Emma Raducanu's hopes of facing idol Simona Halep in the semi-finals of the Transylvania Open were brutally ended by a crushing defeat to Marta Kostyuk on Friday.
US Open champion Raducanu claimed her first ever regular WTA Tour win in Cluj earlier this week, with the 18-year-old keen to impress in the homeland of her father, but Kostyuk denied her the chance of a dream last-four clash with Halep.
The 19-year-old Ukrainian swept Raducanu aside in just 57 minutes, winning 6-2 6-1 as Kostyuk furthered her own burgeoning reputation in the game by reaching a third semi-final of the year.
Raducanu proved her own worst enemy, her 41 unforced errors more than double Kostyuk's 16, with the latter feeling confident as early as the first game when two double faults helped her break the Briton's serve.
"I don't know how I won the first game, I think that's where everything started," Kostyuk said. "I somehow won that game and I gained this confidence, like I'm not going to lose this match.
"After that, by the fifth game maybe, I figured out how to play her – today. Maybe next time I play it's going to be different tactics."
Top seed Halep enjoyed a similarly straightforward victory as she lost just two games en route to a 6-1 6-1 win over Romanian compatriot Jaqueline Cristian, a particularly impressive feat given she had been suffering with a back injury this week.
That success preserved Halep's 100 per cent record against fellow Romanians.
On the other side of the draw, second seed Anett Kontaveit was also an impressive winner as she disposed of Anhelina Kalinina 6-1 6-3 in just over an hour. Kontaveit has won 24 of her last 26 matches and will be the firm favourite against unseeded Rebecca Peterson, who beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 3-6 6-3.
At the Courmayeur Open in Italy, third seed Liudmila Samsonova cruised into the semis thanks to a swift 6-1 6-2 demolition of Anna Kalinskaya. She will meet Clara Tauson – seeded fifth – after the Dane came through a more gruelling 3-6 6-4 6-2 win over Ann Li.
The other semi will be contested by Donna Vekic and Jasmine Paolini, who were straight-sets winners over Wang Xinyu and Dayana Yastremska, respectively.
Top seed Andrey Rublev crashed out of the St Petersburg Open after a straight-sets defeat by Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals.
A recent US Open quarter-finalist, world number 69 Van de Zandschlup claimed the first top-10 win of his career on Friday.
The 26-year-old also advanced to the semi-finals of an ATP event for the first time.
There, he will face 2011 champion Marin Cilic, who was a 6-4 3-6 6-3 winner over third seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
Denis Shapovalov was another big-name casualty in Russia, the second seed going down 4-6 3-6 against world number 53 Jan-Lennard Struff.
Although, there were better fortunes for fifth seed Taylor Fritz. The Indian Wells semi-finalist is yet to drop a set this week after prevailing 6-4 6-2 against John Millman.
Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini was the victim of another upset at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
The Wimbledon champion went down 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (5-7) following a two-hour 40-minute battle with Carlos Alcaraz.
Reaching his first ATP 500 semi-final, the Spanish teenager claimed another big scalp having defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at Flushing Meadows last month.
However, second seed Alexander Zverev remained on course for a fifth title of the season, as he claimed his 300th tour-level win.
The Australian Open finalist beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 3-6 6-3, avenging his fourth-round defeat by the Canadian at Wimbledon in July.
The Philadelphia 76ers will not have fond memories of playing the Atlanta Hawks as the two teams head into their first matchup of 2021-22 with 3-2 records.
The 76ers' playoff run last year ended against Atlanta in a Game 7 defeat at Wells Fargo Center.
That was a hugely damaging series for Philly, not only bringing their season to a close but also increasing the attention on Ben Simmons' below-par displays.
Simmons averaged just 9.9 points against the Hawks and did not attempt a single fourth-quarter field goal from Game 4 onwards. He has since pushed for a move, but the Sixers cannot find a trade partner.
The 76ers are without Simmons so far this year but will hope Atlanta's return to Philadelphia can provide the motivation required to truly kickstart their season.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Philadelphia 76ers – Tyrese Maxey
Without Simmons, second-year point guard Maxey has come into the lineup. The 76ers have played the same starting five in each game so far this season, with Maxey for Simmons the only change from last year's most-used lineup.
Maxey is not exactly a like-for-like replacement for Simmons, though. For all his faults, the wantaway three-time All-Star is an elite defensive player – averaging 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks and 5.6 defensive rebounds last year – and a far more comfortable facilitator than Maxey, who has 2.1 assists per game for his career.
But the Sixers' 2020 first-round pick is still just 20 and acknowledges he is learning on the job.
"It's a work in progress," he said after 16 points, six assists, six rebounds and four turnovers against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. "It's the fifth game, stuff is slowing down, you figure out which guys want the ball, try to find switches or advantages that work for us.
"It's getting a lot better. The coaching staff and my team-mates have been great. They've been helping me."
And perhaps against Atlanta, a team who have benefited from Simmons' reluctance to shoot from deep, Maxey's superior shot could prove useful. He is 45.9 per cent from the midrange and 30.0 per cent from three for his career versus Simmons' 37.6 per cent and 14.7 per cent.
Atlanta Hawks – Trae Young
Two years older than Maxey, the Hawks' point guard Young is far more established both at the position and in the league. He averaged 29.0 points and 10.9 assists against the 76ers in the playoffs.
That postseason run seemingly saw Young move to another level as one of the NBA's leading young players, but this season has not so far gone entirely to plan.
His 24.2 points per game ranked 17th in the league through Thursday's games, having last year finished 14th in that regard (25.3 ppg), yet the former fifth overall pick feels those numbers should have been boosted by more generous officiating.
Young became the latest player to complain about the NBA's "interpretive change in the officiating of overt, abrupt or abnormal non-basketball moves by offensive players with the ball in an effort to draw fouls" after a loss to the Washington Wizards.
He is shooting a career-best 95.5 per cent from the foul line but has attempted only 4.4 field goals per game. Having averaged 9.9 attempts per game against Philly, Saturday's opponents know how crucial it is those marginal calls continue to go against him.
KEY BATTLE – Can Collins continue to impress against Embiid?
The battle of the big men should be worth watching on Saturday, with John Collins surely meeting his match in the form of 76ers superstar Joel Embiid, one of the league's best two-way centers.
The Hawks have relied on dominating during Collins' minutes so far this season, with his plus/minus a team-leading 8.4 and his net rating an impressive 29.3.
The six-foot-nine center also has 12 dunks, but Embiid is ticking along at 1.8 blocks per game and there could be fireworks if Collins attempts to take on his direct opponent.
HEAD TO HEAD
Atlanta might have won the game that mattered most, but they and the 76ers split the series 5-5 across the regular season and postseason last year.
The Sixers have the edge in the all-time regular season record, leading 196-191, although the Hawks closed that gap considerably during 'The Process' era, having an 18-9 advantage since the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
Ricky Hatton has urged Tyson Fury to forget about a potential fight with Anthony Joshua and retire from the sport immediately.
Fury ended a thrilling trilogy against Deontay Wilder this month as he dropped the American in the 11th round in an all-time classic in Las Vegas.
The potential of an all-British showdown was on the cards next for the 'Gypsy King', however, those plans were put on hold when Joshua lost his WBA, WBO and IBF titles to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua's manager Eddie Hearn confirmed there would be a subsequent rematch between the 32-year-old and the Ukrainian, set for early 2022 – further delaying a potential bout for Fury with either of the pair.
Meanwhile, Fury is likely to face Dillian Whyte – who pulled out of a clash with Otto Wallin in October – before meeting with the winner of the rematch between Joshua and Usyk.
However, former boxer Hatton has advised Fury to hang up his gloves as he implores the 33-year-old to stop waiting for Joshua.
"Tyson's proved himself," Hatton told Sportsmail. "He's had that trilogy with Wilder, he beat Wladimir Klitschko.
"Tyson's not like AJ; he's suffered from depression, drinks and drugs and all he now wants is the defining fights and to get out the game.
"Let's have it right, if Tyson wants to retire he's got nothing more to prove. The only thing that Tyson wants to know in his own mind, just like AJ does, is who the best out of he and AJ is.
"But Tyson can't wait another two years while he fights him and he fights him, he'll want to be in and out now.
"It's a shame if the AJ fight doesn't happen, and if it does it has to happen quickly, because Tyson's ready for hanging up his gloves now.
"As his friend, I want him to hang them up – he's got nothing left to prove."
Fury's promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum had implored Joshua to step down to allow for an undisputed match-up between the division's top two, though Hearn quickly dismissed those claims.
Hatton, who retired in 2011 at the age of 32, agrees with Warren and Arum's plan while bemoaning that the two top fighters cannot face off yet.
"There's only one fight on Tyson's mind, which is the AJ fight," he continued. "But if I could rule boxing, I would let Tyson fight Usyk, because at the end of the day they’re the top two. I'd let AJ have a warm-up fight and then fight the winner.
"But this is what's ruining boxing: it should be Tyson, you fight your fight and AJ you fight yours and the winner will box each other.
"But no, you've then got to give a rematch, maybe even two rematches.
"It's ruining the game. Wilder should never have got a third fight; if he'd put in a fantastic performance in the second, then he gets the rematch. It should be based on performance.
"It puts the main fights we want on the back burner, just because of contract issues. It's a nonsense.
"All it needs, especially in heavyweight boxing, is one punch, one decision to change things and then fights won't get made for another three years."
The Golden State Warriors lost for the first time this NBA season, Stephen Curry and his team-mates outlasted 104-101 by the rallying Memphis Grizzlies after overtime.
Golden State were riding a 4-0 record – their sixth such start to a campaign in franchise history – but the Warriors came unstuck at home to the Grizzlies on Thursday.
Having forced overtime with a 25-19 fourth quarter, Ja Morant's Grizzlies outscored the Warriors 6-3 in OT to inflict a first loss of the season on Golden State.
Morant – leading the league with 30.4 points per game this season – fuelled the Grizzlies with 30 points on the road after overturning a 19-point deficit.
Curry, who did not score in the fourth quarter or OT, had a game-high 36 points as the Warriors ended the game with 22 turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls – enjoying their first 4-0 start to a season since 1996-97 – also lost for the first time in 2021-22, edged 104-103 by the New York Knicks.
Embiid leads the way, Jazz stay undefeated
Despite a sore right knee, last season's MVP runner-up Joel Embiid inspired the Philadelphia 76ers to a 110-102 victory over the winless Detroit Pistons. Embiid had 30 points and 18 rebounds. The 76ers star put up 19 points and 12 boards in the opening half – the sixth time since the start of last season he has posted a point-rebound double-double in a half, tied for seventh in the NBA during that span.
The Utah Jazz – last season's Western Conference top seeds – are the lone unbeaten team in the league after routing the Houston Rockets 122-91. All-Star Rudy Gobert (16 points and 14 rebounds) recorded another double-double. According to Stats Perform, it is the first time ever the Jazz are the last remaining undefeated side in the NBA.
Slumping Spurs lose again
The San Antonio Spurs lost their fourth consecutive game, this time falling to rivals the Dallas Mavericks 104-99.
Kevin Huerter was one of the surprising stars of the Atlanta Hawks' run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but he struggled in the 122-111 loss at the Washington Wizards. He was scoreless in 14 minutes, having missed all four of his shots from the field.
Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner moved into the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open on Thursday.
Italian Sinner beat home hopeful Dennis Novak 6-4 6-2 to set up a tantalising showdown with Casper Ruud.
Should he win that match, Sinner will move ahead of Hubert Hurkacz in the race to qualify for this year's ATP Finals, while victory for Ruud will strengthen the Norwegian's standing.
"It's going to be tricky," said Sinner. "He's in a better position than I am for the race. I think right now it's tough to say and tough to do because in the end you try always not to think about that, but in the end you think about that because you believe."
Zverev was given a sterner test, eventually overcoming Alex de Minaur 6-2 3-6 6-2 in one hour and 42 minutes. The Olympic gold medallist will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who fought back from a set down to defeat Cameron Norrie.
Frances Tiafoe came from a set down to upset top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 6-3 6-4 and earn a quarter-final meeting with Diego Schwartzman after the Argentine overcame Gael Monfils 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-2.
In St Petersburg, home favourite and sixth seed Karen Khachanov lost a gruelling three-set encounter to Marin Cilic.
The Croatian, who won the title in Russia in his last appearance in 2011, was 4-1 down in the deciding set but took all five of the final games to triumph after two and a half hours on court.
"Everybody is playing good. The tournament is great. It's the end of the season, so everybody wants to finish on a great level," said Cilic, who next faces Roberto Bautista Agut. "For me, it was great to play this kind of a match today."
Another Russian, Aslan Karatsev, fell to John Millman 6-3 6-2. Taylor Fritz and Botic van de Zandschulp also progressed in straight sets.
Emma Raducanu is on course to face her idol Simona Halep for the first time in the Transylvania Open after they both advanced to the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Raducanu celebrated her first WTA Tour win at the expense of Polona Hercog in Cluj on Tuesday and followed that up with a 6-3 6-4 defeat of Ana Bogdan.
The 18-year-old US Open champion had a first-serve percentage of 69 and won 87 per cent of those points, breaking three times to move into the last eight.
Third seed Raducanu said: "It's definitely taking me some time to find my feet still. I'm just taking some learnings from every match that I play. I don't think I'm the finished product yet."
Next up for the Brit is a meeting with fellow teenager Marta Kostyuk after the sixth seed sent Mona Barthel packing with a 6-4 6-4 victory.
Halep was troubled by a back injury in a 6-4 6-2 success over Varvara Gracheva in her homeland.
The two-time grand slam champion played through the pain barrier, breaking twice in each set to progress, and could face Raducanu if she beats fellow Romanian Jaqueline Cristian.
"The back got blocked and the pain is really big," Halep said in the on-court interview. "You cannot really bend much and you cannot move.
"But sometimes you are used to the pain, I had this before many times, and I just wanted to continue and finish this match. It's good that I won this match, I don't know how."
Anett Kontaveit, striving to secure a WTA Finals berth, extended her indoor winning run to 12 matches by seeing off Alison Van Uytvanck 6-3 6-4, while Rebecca Peterson knocked Irina Bara out in straight sets.
In the Courmayeur Open, Jasmine Paolini came out on top 6-4 7-5 in an all-Italian battle with Lucrezia Stefanini and Zhang Shuai got past Wang Xinyu 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
The unseeded Donna Vekic also secured a place in the quarter-finals.
Alun Wyn Jones will surpass Richie McCaw's record tally of 148 caps for his country when Wales face New Zealand in a mouthwatering Autumn Nations Series clash on Saturday.
Wales captain Jones matched legendary former All Blacks captain McCaw's astonishing number of Test appearances when he faced Scotland last year.
The British and Irish Lions skipper will set a new record for games played for a country at Principality Stadium this weekend.
Jones, who has played in 12 Lions Tests, will lead out a Wales side that has a blend of experience and youth.
Taine Basham made his first start at international level in the back row and Gareth Anscombe makes his return at fly-half against his country of birth over two years after his last Test appearance.
Anscombe has impressed after spending such a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Ken Owens was initially selected at hooker, but has since been replaced by Ryan Elias due to a back injury, with Kirby Myhill named on the bench.
Hooker Elliot Dee has been released from the Six Nations champions' squad due to a neck injury.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said: "To win a World Cup you have to play against teams like New Zealand at some stage in the tournament and you have to win those games.
"It’s going to be a great experience for those guys who haven't played a lot of test rugby and they'll certainly know they’ve been in a match afterwards."
Wales have won only three of 35 Tests against the All Blacks ahead of the showdown in Cardiff.
Wales: Johnny McNicholl, Owen Lane, Jonathan Davies, Johnny Williams, Josh Adams, Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Ross Moriarty, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Rhys Carre, Dillon Lewis, Will Rowlands, Seb Davies, Gareth Davies, Rhys Priestland, Ben Thomas.
Russell Westbrook has vowed to make amends after accepting the blame for the Los Angeles Lakers' surprise defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers, without LeBron James for a second game running due to an ankle injury, failed to protect a 26-point first-half lead as they fell 123-115 against a previously winless Thunder team.
Westbrook got his first triple-double for the Lakers in Wednesday's contest, but he also had 10 turnovers and was ejected late on for a second technical foul.
Nine-time NBA All-Star Westbrook took issue with Darius Bazley for scoring on a breakaway dunk, rather than dribble out the clock, with 1.5 seconds left in a feisty conclusion.
But while standing by his actions that led to that dismissal, the 32-year-old concedes that he could have done more to prevent his side from falling to a third defeat in five games.
"How I play the game, I'm more old-school," he said when asked about his confrontation with Bazley. "When s*** like that happens, I don't let it slide.
"In the game of basketball, there's certain things you just don't do. Like in baseball, you don't flip the bat.
"There's certain things you don't do in sports when the game's already over. And I didn't like it. Simple as that."
Westbrook, who ended the contest with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, added: "I got to take care of the ball. There were too many mishaps allowed.
"It's my fault. It's on me. But I'm going to take care of it. I know that. And keep the game simple. We need those possessions, especially in games like this."
Westbrook reached 7,000 career rebounds in the game, joining Oscar Robertson, Jason Kidd and James as the only players with at least 7,000 rebounds and 7,000 assists.
But it was not enough to prevent his side avoiding defeat as the Lakers allowed 115 points or more for the fifth game running this season – their longest ever such streak.
The Lakers may be going through a transitional phase with a number of new players on top of injuries to contend with, but Anthony Davis is not interested in excuses.
"This ain't no adjustment period at all," he said. "Not this game. That's just straight on us.
"This isn't an adjustment game where I feel like it's, 'Oh, we're still learning each other'... Nah. Not this game."
The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference ahead of their return to action on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jose Altuve admits equalling Bernie Williams for career postseason home runs means a lot but says it only matters as long as the Houston Astros are winning.
Altuve brought up his 22nd career postseason home run in the seventh inning to cap the Astros' 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 to level the World Series on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old drew level with Williams in equal second on the overall majors list for postseason homers, behind only Manny Ramirez on 29.
“To hit 22 homers in the playoffs and tie [Williams] – always every time that my name is mentioned, before it was Derek Jeter, now it's Bernie Williams – it means a lot to me," Altuve told reporters.
"It makes me keep going out there, hitting homers to help my team, to keep accomplishing things like this. As long as we win, everything's good.”
Altuve scored the opening run of Game 2, with Alex Bregman driving him home in the first inning, finishing the game with two hits, two runs and one RBI. He had gone zero-for-five in Game 1.
The second baseman is hitting at .200 with four home runs, eight RBIs and 10 hits this postseason but team success is the main objective.
"For me, stats in the playoffs don’t matter, as long as you're winning," Altuve said.
"You could be zero-for-20 but if you get the big hit, that's what playoffs are about. I went zero-for-five last night but I didn’t care, I show up, I tried to get good pitches to hit.
"I'm glad I helped my team win tonight."
Five right-handed Astros hitters had six hits, five RBIs and one home run between them on Wednesday.
Houston have scored five or more runs in 10 games this postseason, which is tied for the second most in a single postseason, trailing only the 2015 Kansas City Royals with 11.
Kevin Durant has admitted the Brooklyn Nets are missing absent star Kyrie Irving following their third defeat in the new NBA season but is bullish they can turn around their stuttering form.
The Nets were beaten 106-93 by the Miami Heat on Wednesday, their third double-digit defeat leaving them with a 2-3 record.
Durant top scored for the Nets with 25 points along with 11 rebounds, while James Harden continues to work into the season, with 14 points.
Irving's absence, due to his vaccination status, has been a major talking point for the Nets and with limited contributions from guards Joe Harris (15 points and three reounds) and Patty Mills (four points, three rebounds and five assists) on Wednesday, Durant conceded he was being missed.
"I know what you want me to say," Durant told reporters after the game. "Yeah, we do miss Kyrie. We do. He's a part of our team.
"For the most part we've been generating great shots. We've been getting into the paint. It's a matter of knocking it down. I think it'll come."
Harden's form is another concern for the Nets as he re-discovers his touch after rehabbing from a hamstring injury.
The 2018 NBA MVP, who joined the Nets from the Houston Rockets in January, is averaging 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game this season.
Harden has scored 15 or fewer points for the past three games, the first time that has happened since the 2011-12 season.
"I had no opportunities to play pickup or nothing this summer," Harden told reporters. "Everything was rehab for three months, from a Grade 2 injury that happened three times in one season.
"This is my fifth game of trying to just play with competition against somebody else and as much as I want to rush the process and be back to hooping and killing, [you need to] take your time."
Harden shot four-for-12 from the field and hit three-for-eight from beyond the arc against the Heat.
"[I'm] Just getting more confident, being aggressive," Harden said. "It's getting better every single game.
"As much as I want to get back to just [scoring] 30s and 40 points, I can't do that. As much as I want to, obviously I would love to."
The Brooklyn Nets' stuttering start to the season continued with their third defeat in five games as they went down 106-93 at home to the Miami Heat.
Jimmy Butler starred for the Heat with a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds as well as seven assists and four steals as Miami improved their record to 3-1.
Bam Adebayo stole the show in the final quarter as the Nets threatened to overtake them, landing three big dunks to finish with 24 points and nine rebounds.
James Harden had some bright moments but only managed 14 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, while Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 rebounds.
All three Nets defeats this season have been by double-digit margins as they continue to miss Kyrie Irving who is absent due to his vaccination status.
Giannis hits 40 in Bucks defeat
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 points but it was not enough as the Milwaukee Bucks suffered their second loss in their title defence 113-108 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Antetokounmpo had 40 along with 16 rebounds and seven assists, while all five Timberwolves starters contributed strongly led by D'Angelo Russell (29 points, five rebounds and six assists) and Anthony Edwards (25 points, seven rebounds and three assists).
Harrison Barnes (22 points, nine rebounds and four assists) drained a turnaround triple on the buzzer to clinch the Sacramento Kings a 110-107 win over last season's the Phoenix Suns who had closed a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit late in the game, led by Devin Booker (31 points, six rebounds and eight assists).
The Cleveland Cavaliers added another impressive scalp to their list this season as they downed the Los Angeles Clippers 92-79 with Collin Sexton scoring 26 points.
Westbrook turnovers as Lakers lose
Russell Westbrook got his first Los Angeles Lakers triple-double but he also had 10 turnovers in their 123-115 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, with LeBron James absent due to an ankle injury.
LaMelo Ball struggled with only seven points, shooting three-from-14 from the field and only one-from-five beyond the arc as the Charlotte Hornets won 120-111 over the Orlando Magic.
Khris Middleton's three-point radar was off in the Bucks loss to the Timberwolves, shooting one-from-eight and contributing only 16 points, leaving Antetokounmpo with too much to do.
The Houston Astros have levelled the World Series after a four-run second inning and another Jose Altuve postseason home run to win 7-2 over the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 on Wednesday.
The Braves had won Game 1 at Houston's Minute Maid Park 6-2 on Tuesday, but the Astros showed intent opening up a 5-1 lead after two innings.
Altuve's seventh-inning solo blast extended the lead to 7-2, taking him to 22 postseason homers, equalling Bernie Williams for second in majors history.
The Astros second baseman, who has four home runs this postseason, trails only Manny Ramirez for postseason homers with 29.
Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy played a strong role with seven strikeouts with two runs across five innings, outpitching Braves starter Max Fried who allowed seven hits and five earned runs.
Urquidy becomes the fourth Astros pitcher to have seven or more strikeouts and no walks in a World Series. Eddie Rosario, who came into the game with 20 hits this postseason, had an off-night with no hits.
Altuve scored the opening run from Alex Bregman's first-inning sacrifice fly, before Travis d'Arnaud's second-inning home run tied the game up.
Houston blew the game open at the bottom of the second inning, with Jose Siri's RBI single followed by Martin Maldonado's single allowing Yuli Gurriel and Siri to get home, the latter after an Eddie Rosario fielding error. Michael Brantley's base hit drove in Maldonado too.
The Astros had five hits in the second inning, which matched their most ever in an inning in a World Series game, having had five hits in the second inning in Game 3 in 2017.
Freddie Freeman's single got d'Arnaud in for his second run in the fifth inning, before Ozzie Albies mistake on second base allowed Yordan Alvarez to score in the sixth inning, before Altuve's homered to left field in the seventh inning.
Astros at Braves
Both sides will travel on Thursday as the series moves to Atlanta for Game 3 on Friday.
Jannik Sinner continued his push for an ATP Finals spot with a straight-sets defeat of Reilly Opelka in the first round of the Vienna Open, while Carlos Alcaraz exacted revenge on Andy Murray.
Sinner won his fourth title of what has been an outstanding season for the Italian in Antwerp last weekend and is only 110 points adrift of Hubert Hurkacz in the battle for the final place in the season-ending event in Turin.
Murray did the 20-year-old a favour by knocking Hurkacz out of the ATP 500 tournament in the Austrian capital on Monday and seventh seed Sinner eased to a 6-4 6-2 win over American Opelka two days later.
Sinner, who will overtake Pole Hurkacz if he reaches the semi-finals this week, won 93 per cent of points behind his first serve and did not face a break point in a resounding win and will play Dennis Novak in the second round.
Murray beat Alcaraz at Indian Wells this month, but the 18-year-old rising star from Spain turned the tables on the three-time grand slam champion with a 6-3 6-4 second-round win in Vienna.
Former world number one Murray struggled with his serve and was broken five times as he made an early exit.
Third seed Matteo Berrettini beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 to reach the third round, while Diego Schwartzman, Gael Monfils and Lorenzo Sonego moved into the second round.
In the St Petersburg Open, defending champion Andrey Rublev beat Ilya Ivashka 6-4 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals along with Denis Shapovalov, a 2-6 6-3 6-0 winner against Pablo Andujar.
Jan-Lennard Struff also moved into the last eight, with Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic securing first-round wins.
Simona Halep eased to victory over compatriot Elena-Gabriela Ruse on home soil in Romania to advance through to the last 16 of the Transylvania Open.
Ruse won her first WTA title at the Hamburg European Open in July and reached the final of the Palermo Ladies Open later that month, but she was second best against Halep.
The top seed produced a commanding performance as she held serve throughout and broke her opponent twice in both sets to progress 6-1 6-2 in a time of 73 minutes.
Halep, who departed at the quarter-final stage of the Kremlin Cup last week, is on course to meet US Open winner Emma Raducanu in the semi-finals in Cluj.
Anett Kontaveit also prevailed on Wednesday with a straight-sets win of her own, the second seed seeing off Aleksandra Krunic 6-3 7-5.
The 25-year-old, seeking her third WTA 500 indoor trophy in the space of two months, made the most of some Krunic errors to set up a last-16 tie with Alison Van Uytvanck.
Anhelina Kalinina earlier beat Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-2 6-2 to become the first player to book their place in the quarter-finals.
At the Courmayeur Open in Italy, top seed Dayana Yastremska required three sets to overcome Kateryna Kozlova 6-1 3-6 7-5.
Clara Tauson and Ann Li also avoided upsets as they beat Giulia Gatto-Monticone and Kamilla Rakhimova respectively.
Alejandro Valverde has confirmed he will retire at the end of the 2022 season and hopes to contest at least one more grand tour on home soil in the Vuelta a Espana.
Next year will be the veteran rider's 21st campaign in professional cycling and he sees no need to continue further despite still feeling able to compete.
Valverde, who ruled out competing at next year's Tour de France, will remain in a coaching role with the Movistar team after his retirement, given his contract will still have two years to run.
The 41-year-old won the Vuelta in 2009 and has achieved a further six podium finishes at the prestigious event.
Valverde has also finished third in the Tour de France and come third in the Giro d'Italia in the only time he competed in the Italian stage race in 2016, as well as being crowned world road champion in 2018.
The Spaniard returned from a two-year suspension due to the Operacion Puerto investigation in 2012, having had all of his 2010 results annulled after a lengthy legal battle.
"I say with total conviction, 100 per cent, that 2022 is going to be my last year," Valverde told Sports Radiogaceta.
"Even though my level is good at 42, it makes no sense to extend longer after 21 years in the business. What more do I want? My time has come.
"I want to enjoy my last season as a pro. I don't have my season sketched out yet, but a start at the Tour de France is already excluded.
"I hope to race the Vuelta next year, and we will study the Giro route too, and then there is the Classics and all the races on the Spanish calendar.
"When I retire I have a contract for two more years in the Movistar team. I will try to help the team as much as I can, especially by coaching young riders, which is something I like a lot."
Novak Djokovic's participation at the Australian Open has been cast in doubt once again as Victorian premier Daniel Andrews indicated the state that hosts the event will not welcome those who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Australian minister for immigration Alex Hawke revealed last week Djokovic, who has won a record nine titles at Melbourne Park, could only take part in January's tournament if he has received both jabs.
But the 20-time grand slam winner, who has declined to reveal his vaccination status, was given hope of competing after prime minister Scott Morrison said there would be exemptions should the state of Victoria – which includes Melbourne – agree.
However, responding to those comments on Wednesday, Andrews made clear his government would not apply for any sort of dispensation as it would not be fair on the other players and spectators who are fully vaccinated.
"The federal government manages the border and to the extent that anything the federal government says on this is clear, because their position has gone 180 from what the immigration minister said," Andrews said.
"What I'm making equally clear on behalf of every vaccinated Victorian who is doing the right thing... the only fair thing to do is to be very clear with every Victorian, my government will not be applying for an exemption for any unvaccinated player."
Recent reports suggested that over a third of professional players on the ATP Tour remain unvaccinated ahead of the 2022 Australian Open, which runs for two weeks from January 17.
Andrews added: "I'm not going to ask and actually require people sitting in the grandstand, people working at the event, to be vaccinated while players aren't.
"So we're not going to be applying for an exemption, so the issue is basically resolved."
Andrews also stated the same approach will be taken when Formula One returns to Melbourne in April next year.
Speaking last week, world number one Djokovic – who beat Daniil Medvedev earlier this year to win his latest Australian Open crown – told Serbian newspaper Blic: "Things being as they are, I still don't know if I will go to Melbourne.
"I will not reveal my status whether I have been vaccinated or not, it is a private matter and an inappropriate inquiry.
"Of course I want to go, Australia is my most successful grand slam tournament. I want to compete, I love this sport and I am still motivated.
"I am following the situation regarding the Australian Open... I believe there will be a lot of restrictions just like this year, but I doubt there will be too many changes."
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