Ons Jabeur feels she is more prepared emotionally to handle the task of a grand slam final the second time around, after being upset in the Wimbledon final earlier this year.
Jabeur defeated Caroline Garcia in Thursday's semi-final, needing only 67 minutes to storm through 6-1 6-3 to reach her second consecutive grand slam decider.
Her loss to Elena Rybakina in July's Wimbledon final was her first time making it to the final match of a grand slam, but after winning the first set in that match, Jabeur fell apart, losing the next two sets 6-2 6-2.
Speaking to the media after earning another chance at a major title, the 28-year-old said she is more focused this time around after being almost starstruck at Wimbledon.
"It feels more real [this time], to be honest with you," she said. "At Wimbledon I was kind of just living the dream, and I couldn't believe it.
"Even just after the match [today], I was just going to do my thing, not realising it was an amazing achievement already… I hope I'm getting used to it.
"I'm just happy about the fact that I backed up the results in Wimbledon and people are not really surprised I'm in the finals… now maybe I'll know what to do in the final."
Touching on what lessons she learned from that experience, she said she feels she will not be overwhelmed if she is faced with the prospect of being one set away from a grand slam.
"From Wimbledon, just, you know, a lot of emotions," she said. "Just going to that final was really tough for me, especially the second set. I think I handled things very well coming to the court and playing the first set.
"But then I feel like this final, I'm going full in, I'm going for everything. Definitely also learning from Rome's final [lost to Iga Swiatek], Madrid [defeated Jessica Pegula] and other ones.
"I feel very positive about this one. You know, the most important thing is not to regret, because I'm going to give it all on this one. Even if this one is not going to happen, I'm very sure that another one will come."
When asked if her preparation has changed at all from Wimbledon to now, she said minor tweaks to her mindset are the key.
"Will I do things differently? Probably yes," she said. "Some things maybe in the match, for sure, but I think I'm definitely going to think about [Wimbledon] and think about how I played, and the emotions and my focus more than tactically.
"At certain times I think I played not the right way in the final, so it didn't help me much. But always, it's always nice to stick with the same plan.
"You know, when you get stressed sometimes, you just don't know how to think. I think that I'm going to use [that experience] very well… I think it's going to be great."
The Buffalo Bills were too strong for the reigning Super Bowl champions in the NFL's season kickoff on Thursday night, shutting the Los Angeles Rams down in the second half to run away 31-10 winners on the road.
It was a stylish start for the Bills as they received the opening kick and marched down the field in nine plays, culminating in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen to Gabriel Davis for the first score of the season.
That set the table for what looked like it may be a shootout, but the rust was still clearly not shaken off as the next five combined possessions resulted in three turnovers and two punts.
A beautiful throw from Matthew Stafford found Cooper Kupp in the back corner of the endzone late in the second quarter, and after Allen's second interception of the game, a 57-yard field goal as time expired from Matt Gay had things tied at 10-10 going into halftime.
There were warning signs for the Rams as they needed three Bills turnovers to remain competitive, and when the visitors cleaned things up in the second half, the hosts had no answer.
The first three Bills drives of the second half all resulted in touchdowns, with Allen rushing for one score, finding Isaiah McKenzie for a short-range touchdown, and heaving long for a 53-yarder to Stefon Diggs to complete the rout.
Stafford could only find success throwing to star receiver Cooper Kupp, who finished with 13 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown from his 15 targets, while the five other players to catch a pass combined for 16 catches for 112 yards on 25 targets. He also had three interceptions after one more in garbage time.
Allen finished 26-of-31 for 297 yards with three touchdowns and two picks, adding 10 rushes for 56 yards and a score on the ground. Diggs was his top receiver with eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown from nine targets.
Iga Swiatek will have a chance to win her third career grand slam after defeating Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-1 6-4 in a gutsy come-from-behind win in Thursday's semi-final.
Poland's Swiatek, who has also won the French Open in 2020 and 2022, will play Ons Jabeur in the decider after the Tunisian won her semi-final against the in-form Caroline Garcia in straight sets earlier on.
It continues a remarkable season for the 21-year-old Swiatek, having also reached the semi-final at the Australian Open, before rattling off a 37-match winning streak that saw her claim six titles in a row and put a massive gap on the field as the world number one.
Belarus' Sabalenka was impressive in the opening set, attacking Swiatek's second serves to generate plenty of break points. She won 10-of-12 opportunities against Swiatek's second serve in the first frame, creating six break point chances and taking three.
Things flipped in the second set, and it was all about Swiatek making the adjustments, increasing her first serve accuracy from 64 per cent in the opener to 94 per cent in the second.
She won 14-of-17 points in those situations in the second frame, and converted all three of her break point opportunities as Sabalenka got sloppy, committing 15 unforced errors with only six winners.
Sabalenka threatened to run away with things late – twice managing to go up a break in the third set – but Swiatek showed composure beyond her years as she continued to fight back.
From 4-2 down in the decider, Swiatek rattled off the next four games in a row, going up 40-0 against Sabalenka's serve in the final game and finishing things off with her second match point.
Data Slam: Swiatek continues historic season
From her past 50 matches, Swiatek has a record of 46-4, and coming into this tournament she had 8605 ranking points – with second-placed Anett Kontaveit down at 4360.
She is also the first number one seed to reach the US Open final since Serena Williams did it back in 2014, snapping the equal-longest drought at any grand slam in the Open Era.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek – 2/3
Sabalenka – 4/7
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek – 24/31
Sabalenka – 22/44
BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek – 7/10
Sabalenka – 5/10
The New York Yankees’ lengthy injury list got a little longer Thursday with infielder D.J. LeMahieu placed on the 10-day IL due to a nagging toe injury.
LeMahieu has been dealing with inflammation of his right second toe for several weeks, but had managed to play through the pain until recently. He missed the first three games of New York’s series against the Minnesota Twins this week and the team decided to put him on the injured list Thursday.
"It's just been sore, and I think it's just prevented him from really getting off his swing," manager Aaron Boone said. "I talk about these guys, they're like race cars. A little something's off and it prevents you from being that race car."
With the move retroactive to Monday, LeMahieu could return September 16 at Milwaukee. While Boone was cautiously optimistic, he did not set a timetable for LeMahieu's return.
"I'm concerned about it obviously because D.J.'s been dealing with this now for a few weeks where I think it's clearly compromised him," Boone said. "So yeah, there's that concern, but there's also hope with that."
LeMahieu is a two-time batting champion, but has struggled recently, batting just .143 (10 for 70) with no extra-base hits in his past 18 games. He is hitting .262 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs this season.
He becomes the 15th Yankees player currently on the IL, joining the likes of Anthony Rizzo (lower back), Giancarlo Stanton (left foot), Matt Carpenter (left foot) and pitchers Zack Britton (left elbow surgery), Aroldis Chapman (lower leg) and Luis Severino (lat strain).
Despite the injuries, the Yankees entered Thursday with a five-game lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.
Ons Jabeur was wildly impressive in her 6-1 6-3 victory over the red-hot Caroline Garcia in the US Open semi-final on Thursday, getting the job done in just 67 minutes.
Jabeur, the world number five, was dominant in the opening set, winning 75 per cent of her service points and 61 per cent of her return points, allowing no break point opportunities while taking all three of her own chances to break.
She wrapped up the first set in 24 minutes, and after an even start to the second frame, Jabeur capitalised on her first and only break point chance to grab the decisive lead.
Tunisia's best ever tennis export served things out in style, finishing the match without Garcia ever seeing a break point chance.
It ends a remarkable run for Garcia, who entered the contest on a 13-match winning streak, with 31 wins from her past 35. After dominating Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, Garcia became the betting favourite to win the tournament.
For Jabeur, it continues a career-best season after reaching her first ever grand slam final at Wimbledon, and her ranking will be bumped up to number two in the world when it next updates.
She will play the winner between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka in the decider.
Data Slam: Jabeur makes more history for African tennis
Jabeur is the first African, Arab or Tunisian woman to ever reach the US Open final, after also accomplishing that feat at Wimbledon.
Through six matches at this tournament, she has only lost one set – in the third round against American Shelby Rogers.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Jabeur – 21/15
Garcia – 12/23
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Jabeur – 8/2
Garcia – 2/0
BREAK POINTS WON
Jabeur – 4/4
Garcia – 0/0
The UFC's traditional pre-pay per view press conference was unexpectedly cut short on Thursday, with president Dana White telling the media he has never seen anything like the fight which broke out backstage.
It is being reported by Ariel Helwani that while fighters were waiting backstage before being brought out, welterweight fighters Kevin Holland and Khamzat Chimaev exchanged words, before things turned physical with their entourages getting involved.
Helwani also reported that Nate Diaz – Chimaev's opponent this weekend – and his crew got involved after things kicked off, describing it as "total chaos".
Addressing the media before word had spread about the incident, White said "this has never happened in the history of this company", before adding "for everybody's safety, this is the right decision".
In an interview after the dust had settled, White offered some more insight into the severity of the situation.
"22 years I've been doing this – we've never had an incident like today," he said.
"All hell broke loose out here… we stopped it, but we didn't do a good job of not letting it happen.
"It's never happened before, and we'll be ready for it next time."
Journalist Helen Yee added that White claimed the camps travelling with Chimaev and Diaz consisted of at least 100 people, rendering their limited security helpless.
A minute's silence will be held at the US Open, while the ATP and WTA Tours paid tribute following the death of the Queen.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday the UK's longest reigning monarch had passed away peacefully at the age of 96, with members of the Royal Family travelling to Balmoral to be by her side.
The US Open will pay tribute to Her Majesty with a photo montage and moment of silence ahead of the first women's singles semi-final between Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Meanwhile, the ATP and WTA tweeted: "We are saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We are grateful for her contributions to tennis, and our thoughts and condolences are with the British Royal Family."
Billie Jean King also took to social media to share a photo of her meeting the Queen at Wimbledon in 2010, while paying her own tribute to a "respected leader around the world."
The 39-time major winner posted: "For 70 years, her leadership, impact, and influence on the United Kingdom and the entire global community has been immense. I met her in 2010 at Wimbledon, and it was a special moment for me.
"She was the longest reigning British monarch in history, the only woman from the Royal Family to serve in the armed forces, and a respected leader around the world. She earned her place in history, and she will be missed."
The NFL is set to hold a moment of silence ahead of Thursday's season-opening kick-off encounter between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams following the death of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
The reigning Super Bowl champions will make the trip to New York state to start their defence in the 2022 campaign curtain raiser.
Before a ball is kicked however, both teams will pay tribute to the late monarch, Britain's longest-reigning sovereign at the time of her passing at the age of 96.
"Everyone at NFL UK is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II," read an official message posted to social media by the league.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with The Royal Family. We join all those mourning the loss of Her Majesty."
The NFL is due to hold three games in London this year as part of their International Series, with the first to come in week four between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A Brais Mendez penalty helped Real Sociedad beat Manchester United 1-0 in their Europa League Group E opener on Thursday, which followed an impeccably observed tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
Old Trafford fell silent before kick-off to honour Her Majesty, who died earlier in the day at the age of 96, while players from both sides wore black armbands in tribute to the monarch.
Cristiano Ronaldo – making just his second start of the season – went close on a number of occasions for the hosts, who registered just three shots on target in the whole game.
The Red Devils' four-game winning streak was ended shortly before the hour mark when Mendez slotted home from 12 yards after substitute Lisandro Martinez had handled in the area.
United were comfortably the better side in the opening 30 minutes, yet they failed to carve out any clear opportunities.
Ronaldo thought he had given his side the lead 10 minutes before the interval, but his powerful header was ruled out after he had strayed into an offside position.
The Portuguese superstar inexplicably headed wide with the goal at his mercy immediately after the restart, before lashing just over from outside the penalty area.
La Real went ahead in the 58th minute when Mendez powered home from the spot after David Silva's shot had struck Martinez's arm.
Erik ten Hag brought on Bruno Fernandes at half-time, and Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho in the second half, but United were unable to find a way past the visitors' stubborn backline in the closing stages.
What does it mean? United's home run comes to an end
This defeat was United's first in 19 home matches in the Europa League – a run that started with victory over FC Midtjylland in February 2016.
Meanwhile, it was La Real's first-ever win against English opponents in Europe at the seventh time of asking.
Mendez shines
Mendez put in an industrious display and deserved his status as match winner. The former Celta Vigo man scored with one of two shots – the most of any La Real player – while his total of two key passes was not bettered by any other player on the pitch.
Antony struggles
Antony lit up Old Trafford with a debut goal against Arsenal at the weekend, but the former Ajax man was a subdued presence here. He had just one shot and failed to make a single key pass before he was replaced by Sancho with 20 minutes remaining.
What's next?
Both sides return to domestic action on Sunday, with United away to Crystal Palace in the Premier League and La Real visiting Getafe in LaLiga.
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson continued her stellar 2022 season by winning the 200m at Thursday’s Diamond League final in Zurich.
Jackson, who earlier ran 10.81 for second behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100m, sped to 21.80 to take the 200m crown ahead of American Olympic bronze medallist Gabby Thomas (22.38), and her countrywoman Tamara Clark (22.42).
Jackson ran 22.07 to finish second to Thomas (21.98) in her first 200m race of the season at the Doha Diamond League event on May 13 and has gone undefeated in nine races since, including a 21.45 effort to win gold at the World Championships in Eugene, becoming the fastest woman alive in the process.
In the men’s equivalent, The Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando ran 20.02 for third, the same time as second placed finisher Aaron Brown of Canada. American World Champion Noah Lyles was victorious in a meet record 19.51.
Friday's play at the BMW PGA Championship has been suspended following confirmation of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her Majesty passed away at her home in Balmoral on Thursday at the age of 96.
Play was immediately suspended at Wentworth once the news came through at 18:30 BST.
In a statement released later on Thursday, event organisers paid tribute to the Queen and confirmed there will be no action on Friday as a mark of respect.
"On behalf of our members and everyone associated with the European Tour group and the BMW PGA Championship, it is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II," the statement read.
"She truly was an inspiration to people the world over. Out of respect for Her Majesty and the Royal Family, play has been suspended at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club for the remainder of Thursday and all flags at Wentworth Club will be lowered to half-mast.
"Furthermore, no play will take place at the BMW PGA Championship on Friday and the golf course and practice facilities will be closed. Further updates on the resumption of play will be provided in due course. Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with the Royal Family at this time."
Tommy Fleetwood, Andy Sullivan and Viktor Hovland held a joint-lead with an eight-under par 64 when play came to a stop on Thursday.
The tournament was scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
Premier League champions Manchester City have sent their "sincere condolences" to the Royal Family after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.
Her Majesty passed away peacefully at her Balmoral residence on Thursday at the age of 96.
The sporting world has paid tribute to the Queen, with the Premier League announcing it was "deeply saddened" by her passing.
Manchester United said the club "shares the sorrow of the entire nation", while Arsenal held a minute's silence ahead of the second half of their Europa League match at FC Zurich.
City have also expressed their sadness at her death, the club posting on their official website: "Manchester City wishes to express its sincere condolences to the Royal Family following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
"Her Majesty's dedication and service has been exemplary and we join our country and the Commonwealth in mourning her loss."
Panama’s Gianna Woodruff and Jamaica’s Janieve Russell were second and third as The Netherlands’ Femke Bol took the win in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday.
Bol, the double European Champion in the 400m and the 400m hurdles, produced a measured race to win in a time of 53.03 while Woodruff and Russell, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist, ran times of 53.72 and 53.77, respectively.
Former World Champion and world record holder Dalilah Muhammad was fourth in 53.83 while Jamaican Rushell Clayton was fifth in 54.25.
In the women's 800m, Jamaican World Championship and Olympic finalist Natoya Goule ran an excellent race to finish second in 1:57.85 behind Kenyan Commonwealth champion and World Championship bronze medallist Mary Moraa (1:57.63). American Sage Hurta was third in 1:58.47.
Hours before beginning defence of their Super Bowl title, the Los Angeles Rams announced they have agreed to extensions with head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead through the 2026 season.
McVay has led the Rams to four playoff appearances and two trips to the Super Bowl in five seasons since the team made the then 30-year-old the youngest head coach in modern NFL history in 2017.
He became the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl at age 36 when Los Angeles defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in February.
The 2017 NFL Coach of the Year's 55 regular-season victories are tied with Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin for the third-most of any coach through his first five seasons in NFL history.
McVay also sports a 7-3 postseason record with three NFC West titles over his tenure, along with an NFC championship in 2018 that resulted in the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance in 17 years.
Snead, entering his 11th season as the Rams' GM after remaining with the team following its move from St. Louis back to Los Angeles in 2016, has also played a major part in the franchise's recent success by assembling one of the league's most talented rosters through the draft and trades.
The Rams have drafted five Pro Bowl players, most notably three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald and 2021 Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp, under Snead's watch.
The 51-year-old has also established a reputation as one of the league's most aggressive and shrewd executives by acquiring several other members of last season's championship core via the trade and free agent markets.
Snead snared three-time All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey from the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 and landed quarterback Matthew Stafford in a blockbuster trade with the Detroit Lions in March 2021.
He later made two significant in-season moves that contributed to last season's title run by trading for star pass rusher Von Miller and signing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
"As an organisation we constantly strive to better ourselves every day. This requires selflessness, dedication and great leadership throughout. Sean and Les personify this mindset," Rams owner Stan Kroenke said in a statement.
"They have been crucial to many of our successes that transcend wins and losses. They epitomise the 'We, not me' mantra that permeates the entire organisation.
"We look forward to many more exciting seasons at SoFi Stadium as Sean and Les continue to play meaningful roles within the organisation and throughout the community."
Los Angeles will kick off the 2022 NFL season Thursday night at SoFi Stadium against reigning AFC East champion, the Buffalo Bills.
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