Elise Mertens claimed her first WTA title of the year after defeating Alize Cornet in straight sets to capture the Jasmin Open crown on Sunday.
The world number 42 reeled off the last 11 games as she soared to a dominant 6-2 6-0 victory after just 80 minutes in Monastir.
Mertens landed the seventh WTA title of her career - and first since the 2021 Gippsland Trophy - following a timely return to form off the back of a disappointing 2022 that had seen her reach just two quarter-finals.
The Belgian overcame Cornet in three sets when they met in St. Petersburg earlier this year, and she quickly gained the upper hand in the fifth contest between the pair.
Mertens rescued two break points to hold for 2-2, before breaking twice as she eventually cruised to the opening set.
A late wildcard in Tunisia, Cornet had progressed to her first final since Chicago last year without dropping a set, and was targeting her first silverware since triumphing in Gstaad four years ago.
But the world number 37 could not establish any momentum in her quest to get back into the final; nine double-faults certainly hindering her intentions.
Mertens fully capitalised. The fifth seed won 83 per cent of her first-service points, while breaking a further three times as she breezed to a commanding victory.
J.T. Realmuto insisted that "nobody's excited" to play the Philadelphia Phillies after they secured their National League Division Series place with victory over the St Louis Cardinals.
The Phillies advanced to their first NLDS showdown in 11 years, where they will face the Atalanta Braves after defeating the Cardinals 2-0 in the National League Wildcard Series.
Bryce Harper's homer off the first pitch of the second inning set the tone at Busch Stadium, where Aaron Nola's pitching kept the likes of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado at bay as they prevailed with a game to spare.
"I can promise you, nobody's excited to play the Phillies right now," Realmuto said. "Not one person on this team is surprised. We all expected to be here. This is where we wanted to be to start the season, and we're not done yet.
"We felt like it was our night to begin with and as soon as Bryce [Harper] hit that home run, we felt like we were going to win the game.
"There's a lot of confidence in that dugout right now and with the way Aaron has been throwing the ball, we were confident he and the bullpen were going to hold it down."
Rhys Hoskins also heaped praise on Harper following his "MVP-type" display, revealing he was a man on a mission upon arriving in the locker room.
"The first thing Bryce told me today is we are not losing this game," Hoskins added. "Then he goes out and hits a home run in his first at-bat. That's MVP-type stuff right there. It was awesome."
Defeat for the Cardinals abruptly brought the curtain down on the glittering careers of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, who boast 21 All Star appearances between them.
Manager Oliver Marmol was disappointed not to give the decorated duo a more fitting send-off, saying: "Everybody in that clubhouse is feeling it right now. It's a tough one.
"When you know it's Yadi's last year and Albert's last year, there's this extra motivation to deliver for them and do something special and allow that story to end with a championship, so it's obviously disappointing. But it's where we're at."
Max Verstappen struck a philosophical tone as he celebrated a second Formula One drivers' title, admitting this could be as good as it gets for him.
The 25-year-old Dutchman has been dominant in the 2022 season, with his 12th race win in 18 races coming at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
It came in curious fashion, with Verstappen initially moving only to the brink of the title with victory. His triumph was confirmed later, when a penalty was imposed on second-placed finisher Charles Leclerc, nudging the Ferrari driver down to third place in the race and giving Verstappen an unassailable championship lead.
He has wrapped up the title with four races to spare, and Verstappen might go on to be the leading light in many more seasons to come. Indeed, it would be a surprise if he does not; but great drivers from years gone by have not necessarily stacked up the titles expected of them.
Fernando Alonso, for one, captured titles in 2005 and 2006 but has not added to those back-to-back successes.
Verstappen is conscious that the car must be right, so he is determined to make the most of Red Bull equipping him with a formidable set of wheels, for as long as that lasts.
"I've got four race weekends at least to celebrate," he said. "There is no real pressure any more, but I still want to of course try and win more races, because with the car we have now you have to try and take advantage of that.
"You don't know if you're ever going to have that again, next year, in the years to come. So, we'll definitely try to win a few more."
Verstappen already accepts that following up the 2022 performance will be a lot to ask of Red Bull and their driver team.
Because of Leclerc's five-second penalty, Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez took second place at Suzuka, and also sits second in the championship, some 113 points behind the champion.
Red Bull are emphatically the team to beat, but many teams have been in such a position across the history of Formula One, and what history tells us is that a rival will at some stage overhaul them.
Next season will be a 24-race slog, two races longer than this campaign, and that will test all the teams.
"Yeah, it's going to be a long season," Verstappen said. "I thought this one was already pretty long – but we'll see. We're going to try and prepare for next year as good as we can.
"Then we'll try to get it as close as we can to this year, because replicating something like this will be very tough – but I have a lot of good hope within the people in the team that we can create again a really good car."
Taylor Fritz became the first American to win the Japan Open since Pete Sampras in 1996 after seeing off compatriot Frances Tiafoe with a victory that will take him into the top 10.
The 24-year-old beat Tiafoe in straight sets, though it was a tight affair as the match was decided via two tie-breaks, Fritz eventually triumphing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) to clinch the ATP 500 event.
Nevertheless, Fritz looked the composed player for much of the contest as he created eight break chances to Tiafoe's three – though the latter managed to hang in for the most part.
The only breaks of serve came in back-to-back games early in the first set, with Tiafoe quickly hitting back before later holding off two set points to force a tie-break.
He would have been confident going into it after winning 13 successive singles tie-breaks prior to Sunday, but Fritz blew Tiafoe away in both, with the second coming at the end of a set in which neither player gave an inch.
A third tournament victory of 2022 ensures Fritz will break into the top 10 on Monday and provides a real boost to his hopes of qualifying for the end-of-season ATP Finals.
"Crazy, I don't even think it's set in just how fast the last four or five days have been," Fritz said afterwards.
"It's so crazy, and I couldn't have written it any better. It's exactly what I needed for the race [to Turin for the ATP Finals], for my ranking, to kind of put me in a good position for the end of the year, so it's amazing."
Fritz will be eighth in the world when the new rankings are released, making him the first American man to break the top 10 since Jack Sock did so in 2017.
Novak Djokovic claimed the 90th ATP Tour title of his illustrious career after landing the Astana Open crown with a straight-sets victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Serbian also secured a place at next month's ATP Finals in Turin after prevailing 6-3 6-4 in just 75 minutes.
It was Djokovic's fourth piece of silverware of the season – adding to his triumphs in Wimbledon, Rome and Tel Aviv – and stretched his winning streak to nine matches.
The 21-time major winner had prevailed in each of his last six encounters with Tsitsipas and claimed a crucial break in game eight of the opening set, before serving it out to draw first blood.
Seeking his maiden ATP 500 title at the ninth attempt, Tsitsipas was aiming to join Djokovic in becoming only the second male player to win a tour-level title on all three surfaces this season.
However, the Greek ace hit 25 unforced errors throughout the contest to his opponent's seven and was broken again in game five of the second set.
Djokovic, who won 33 of his 38 first-serve points and did not face a single break point, subsequently sealed victory with a brilliant backhand winner to make it back-to-back titles following last week's triumph in Tel Aviv.
"I always hoped that I would be going to have a great career. Obviously, [I] didn't know the amount of finals I was going to play, the amount of tournaments I was going to win, but my intention was always to reach the highest heights in our sport.
"I'm just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life. I think the experience, probably, in these kinds of matches and big occasions helps as well to approach mentally in the right way.
"I could not ask for a better restart of the season. I'm super-pumped and motivated to end the season as well as I have done these past couple of weeks."
England's T20 World Cup preparations are on track after an entertaining win by eight runs in the first match of their T20I series against Australia on Sunday.
Openers Jos Buttler (68) and Alex Hales (84) were central to England setting a commanding target of 209 in Perth, with their stand of 132 almost double that of any other partnership for either team.
No one else managed more than 13 for England, but Chris Woakes (13 not out from five) provided a late injection to help them pass 200 and set Australia a significant target.
Australia's response was valiant. David Warner (73) looked sharp, aided by Mitchell Marsh (36) and Marcus Stoinis. During the latter's 35 off just 15 balls, Australia looked to have turned the tide.
Mark Wood (3-34) was key to disrupting Australia's momentum as he claimed the scalps of Stoinis and Warner, though the hosts still went into the final over knowing 16 runs would seal victory.
Matthew Wade's (21) four at the start of the last over stoked hope, but Sam Curran ensured there was no dramatic late turnaround with two wickets in the space of three balls.
Hales a double threat
While Curran played an important part at the end and Buttler gave England's innings some real potency, Hales starred both with the bat and in the field.
Hales' match-high score came from 51 balls as he found a fine balance between power and composure to hang around until the 16th over, while he also made two catches.
Curran repays the faith
Having the ball for the final over was not only a show of faith, but also a real test for Curran – Australia's target of 16 at that point was hardly inconceivable.
But he held his nerve, eventually claiming two wickets and seeing England over the line in an exciting finish to the first of three clashes between the sides.
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra claimed the LIV Golf Bangkok title after carding a final-round 69 to win by three strokes on a weather-affected final day.
The 22-year-old took a five-shot lead into the final round and did enough to hold off late charges from the likes of Patrick Reed and Paul Casey, the latter of whom will be left to rue an opening round of 71 after shooting 65 on both the second and third days.
Nobody bettered Lopez-Chacarra's first and second rounds of 65 and 63 respectively, and he overcame two bogies on the front nine to finish three under on the final day and seal victory, maintaining his focus despite play being suspended for an hour and a half because of a storm in the area.
The Spaniard was a high-ranked amateur before joining the controversial Saudi-backed tour in June and now earns his first professional championship, as well as a $4million purse.
Richard Bland and Branden Grace formed part of a leading trio with Lopez-Chacarra on seven under after the opening round, but Grace withdrew with injury on Saturday while Bland could not follow up his first-day success, losing pace on the eventual winner to finish joint-third – alongside Casey and Sihwan Kim and a stroke behind second-placed Reed.
Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka was joint-eighth at 13 under, while Bryson DeChambeau ended 14th at 10 under.
Other big names were way off the pace, with Phil Mickelson 10 shots behind Lopez-Chacarra and 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith finishing a disappointing tournament tied for 41st at four under.
Sergio Perez considered an incident when a tractor appeared on the track ahead of Pierre Gasly at the Japanese Grand Prix "the lowest point" in Formula One "for years".
Dreadful conditions in Suzuka saw a series of crashes on the first lap on Sunday, with the safety car almost immediately introduced.
The race was then red-flagged on lap three, but Gasly passed a tractor – seemingly recovering Carlos Sainz's crashed Ferrari – as he was still driving around the track, with the incident appearing to occur just seconds after drivers had been notified of the red flag.
As the cars returned to the pit lane and waited for the rain to ease, a number of drivers took to social media to angrily point out how dangerous that moment was.
Jules Bianchi was the last F1 driver to suffer a fatal crash, which happened in Japan in 2014 when he hit a recovery vehicle.
"That's the lowest point we've seen in the sport for years," Red Bull's Perez said. "What happened today just makes me so angry.
"I just hope ever in the sport we never get to see this situation ever again. It's putting all the drivers at risk.
"We saw what happened here a few years ago with our friend Jules, and absolutely I don't care about what was the reason for that. It should never happen again, ever in any category."
Gasly was later handed a 20-second penalty by the FIA for speeding under red flag conditions, but he described his fear as he encountered the tractor.
"We lost Jules already," Gasly said. "We all lost an amazing guy, an amazing driver for the reasons that we know – eight years ago, on the same track, in the same conditions, with a crane.
"How? How today can we see a crane not even on the gravel, on the race track while we are still on the track? I don't understand that.
"Obviously, I got scared; obviously, if I would have lost the car in a similar way that Carlos lost it in the lap before, it doesn't matter the speed – 200, 100 – I would have just died. It's as simple as that.
"I don't understand. It's disrespectful to Jules, disrespectful to his family."
The AlphaTauri man added: "I'm just extremely grateful that I'm here. Tonight, I'm going to call my family and all my loved ones.
"The outcome is the way that it is because I passed two metres from that crane. If I would have been two metres to the left, I would have been dead."
Lewis Hamilton is adamant Mercedes will have a better car next season that should allow them to provide a greater challenge to Red Bull after Max Verstappen wrapped up the 2022 Formula One title.
Verstappen won a second successive championship on Sunday thanks to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix combined with his rival Charles Leclerc receiving a five-second penalty that demoted him to third.
Initially there was confusion over whether full points were to be awarded as the normal race distance was not completed due to a lengthy rain delay, with even Verstappen suggesting the title was not his yet at first.
After several minutes, Verstappen's success was confirmed as the Dutchman retained his crown with four races to spare, far more straightforward than last season when he only moved ahead of Hamilton at the end of a controversial final grand prix.
But Mercedes have never really been a threat to Verstappen this year, with George Russell fourth in the standings and Hamilton a further two places down the ladder – neither driver has claimed a single victory in 2022.
Hamilton congratulated Verstappen afterwards but swiftly turned his attention to 2023, optimistic Mercedes can build a car that is not dogged by the design issues the W13 car has had following the introduction of new technical regulations.
"Congrats to Max," Hamilton said, before refocusing on Mercedes.
"I think for us, we know what the problems are with this car. I believe that we as a team, we've not gone from being world champions to not being able to build a good car.
"I have no doubts we'll build a better car next year.
"Whether or not we rectify every issue from the car this year, we'll find out when we get there."
Hamilton finished fifth in Suzuka, spending much of the shortened race stuck behind Esteban Ocon, who held on to take fourth.
Despite what many might have perceived as a frustrating day for the seven-time world champion, Hamilton insisted he had "a blast".
"I don't feel frustrated," he told Sky Sports. "It was a sprint race. I think I did the best I could and I'm happy we got some points.
"We were just so slow in a straight line. I was getting close, as close as I could, and as soon as I pulled out, they would just pull away.
"I wish it was a longer race. I'm glad we got some laps for the fans here, although it's not really a massive race for them considering how long they've waited.
"In terms of the conditions, the restarting was awesome. That's what motor racing is about. I had a blast. It was so tough, so hard to see. Really hard to see the car skating around, but that's motor racing.
"I think the restart we had at the end was the perfect time and I just wish we could have gone longer into a bit of the dark."
F1 now heads to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix on October 23.
Christian Horner described Max Verstappen's title triumph as "beyond all our dreams" as he noted the Formula One champion's growth from his first success in 2021.
Verstappen sealed a second consecutive title by winning the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday – his championship belatedly confirmed by a penalty for Charles Leclerc that left the Ferrari driver in third, out of reach of top spot as full points were awarded despite a rain delay.
The Dutchman was informed of his triumph only after his parc ferme interview, with the Red Bull team hurriedly checking the regulations and discovering he had moved clear of both team-mate Sergio Perez and Leclerc.
Team principal Horner explained to Sky Sports: "We thought it wasn't going to be full points awarded. We thought we were one point short. We were looking at pitting him for the fastest lap and so on.
"Wow, that's beyond all our dreams.
"Max has been truly, truly dominant. That's our 14th victory, a record for us, and the way he has driven since the first race...
"We came back from some difficulties in the first couple of races, but he and the team have just raised it to another level.
"I'm incredibly proud of everything he's done, everything the team's done. They've gone way beyond under massive pressure. To achieve this championship is truly special."
Verstappen's first title came in controversial circumstances last year as he edged Lewis Hamilton in a contentious decider.
But Horner believes his superstar driver is now operating in a class of his own.
"I think Max has grown from that first world championship," he said. "The way he's driven, the way he's operated this year has just been at another level.
"All respect to him, because he truly deserves this championship."
Ultimately, Perez was the man who made sure of Verstappen's success, tussling with Leclerc to prompt the final-lap penalty that completed the job.
"What a script," Horner added. "To get that victory here in Japan with Honda, as well, is really special.
"Charles obviously made a mistake at the end and the penalty was given, but it's fantastic for Checo. He's done a super job today."
Jurgen Klopp has effectively conceded defeat in the Premier League title race following Liverpool's underwhelming start to the season.
The Reds went into the weekend ninth in the table and will finish Sunday in the bottom half if they lose to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Klopp's side have taken just 10 points from their opening seven league outings, winning only twice, and neither of those wins were in their three away games.
Not since the 2010-11 season under Roy Hodgson have the Reds failed to win any of their first four matches away from Anfield in the league.
They will do well to beat an Arsenal side who have won seven out of a possible eight fixtures to this point.
Despite Arsenal's strong start, Manchester City are most people's strong favourites for the title, particularly given Erling Haaland's form.
Even if Liverpool win at Arsenal, they will need to make up a 10-point deficit on City – whom they face next weekend – and Klopp seemed to accept that is not going to happen.
"We still have the chance to create something really special from this point," he said ahead of the game.
"Does it look at the moment that we will be champions at the end of the year? Unfortunately not."
Klopp added: "But in all other competitions we're not out yet.
"Nobody knows where we will end up in the league yet so let's just give it a go, that's it.
"Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No. That's enough. So let's just go from here.
"Did I think we'd be ninth after matchday seven? No, but this is the base where are now and we must go from here."
Liverpool have won their previous four league matches against Arsenal, but they have never beaten the Gunners fives times in a row.
Max Verstappen may not have immediately known he was again Formula One champion on Sunday, but a dominant season made this triumph "more beautiful" than the last for the Dutchman.
Verstappen has won consecutive titles in slightly confusing fashion, even if his 2022 success was long anticipated.
When the Red Bull superstar pipped Lewis Hamilton in 2021, it was after a highly controversial restart in the season finale as both drivers took the fight right down to the wire.
This time, Verstappen headed into the Japanese Grand Prix knowing he was almost certain to be celebrating again at some stage.
He could complete the job at Suzuka by finishing eight points ahead of Charles Leclerc and six ahead of Sergio Perez – an outcome he unknowingly achieved.
Leclerc was given a five-second penalty after the race to finish behind Perez, meaning Verstappen was champion when Red Bull clocked full points would be awarded due to the race resuming after a red flag, despite only half of the grand prix being completed.
It was an odd way to learn of the success, but Verstappen was able to reflect on the year as a whole, having contributed to 12 of Red Bull's team-record 14 wins.
Of his two titles, Verstappen said: "I think the first one is always a little more emotional, but the second one is probably more beautiful with the season we've had – the wins, the great racing, the teamwork, the one-twos.
"Also we're leading the constructors' so we really want to focus on that as well to try to secure that.
"It's been a pretty special year. It's something you really have to remind yourself of, because these kind of years you don't have very often."
Summing up his emotions, Verstappen added: "It's crazy. I have very mixed emotions, of course, winning the race and also, looking back now, winning the championship. What a year we've had so far.
"It's been incredible and something I never could have imagined happening after last year, already fighting to the end and then having such a good car again this year.
"I'm so thankful to everyone who has been contributing to this success. The whole team that is here but also back in the factory room is working flat out, and they're never missing any motivation to try to make the car faster.
"Besides that, the work we've done together with Honda, all the way through, every year, constantly improving rapidly.
"To win now twice is very emotional, especially here [at Honda's home race and with the Japanese fans], with everyone watching.
"It gives you a little bit more pressure, but it's good pressure, positive pressure. I'm very proud that we could do it here."
Max Verstappen learned he had sealed another Formula One world title only after winning a rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
It had appeared Verstappen would be made to wait until Austin to confirm a second consecutive championship, as his hopes of getting the job done at Suzuka were rocked by heavy rain.
Even when Verstappen crossed the line in first place with just over half the race completed, title rival Charles Leclerc looked to have clung on to second to delay his title celebrations.
But Leclerc's late move to stay ahead of Sergio Perez landed him a five-second penalty, putting the Ferrari man in third and no longer within reach of Verstappen.
The victory for Verstappen moved him clear of Red Bull team-mate Perez, too, and the Dutchman was informed of his triumph only after his initial parc ferme interview.
It made for a bizarre conclusion to a long and controversial day, with initial attempts to start the race lasting mere minutes.
The safety car was out by the end of a first lap that had seen Leclerc briefly get ahead of pole-sitter Verstappen, only to trail again by Turn 1.
A series of incidents behind them in the awful conditions led to a yellow flag, and proceedings were red-flagged by the third lap.
The delay that followed lasted more than two hours, with Verstappen eventually resuming behind the safety car with only 45 minutes available in the race's three-hour window.
A sprint to the finish was without any drama at the front, though, and the title was instead decided by the battle for second as Leclerc left the track and then forced Perez wide.
Max Verstappen won the Formula One world title on Sunday with victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver claimed his second consecutive drivers' standings triumph when a penalty after the race confirmed his rival Charles Leclerc was demoted to third place.
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