track to surpass Roger Maris' Yankees record of 61 blasts in a single season set in 1961, exceeding Babe Ruth's 60 in 1927.

In the sixth inning, the Yankees leveled the game before two runs in the 12th capped by Oswaldo Cabrera's game-ending single.

The Yankees also won 7-1 in the second game of the double-header to improve their record to 83-54, sitting five games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

Soto injured as Padres win

Juan Soto's struggles since his move to the San Diego Padres got worse after exiting their 6-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks with a right shoulder contusion.

Soto was struck and floored by a wild 91 mph fastball from Diamondbacks pitcher Tommy Henry at the bottom of the third inning. He walked to first base, fielded in the fourth inning but eventually was taken out of the game in the fifth.

The prize trade deadline signing had only two hits from his past eight games entering Thursday, with Yu Darvish leading the Padres to victory with Jurickson Profar hitting a two-run homer.

Cards rally in walk-off win

The St Louis Cardinals rallied with five ninth-inning runs to storm home and claim a thrilling 6-5 walk-off win over the Washington Nationals.

Trailing 5-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, Tommy Edman was the hero after each of Nolan Arenado, Corey Dickerson and Yadier Molina drove in a run.

With runners on first and second base, Edman drove to left field, resulting in a walk-off two-run double.

Despite having a history of holding football grudges, Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield took the high road when addressing Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, his former team.

Mayfield left the Browns in the offseason, following their move for DeShaun Watson, to join the Panthers, with the two sides to meet in Week 1.

"It's a great storyline," Mayfield said on Wednesday. "Obviously, there's history leading up to this week. [But] there's other games in the NFL that guys are playing their former team. It's just the excitement of leading up to Week 1 that is building that anticipation up. It's the familiarity."

The Browns drafted Mayfield first overall in 2018 but chose to replace him this offseason by acquiring Watson.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mayfield acknowledged that a game against so many former teammates can be a bit different, but he denied having any resentment towards the Browns organization.

"Any time you're playing guys you know, it makes it just more interesting, more fun," Mayfield said. "You get to smack talk with your buddies that you've been with for a little bit. You know how to poke and prod and get the best out of them.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity.

"I'm grateful for the time I had in Cleveland," he said. "I started my career there. The fans there, it's a football town. As I mentioned multiple times it ended abruptly and unexpectedly, but we're here now.

"Everything happens for a reason. I'm rolling with the punches. I'm happy to be a Panther."

Mayfield won the job as the Panthers’ top quarterback over last year’s starter, Sam Darnold.

Mayfield was 30-30 starting under center for the Browns and helped give the franchise its first playoff win since the 1994 season.

Flamengo qualified for the Copa Libertadores final for the third time in four years with a 2-1 win over Velez Sarsfield on Wednesday rounding out a comfortable 6-1 aggregate semi-final victory.

The Brazilian giants had won the first leg in Buenos Aires 4-0 to have complete control of the tie coming in, but Lucas Pratto created some doubt with the opener in the 21st minute at Estadio do Maracana.

Pedro, who netted a hat-trick in the first leg, settled any nerves with an expert header from Everton Ribeiro's cross shortly prior to half-time to square the match up.

As the game opened up, Marinho thumped in a left-foot winner in the 68th minute, with Pedro's skill setting up the opportunity.

The Brazilians were denied a third goal in stoppage time after a VAR review, with Pablo's header from Marinho's cross deemed offside.

Flamengo will take on fellow Brazilian club Athletico Paranaense in the decider on October 29 in Guayaquil. 

Athletico got past Palmeiras 3-2 on aggregate, after a 2-2 second-leg draw in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

Flamengo will be chasing their third Copa, while Athletico are after their first, having been runners-up in 2005.