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• Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open

  Jannik Sinner beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, avoiding a similar fate to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

  The men's draw at Flushing Meadows has been blown wide open by early exits for Alcaraz and Djokovic, but the top seed remains in the hunt after a composed performance.

  He reached the fourth round for a fourth consecutive year with a routine 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, setting the tone with several huge groundstrokes in the opening set.

  O'Connell never looked likely to fight back as Sinner smashed 46 winners in a ruthless performance, wrapping up his win in one hour and 56 minutes.

  The Australian Open champion will face either Tommy Paul or Gabriel Diallo for a place in the last eight, and he was relieved to survive an opening week full of surprises.

  "Everything can happen in this sport, so I try to stay on my side of the net and I'm trying to take the tournament day by day," Sinner said in his on-court interview after the win. 

  "Each opponent is a very tough challenge and [I am] also enjoying every moment on the court. There have been already a couple of upsets, so let's see what's coming.

  "But I'm very happy to still be here and hopefully I can play as many matches as possible. But as I said, we go day by day and then we'll see how it goes."

  Data Debrief: Sinner heating up

  Sinner lost his first set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald but has been largely untouchable since then.

  He has only lost 18 games across his last nine sets of tennis, an average of two per set.

  The Italian's winning streak now stands at seven straight matches, meanwhile, following his triumphant Cincinnati Open run.

• Newcastle dream not over, insists Howe despite transfer disappointment

  Eddie Howe insists Newcastle United’s dream of regular success may take a little longer than anticipated after a disappointing transfer window.

  After the Magpies’ Saudi-backed takeover in 2021, Amanda Staveley claimed they could win a first Premier League title within 10 years of that.

  But Newcastle’s failed pursuit of Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi has shown where they are in the market, welcoming just five new faces at St James’ Park and keeping much of the squad that missed out on European football last year.

  And ahead of this weekend’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur, Howe urged supporters to trust the process and back the team when they take to the pitch on Sunday.

  "I don't think the dream dies, necessarily, but I think it takes a lot longer,” Howe said.

  "We've got to build our revenue streams, that is the biggest thing. We've got to bring more money into the football club, however we do that - through player sales, through sponsorship, through loads of various things.

  "That's the big thing that we need to focus on now for the next, probably, 10 years.

  "Whether I'm lucky enough to see any of that, who knows? But the dream is not over, it's just going to take a lot, lot longer."

  Tottenham, meanwhile, will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season after cruising to a 4-0 win over Everton in their first home game of the campaign.

  Ange Postecoglou is aiming to improve on Spurs’ fifth-placed finish last term that secured them Europa League football.

  Spurs discovered their opponents in the new format of the competition on Friday, with a reunion with Jose Mourinho on the cards, while Postecoglou returns north of the border to face old foes Rangers.

  And the Spurs boss believes the new format will allow his players to build a rhythm throughout the Premier League campaign due to the competitive nature of the tournament this year.

  "It allows us to get into a rhythm of having two games a week until January pretty much. I much prefer having a programme now as opposed to last year.

  “The new format is interesting, there will be less 'dead rubbers' in European football which can't be a bad thing.

  "It's a tough game, they have got some outstanding players who are well coached. It's going to be a great challenge for us."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Newcastle – Alexander Isak

  Alexander Isak has enjoyed Spurs’ visits to St James’ Park recently, scoring twice in both of his two Premier League home games against Tottenham.

  Only two players have scored two or more goals in three consecutive home appearances against a club in the competition – Alan Shearer vs Everton (1992 to 1994) and Chris Sutton vs Liverpool (1994 to 1996).

  Tottenham – James Maddison

  James Maddison has provided an assist in four of his last five Premier League games, including both matches so far this season for Postecoglou’s side.

  No Spurs player has ever assisted a goal in each of their first three games in a single campaign before.

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  Despite Opta’s data-led simulations predicting a close encounter in the North East, it has been Newcastle who have had the better of the results in recent years.

  The Magpies have won three of their last four Premier League meetings with Spurs (L1), as many as in their previous 13 (D2 L8). Three of their last five league victories against Spurs have been by at least a four-goal margin.

  Newcastle have also scored at least once in each of their last 20 Premier League home games, scoring with their only attempt on target in their last such match against Southampton. Only once have they had a longer scoring streak at St James’ Park in the competition, going 24 games between January 1995 and February 1996.

  Tottenham have lost their last two Premier League away games against Newcastle by an aggregate score of 10-1. They’d only lost two of their previous 11 such visits to St James’ Park (W6 D3).

  But having won four of their first six Premier League away games last season (D2), Spurs have now won just three of their last 14 on the road (D5 L6).

  But expect goals on Sunday. Newcastle v Tottenham is the most played fixture in Premier League history to never finish 0-0 (58 games). Only Liverpool v Tottenham (191) and Arsenal v Liverpool (190) have seen more goals than this in the competition (186), while there have been 34 goals in the last seven meetings alone (4.9 per game).

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Newcastle – 38.7%

  Draw – 23.6%

  Tottenham – 37.7%

• US Open: Sabalenka overcomes first set scare to progress in late start

  Aryna Sabalenka came from a set down to keep her US Open dream alive as she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the early hours at Flushing Meadows. 

  Sabalenka emerged on court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at seven minutes past midnight following Novak Djokovic's shock exit from the tournament, and consecutive upsets looked to be on the cards. 

  However, the Belarusian responded from a disappointing opening set as she looks to avenge her defeat in the showpiece match against Coco Gauff a year ago.

  The world number two set up a meeting with Belgium's Elise Mertens as she emerged a 2-6 6-1 6-2 victor in one hour and 40 minutes in New York. 

  "I don't know what I did, I was just trying to stay low, put as many balls as I can back on that side," Sabalenka said. 

  "She played incredible tennis in the first set. It was really tough to change it."

  "I'm really happy I was able to turn around this match and get this really difficult win. Thanks so much for staying that late."

  Data Debrief: Sabalenka survives late, late show

  Sabalenka's encounter with Alexandrova was the latest starting match at the US Open, beating Gabriela Sabatini and Beverley Bowes' meeting in 1987 that started at midnight.

  The Belarusian, however, will be hoping for a much improved performance in the next round, having produced 27 unforced errors throughout the contest and serving four double faults.