Todd Bowles said any players "living off the Super Bowl are living in fantasy land" while Tom Brady told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to "look in the mirror" after Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers had lost four straight games and were playing with a rookie quarterback in the form of Kenny Pickett but still earned a 20-18 win at Heinz Field.
For the Bucs it was a case of profligacy, with Tampa Bay scoring only once from four trips to the red zone. That was despite the Steelers lining up without three stop corners (Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon and Levi Wallace), outside linebacker T.J. Watt, and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The Bucs were Super Bowl victors in the 2020 season before losing in the Divisional Round last year but head coach Bowles said some home truths after defeat in Pittsburgh.
"We didn't take them lightly, number one. Number two, I think guys that are living off the Super Bowl are living in a fantasy land," he said.
"You've gotta get your hands dirty and go to work like everybody else. We've been working hard and we've gotta work harder. Nobody's gonna give us anything. Nobody's gonna feel sorry.
"We've gotta go back as coaches, as players - the time for talking is over. You either gotta put up or shut up."
Asked for clarity on if anyone in the playing or coaching staff are living in "fantasy land", Bowles replied: "I didn't say we were. I'm just saying, you get patted on the back so much, you gotta relive -every year and every week, you've gotta go out there and earn your pay and earn your keep.
"If you don't live like that, it's gonna be a result like today."
The loss saw a 12-game win streak against rookies snapped for Brady, who also failed to convert off a sneak for the first time as a Buccaneer at third-and-1 in the fourth quarter, having done so on 13 previous occasions.
"We didn't earn it," Brady said. "We didn't earn the win. It's a game of earning it and it's a game of playing well and performing well and we're just not doing a good job of that.
"I don't think we've done it for six weeks. I think we're all playing less than what we're capable of. We've all gotta look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out why."
The Bucs remain top of the NFC South with a 3-3 record through six games.
Carolina Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks says "no one is bigger than the team" after he kicked Robbie Anderson out mid-game in their 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
The Panthers wide receiver was seen in a heated argument with position coach Joe Dailey late in the first half, before resuming their verbal exchange midway through the third quarter. Anderson had been benched for the third quarter and had been sitting alone on a cooler, before the second argument.
Wilks, who was taking charge for the first time after Matt Rhule was fired in midweek, intervened and sent Anderson to the locker room.
"No one is bigger than the team," Wilks told reporters. "I'm not going to focus and put a lot of attention on one individual… I'm not putting a lot of energy into one individual."
Anderson has been linked with a trade away from Carolina and Wilks said when asked about the 29-year-old's future: "Right now everybody is being evaluated, as well as myself.
"We've got to figure out what's going to be right chemistry to put out on the field, offensively and defensively."
Anderson proactively spoke to reporters after the game, stating he was "honestly confused" by the situation.
"I wanted to be in the game. I've never had somebody yell to get out of the game," Anderson said.
"I was honestly confused and upset by that. I should be. I don't see nobody that is a true competitor, that knows the value they bring and has true passion for the game, that will be okay with being told not to do something or being taken out of something when they didn't do nothing wrong."
Anderson failed to have a catch in Sunday's game, having entered the game with 13 receptions for 206 yards.
The former New York Jets receiver had signed a two-year $29.5 million extension through 2023 prior to last season, but only had 53 receptions for 519 yards in 2021.
"I wouldn't say I want to be traded," Anderson said. "I'm going to let God follow his plans for my life. I'll let things take his course on his time.
"I've been in trade rumours before. It's part of the game. I don't let it affect me."
The Philadelphia Eagles withstood the Dallas Cowboys' second-half charge to maintain their undefeated run to start the season with 26-17 victory at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
The Eagles raced away to a 20-0 lead after 20 second-quarter points, before the Cowboys stormed back within three points when Cooper Rush found Jake Ferguson for a fourth-quarter TD.
But Jalen Hurts, who completed 15 of 25 attempts for 255 yards and rushed 27 yards on nine carries, added his second touchdown pass of the game for DeVonta Smith as the Eagles moved to a 6-0 start for the first time since 2004.
Cowboys QB Rush, starting for the injured Dak Prescott for the fifth straight game, threw three picks having previously gone 158 pass attempts without an interception. Rush finished making 18-of-38 for 181 yards with the one TD pass as the Cowboys moved to 4-2.
After a scoreless first quarter, Miles Sanders scored the Eagles' 13th rushing touchdown of the season, the most for a team league-wide through six games since 2005. Sanders finished the game with 18 carries for 71 yards.
From the next play, C.J. Gardner-Johnson intercepted Rush's pass, commencing the Eagles' drive for Hurts to lay off to A.J. Brown who crossed into the endzone after a nice step.
KaVontae Turpin's explosive kickoff run helped kicker Brett Maher get the Cowboys on the board prior to half-time, before Rush found Ferguson, allowing Ezekiel Elliott to score from the next play, capping a nine-play 79-yard drive.
The Cowboys had the momentum when Dante Fowler Jr sacked Hurts, with Rush finding Ferguson for a career-first TD in the last quarter to make it 20-17. But Hurts showed composure to lead a 13-play drive resulting in Smith's TD, before Gardner-Johnson picked another Rush pass intended for Ceedee Lamb.
The New York Yankees held their nerve in the ninth inning this time after Gerrit Cole set up a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians to force an ALDS-deciding Game 5.
Yankees starting pitcher Cole had eight punchouts across seven innings where he allowed only two runs at Progressive Field as the visitors squared up the series at 2-2 on Sunday.
The Guardians had rallied back from a 5-3 deficit to win Game 3 on Saturday, but Wandy Peralta closed it out comfortably this time, needing only seven pitches to claim the outs of Josh Naylor, Oscar Gonzalez and Andres Gimenez.
Facing elimination, the Yankees opted to shake up their lineup with rookie Oswaldo Cabrera replacing Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop and Aaron Hicks shuffling into Cabrera's spot in left field.
Anthony Rizzo, who went two-for-four, drove in Gleyber Torres for the opening run of the game in the first inning, before the Yankees added two more in the second from a Harrison Bader two-run blast over deep left-center field from Cal Quantrill. Bader's blast was his third home run of the ALDS.
The Guardians rallied with runs in each of the third and fourth innings, firstly from Jose Ramirez's RBI bloop single into shallow left field followed by Naylor's solo homer.
Aaron Judge went one-for-four and tagged in the sixth inning from Giancarlo Stanton's sacrifice fly to pad the lead before Cole was retired after the seventh, with the Yankees bullpen finishing the job.
The win means the Yankees will host the series-deciding Game 5 on Monday for a spot in the ALCS against the Houston Astros.
The Yankees boast a 15-15 record in winner-take-all postseason games compared to Cleveland's 1-7.
World number one Iga Swiatek claimed her eighth WTA Tour title of the season, storming home to claim a three-set victory over Donna Vekic in the San Diego Open final on Sunday.
Swiatek improved her record in the United States to 24-1 this season with the victory in one hour and 47 minutes, getting past the Croatian qualifier 6-3 3-6 6-0.
The Pole previously won the US Open, along with the Indian Wells and Miami titles this season.
Top seed Swiatek secured her 64th win of the season, which is the most since Serena Williams won 78 in 2013.
Vekic ensured it was not easy for Swiatek, continuing her excellent week – knocking out Maria Sakkari, Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka and Danielle Collins - with a strong second set.
The Croatian actually had to complete her semi-final earlier on Sunday after a rain-interrupted encounter with Collins, winning 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) after resuming 4-2 down in the third set, before taking on Swiatek.
Swiatek's dominance was felt, winning 82 per cent of her second-serve points, ruthlessly converting four of six break points as well.
Vekic only generated one break point for the match but she took it, keeping the match alive in the second set where she was more aggressive.
The 2022 US Open and French Open champion responded emphatically in the final frame, capitalising on three of four break points and winning 24 of the 29 points for the set to triumph.
The Buffalo Bills claimed a statement win as John Allen threw three touchdown passes as they improved to 5-1 with a 24-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Allen, who completed 27 of 40 attempts for 329 yards with no interceptions, found Dawson Knox for the game-winning touchdown with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bills sealed the win when Von Miller broke a double team to apply pressure on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes whose pass for Skyy Moore was picked by cornerback Taron Johnson with 0:41 remaining.
It ended a seesawing contest that had four lead changes, was tied at every change and was within one score throughout, with the AFC East-leading Bills moving ahead of the AFC West-leading Chiefs who fall to 4-2.
Mahomes made 25 of 40 attempts for 338 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, with Bills rookie Kaiir Elam picking off a redzone pass in the first quarter. Chiefs wide receiver Travis Kelce made franchise history by reaching the record for consecutive games with a reception (132), finishing with eight receptions for 108 yards but no TDs.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had five receptions for 113 yards, spun past two defenders after receiving a Mahomes pass for the opening TD, before Allen found Gabe Davis to reply before half-time, with Harrison Butker's franchise-record 62-yard field goal tying it up at half-time.
Stefon Diggs, who had 10 receptions for 148 yards, added his sixth receiving touchdown this season when Allen found him for 17-yard score but the Chiefs responded again as Mahomes punched a pass to Mecole Hardman.
Butker put the Chiefs up 20-17 in the fourth quarter, but Allen found Knox in the endzone to flip the script.
Rams respond as Anderson thrown out by Panthers
The Los Angeles Rams ground their way to a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers to snap their two-game skid and move to 3-3.
Scores were locked at 10-10 with 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter when wide receiver Ben Skowronek swept down the outside and into the endzone for his career-first TD.
Matthew Stafford shook off the Rams' offensive issues to complete 26 of 33 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown for Allen Robinson, while Darrell Henderson rushed a fourth-quarter TD to pad the win.
Amid the Panthers' own offensive struggles, interim coach Steve Wilks threw Robbie Anderson out of the game after a heated argument with position coach Joe Dailey.
Bill Belichick celebrated his 324th career NFL win on Sunday as Bailey Zappe led the New England Patriots to a 38-15 victory at the Cleveland Browns.
This latest success moved Belichick into a tie for second for the most all-time coaching wins across the regular season and postseason.
The Patriots legend is now level with George Halas, trailing only Don Shula's 347.
The dominant defeat of the Browns was Belichick's 293rd regular season win, which has him third behind Halas (318) and Shula (328), while he leads all coaches with 31 playoff victories.
"I've got a ton of respect for coach Halas and the McCaskey family and what he did for professional football," Belichick said.
"The way that he and, since we're here, [first Browns coach] Paul Brown and others like them paved the way for us, as coaches, and paved the way for the National Football League to grow to what it is today. They laid down a lot of the building blocks."
Meanwhile, Zappe was as impressive in his second NFL start as he had been in his first, a 29-0 rout of the Detroit Lions last week.
The rookie fourth-rounder, who against the Lions became the fifth of five Patriot quarterbacks selected by Belichick outside the first round to win his first start, threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland, achieving a 118.4 passer rating.
Zappe is therefore the first rookie to win his first two career starts while recording a rating of at least 100 in both games since Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen in 1957.
Kenny Pickett could not finish his second NFL start after going into concussion protocol, but the Pittsburgh Steelers ensured their quarterback could celebrate an unlikely first win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Pickett – the first QB off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft – started for the first time in last week's big defeat to the Buffalo Bills.
But the rookie bounced back in some style against Tom Brady, securing a narrow lead before exiting the game midway through the third quarter. The Steelers protected that advantage to win 20-18.
Pickett had thrown his first career touchdown pass to Najee Harris on Pittsburgh's first drive.
A sloppy end to the first half allowed the Bucs to close the gap, but they headed in at halftime without having scored a TD – a first for a Brady team against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh lifted their game again following the restart, trading field goals before a hit on Pickett saw him leave the game, and was then ruled out.
Mitch Trubisky picked up the baton, though, connecting with Chase Claypool for another TD before Brady and Leonard Fournette belatedly responded.
A successful two-point conversion would have tied the game with time left for the Bucs to win it, but Brady's attempt was batted away, and Trubisky saw out only a second Steelers win of the year.
Another New York defeat for Packers on return to Lambeau
The Green Bay Packers gave up a home game to play in London for the first time in franchise history last week, losing to the New York Giants. And a return to Lambeau Field did little to lift Aaron Rodgers and Co., who fell to 3-3 with a 27-10 home loss to the New York Jets.
In fact, the Packers crowd appeared to turn on their team when a blocked punt gifted the Jets – now 3-0 on the road to start a season for the first time since 2010 – a two-TD lead their opponents could not recover from.
The Giants built on their upset of the Packers by doing the same to the Baltimore Ravens. They had trailed Green Bay 20-10 at halftime in Week 5 and were this time down by the same score in the fourth quarter, recovering for a 24-20 win to move to 5-1.
The Atlanta Falcons lost in Week 5 but also had momentum to carry into a matchup with the San Francisco 49ers after a 15-point fourth quarter against the Bucs. Following five straight games decided by seven points or fewer, the Falcons coasted to a 28-14 success.
Ryan extends Jags' miserable road run in AFC South
The Jacksonville Jaguars have not won a road game against an AFC South rival since 2017, a losing sequence of 13 games heading into Sunday's trip to the Indianapolis Colts.
It appeared as though Trevor Lawrence was to lead the Jags to a long-awaited win when the Colts trailed by a point at the Jacksonville 33 with just 23 seconds to play.
But Matt Ryan, having earlier passed Dan Marino (61,361) to climb to seventh all-time for passing yards, completed a pivotal TD pass to Alec Pierce to prolong the Jags' misery.
New Zealand started their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 34-12 victory against Lebanon on Sunday.
The world's number one side were made to sweat on occasion at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington, and surprisingly fell behind to their Group C opponents inside the first minute when Josh Mansour raced onto a loose ball on the right to score.
The Kiwis were soon level when Kenneth Bromwich went over, before substitute Nelson Asofa-Solomona got his side ahead despite some excellent defensive work from Lebanon, with Peta Hiku adding another shortly after to give New Zealand an 18-6 lead at the break.
The Cedars would not go away, though, and scored their second try to halve the deficit shortly after the restart as Abbas Miski went over down the left side.
After a further scare, the Kiwis took charge as terrific work from Manu ended with Dylan Brown racing through to score, before Manu again showed his quality to get a try of his own before the hour.
Jordan Rapana then added another just after Lebanon's Adam Doueihi was sent off for dissent.
Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines scored dominant victories to kick-off the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday.
Barbados opened the competition with a commanding 67-27 victory over the Cayman Islands.
It was a relatively close affair after the first quarter as the Barbadians, currently ranked 13th in the world, led 13-4.
However, the Gems ramped up the intensity in second quarter stretching the lead to 21 to end the half ahead 34-13. They widened the lead 48-21 heading into the final quarter when they capped a fine display with 19 goals in the period to wind up 67-27 winners.
Goal shooter Faye Agard led the way for Barbados with 51 goals from 59 attempts while goal attack Brianna Holder had 16 goals from 21 attempts.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines were equally dominant in their 51-24 win over the USA.
St. Vincent got out to an early lead as the Americans struggled to put points on the board. The end of the first quarter saw the Vincentians up 15-3 and by halftime, the score was 30-9. The third quarter was no different as the USA found themselves getting their first basket at the four-minute mark, ending the quarter down 15-37 before ultimately suffering a 24-51 defeat.
Goal shooter Mary Ann Frederick led the way for S. Vincent & the Grenadines with 22 goals from 26 attempts while goal attack Kimesha Antoine also attempted 26 shots, converting 21 of them.
Coach of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Godfrey Harry, said his team got what they expected.
“It was predictable. We were expecting to win this game and we did. One of the things that we wanted to make sure of was that we experiment and use the depth of our team. All the players stepped up to the plate, which was great for us,” he said.
Despite the loss, USA assistant coach Keithan Grayson-Superville said she expects improvement after what was her team’s first international action in years.
“They didn’t do as much as I would’ve liked to see today but it’s our first game and we haven’t played internationally for over four years. We’re going to take it game by game and, as we go, we’re going to try to improve. We’re a work in progress.”
Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors' Rugby League World Cup debut got off to an inauspicious start on Sunday when they clobbered 48-2 by Ireland at Headingley Stadium in England.
The Irish team scored 10 tries against the Reggae Warriors porous defense that will need to improve if the team is to have a better go of it when they face New Zealand on Saturday, October 22.
Ireland scored first-half tries courtesy of Louis Senior, Captain George King, Brendan O'Hagan and Ed Chamberlain. Six tries came in the second half as Innes Senior, Louis’ twin brother, scored twice while Toby King, James McDonnell, James Bentley and Frankie Halton completed the rout.
Meanwhile, Kieran Rush scored Jamaica’s first-ever points in a Rugby League World Cup when kicked a penalty.
Reggae Warrior Michael Lawrence, who plays at loose forward, expressed his disappointment afterward citing several areas in which his team needed to improve going forward.
"I was disappointed with the way we dropped off a little bit. But it's a proud day for the team and nation. This was a starting point,” he said.
"We need to work on defense. That was a big area for me. We have to improve defensively. We've got to come out again and stick together. We have a great team spirit.
"This is massive, the way we perform. It's encouraging kids to pick up a rugby ball. We want to perform well but this is just the start. We want to keep coming back to the World Cup."
This was the second meeting between the two teams and their first in the World Cup.
Adrian Otaegui claimed his fourth DP World Tour title after a six-shot victory at the Andalucia Masters on Sunday.
The Spaniard went into the final round at Real Club Valderrama with a six-stroke cushion – a lead he never looked like relinquishing as he finished on 19 under par, setting a new course record.
Joakim Lagergren posted a final-round 68 to finish second, while Australia's Lee Min Woo was three shots back in third.
A two-over 73 saw Angel Hidalgo take fourth, with Rasmus Hojgaard in fifth on a score of six under for the week.
Otaegui, who hit four birdies and a single bogey in a closing round of 68, described it as the "perfect" week on his favourite course in Spain.
"I'm very, very proud. I feel so happy to have my first win in Spain, in front of these crowds, on my favourite golf course in Spain," he told Sky Sports.
"It's just unbelievable. I'm very, very happy with everything, the week went perfect.
"I'm very happy with the way I managed today because it was my first time with such a big shot difference.
"The plan was just to start strong, forget the shot difference I had and try to beat the others today.
"I played very well until the end. I tried to follow the plan and think I did well."
J.J. Wolf was no match for Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Firenze Open, as the Canadian won 6-4 6-4 in Florence.
Auger-Aliassime is targeting a place in the end-of-season ATP Finals and took a huge step towards securing such a spot on Sunday.
The top-seeded 22-year-old only dropped one set throughout the tournament and has now won his second ATP Tour-level title.
His victory over Wolf, the world number 75 who will rise to 56 on Monday, took only one hour and 41 minutes.
"It never gets old. Winning, it always feels like the first time," Auger-Aliassime, the new world number 10, said in his on-court interview.
"It's so special to win, especially here. I had a fantastic week and it's been amazing.
"Every final is tough, it's the two best players of the week. Of course you try to win more than you lose the finals, and that's why I came out here today ready to give everything.
"We had some very tough rallies in the second set, feeling tough physically. But you keep pushing, try to keep the level high.
"But there's no magic. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but of course I'm really happy because I came here [as] the first seed.
"I was the favourite in all of my matches on paper. It's never an easy position, so to come out and win my four matches with confidence and conviction, it's really good for my confidence."
Wolf saved nine of the 12 break points he offered yet could not make any inroads against Auger-Aliassime's serve, with the champion winning without conceding on his service game.
Qualifier Anna Blinkova landed the first WTA singles title of her career by beating Jasmine Paolini in Sunday's Transylvania Open final.
The 24-year-old world number 138 had to come through qualifying in Cluj-Napoca, and she completed a stellar campaign at the Romanian event by getting her hands on the trophy.
Blinkova won 6-2 3-6 6-2 in an hour and 41 minutes, scotching Paolini's hopes of a second title in her tour career.
"I felt great the whole 10 days that I spent here since last Wednesday," the Russian said in her trophy acceptance speech. "I'm really looking forward to coming back next year."
The WTA said Blinkova's success made her the fifth qualifier to secure a tour title in 2022, following victories for Tatjana Maria in Bogota, Anastasia Potapova in Istanbul, Bernarda Pera in Budapest and Caroline Garcia in Cincinnati.
Blinkova, who was once ranked 54th in the world, will return to the world's top 100 on Monday.
Brooks Koepka edged out Peter Uihlein in a play-off to clinch the final individual prize of the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series on Sunday.
Two birdies on Koepka's front nine in Jeddah set him up well to push on for glory, but the American slipped up after the turn at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
A birdie on the 10th was followed by three successive bogeys, and though Koepka recovered to birdie on the 15th and the last to finish at 12 under par, he had provided his rivals with an opportunity to catch up.
Overnight leader Uihlein was one of those to take advantage, with a clean back nine seeing the 33-year-old bounce back from carding two double bogeys earlier on in his round, with his final score of 70 enough to force a play-off with Smash GC team-mate Koepka.
While it was good news for Smash GC, who secured a six-shot win to boost their form ahead of the Team Championship in Miami later this month, there had to be a loser, and after three holes with no give, Uihlein found a bunker.
Having rescued himself from a similar situation on the previous play-off hole, this time Uihlein could only clip a shot into the water, handing four-time major winner Koepka the chance to putt for victory.
"The last two years – they haven't been fun," an emotional Koepka said.
"So it's been a long road, I'm super excited. My whole team, we got the band back together a couple of months ago, this is for them.
"I didn't know if my career was over, for a half-second. I wasn't sure when I was going to play. It's nice to come back and win."
Joaquin Niemann went round in 65 to finish one shot behind the leading pair, tied with Sergio Garcia.
Inaugural LIV Golf champion Dustin Johnson came in at 10 under, alongside Matthew Wolff, while Bernd Wiesberger joined Niemann in recording 65.
Forty-four netball coaches participated two-day Americas Netball coaching seminar at UWI Mona Campus on Thursday and Friday (October 13 and 14) and were instructed by of three of sport’s most experienced coaches.
Former Australia and Jamaica head coach Jill McIntosh, Sue Hawkins, the national coach of New Zealand and Rob Wright of Australia tutored coaches from across the region that included 30 from Jamaica and 14 others from across the Americas.
"We have coaches who will be participating in the qualifier and other coaches as well as about 30 coaches from Jamaica. We are trying to upskill them in all the different skills of netball and finding different ways to keep their minds open,” McIntosh explained.
“We are covering shooting, the mid-court and centre-passes and some specific centre pass attacks, some specific centre-pass defence, feeding - how they feed. We are covering defending, all the principles on defending.”
McIntosh also revealed that the experience was encouraging.
"The coaches have been great. They have been interactive. They have gone out and participated. The questioning has been good and we have got lots of talk and chatter and it’s around about what they see and how they can change it and how they can progress it so the chatter is good," she said.
"My observation of the region is that they have wonderful athletes so we need to up-skill the coaches to show them many ways of doing the same thing and from a purely Jamaica perspective, I have seen the girls grow and what I saw at the Commonwealth games, I was so heartened and pleased, they did such an amazing job."
Dr. Bridget Adams of Trinidad & Tobago was elected unopposed as the new president of the Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) during the federation's Annual General Meeting at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Saturday and has promised to hit the ground running.
Andrey Rublev defeated Sebastian Korda in straight sets in Sunday's Gijon Open final to land his 12th ATP Tour title.
The Russian had already prevailed in Belgrade, Dubai and Marseille this year and added another crown to his collection with a 6-2 6-3 victory against Korda in 75 minutes.
Top seed Rublev had dropped only one set in his three matches en route to the final and impressed against Korda with 29 winners, three breaks and just four unforced errors.
Korda, seeking a second Tour-level trophy following success in Parma last year, had his serve broken in the fourth and eighth games of the opening set.
Some heavy-hitting exchanges kept spectators gripped, though Rublev proved too strong for Korda in the second set and earned the only break in the sixth game.
Rublev got over the line with his fourth match point and remains sixth in the chase for an ATP Finals spot, with four of those ahead of him already qualified, along with Novak Djokovic.
Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez said he would not wish Alex Rins well as the latter prepares to join Honda from Suzuki next season.
The pair were involved in another tight last-lap duel at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Rins - set to join LCR Honda in 2023 - emerging victorious after holding off the Repsol Honda man.
Marquez, who picked up his 100th podium in the premier class, said he would not offer any advice to his fellow Spaniard though, stating it would be "fake" to offer him his wishes as he will still be his rival.
"I will not give any advice," he said. "For me it is another opponent. It's good that joining Honda is one world champion [Joan Mir] and one rider that is winning races with another manufacturer.
"Like this we will see exactly the level. I'm working really hard for the 2023 project with Honda and they are working really, really hard too.
"I don’t say I wish [him] the best. He is another opponent, if not it would be fake."
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