Novak Djokovic might be a player that drives fear into the heart of his opponents, but the Serbian insists he is not the Halloween boogeyman of the tennis tour.
As he prepares for a title defence at the Paris Masters, the 21-time grand slam winner is naturally out to put the frighteners up his rivals.
But when asked on Sunday whether he was "the monster of tennis", because of his strong track record against the cream of the sport, Djokovic had to smile and laugh it off.
"The monster? I don't know the significance of that word in your language, but in mine it is not really the best," he said in a press conference.
"I prefer not to be the monster of the tennis. But yeah, the record against pretty much all the top players is positive, which is great.
"We played so many tournaments throughout the year and throughout our careers, and some of us have been there more than some of the younger players. So playing more matches helps, I think, to know how to approach every next big challenge when you play one of your top rivals.
"I have managed to do well throughout my career, which is great, which is something that I always intended to do."
Djokovic earned a 27-23 win-loss record in his favour against Roger Federer and he leads Rafael Nadal 30-29 and is 25-11 up on Andy Murray across their tour careers.
He has lost his lone meeting with new world number Carlos Alcaraz, which came on clay in the Madrid semi-finals earlier this year, and there could be more such clashes during the final years of Djokovic's career.
At the age of 35, Djokovic remains a force to be reckoned with. He gets a first-round bye in Paris and will face Maxime Cressy or Diego Schwartzman in his opening match
The world number seven has won his last three singles tournaments, with a triumph at Wimbledon followed by titles at Tel Aviv and Astana.
Djokovic has six Paris Masters titles, the joint-most he has managed at any of the ATP 1000 events, level with his haul from Miami and the Internazionali d'Italia.
His ranking is unusually low, and that can to a large extent be attributed to him being prevented from playing in Australia and North America this season, due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.
Djokovic also suffered from Wimbledon being stripped of ranking points amid the Ukraine crisis, meaning that despite successfully defending his title at the All England Club, he lost the 2,000 ranking points he collected at the grand slam in the 2021 season.
He said his experience after being banished from Australia in January was "challenging".
"It was a completely new experience for me," Djokovic added. "Unfortunately not a great one but still a life experience, and a possibility for me to grow stronger out of that."
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw a career-high four touchdown passes in Sunday's big 35-13 home win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It was also a career day for Hurts' top receiver, A.J. Brown, who caught three touchdown passes for the first time – and he did it all in the first half.
Brown's first score came on a 39-yard deep-ball into the endzone, coming down with it between two Steelers defensive backs in the first quarter. He then added two more scores in the second quarter – a 27-yard touchdown and a 29-yard touchdown to open up a 21-10 lead.
He finished the game with six catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first Eagles receiver to total at least 150 yards and three touchdowns in a single game since 2007.
Hurts would start the second half with his fourth touchdown pass, this time to Zach Pascal, and a fourth-quarter rushing touchdown for Miles Sanders would complete the rout.
For the Steelers, rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett completed 25 of his 38 passes for 191 yards and one interception, getting sacked six times and fumbling twice.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson collected one of those six sacks for the Eagles, and he also had the game's only interception.
The Eagles have a great chance to move to 8-0 on Thursday when they travel to take on the Houston Texans.
Tagovailoa leads strong Dolphins comeback
The Miami Dolphins had to claw their way out of an early deficit to defeat the Detroit Lions 31-27 in a high-scoring shootout.
Detroit jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter after touchdown runs to D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, and after Jaylen Waddle got on the end of a Tua Tagovailoa touchdown pass to trim the margin, Williams ran in his second score of the opening half to make it 21-7.
Tagovailoa then found his rhythm and delivered another touchdown to Waddle, with the talented young receiver going on to finish with eight catches for 106 yards and two scores. He was not alone as teammate Tyreek Hill gave the Lions' secondary headaches all game, catching 12 of his 14 targets for 188 yards.
A one-yard fullback dive from Alec Ingold and an 11-yard touchdown to Mike Gesicki would pull the Dolphins ahead 31-27 late in the third quarter, and their defense would rise to the challenge down the stretch to shut the door.
Cook carries the Vikings to impressive 6-1 start
The Minnesota Vikings are one of the most surprising stories of the season and are likely playoff-bound after moving to 6-1 with a 34-26 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Star running back Dalvin Cook was at his best, shouldering 20 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Kirk Cousins and backup running back Alexander Mattison also collected rushing touchdowns.
Top Cardinals receiver De'Andre Hopkins enjoyed a big performance, catching 12 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, but it was not enough as the Minnesota defense stepped up and denied Arizona a potential game-tying score on their final three drives.
Jamaica Defence Force Captain Dwayne Ford dethroned Guyana’s Lennox Brathwaite to win the Wogarth Cup as Jamaica won the Team Match by the smallest of margins as the West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council Championship came to an exciting climax at Twickenham Park on Saturday.
Jamaica’s eight-member team were forced to dig deep to hold off a hard-charging Guyana which made the victory satisfying for Jamaica Rifle Association Vice-President Karen Anderson, who was also a member of the winning team.
"Jamaica is positively thrilled to have won the West Indies Cup team match on home soil and defeating Guyana in the process," she said.
"It has been a long slog in trying to beat them over the years and to do it on home soil, in particular, after a really tough tournament. We showed a great level of consistency. There might have been some doubt after the long-range team match the day before where we finished last but it bodes well for the team's confidence how we managed to end the tournament and win that particular cup."
She also reserved special praise for team leader, Captain Ford.
"It is even more heartening when you see Dwayne Ford win the Wogarth Cup which is a tremendous achievement in defeating Lennox Brathwaite, who is a seven-time Wogarth winner. We are on a high and we are just going to build on this going into next year's competition."
Captain Ford, a recently crowned O-Class champion, led his team by example. He and teammate Nicola Guy shot impressively at 300 yards, each scoring perfect scores of 50.4 to give Jamaica an early five-point lead. The home team scored 373.23 over its nearest rivals Antigua and Barbuda with Guyana on 360.16.
Jamaica extended its lead after 500 yards with a score of 379.20 but Guyana eventually narrowed the gap and claimed victory with a score 383.23.
Braithwaite answered the call at 500 yard with score of 50.3 that would prove pivotal at the final range as he and Ford battled for the Wogarth Cup that goes to the top-scoring shooter in the West Indies Cup.
At 600 yards, Jamaica dropped 10 points early on and found themselves in a major shoot-out with Guyana. However, the shooters managed to steel themselves and recovered to score 1114.58 to hold off Guyana who shot a 1113.63.
In the end, Ford defeated the seven-time champion Brathwaite by 0.1 to take the Wogarth Cup.
The Denver Broncos survived a frustrating first half at Wembley Stadium to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 21-17 as Russell Wilson returned from a hamstring injury.
Wilson, who sat out last week, looked extremely rusty early on, almost throwing an interception from his first pass and then giving up a pick that presented Trevor Lawrence with a short field for the first touchdown of Sunday's game.
Having capitalised on that mishap, however, the Jaguars failed to make the most of a sloppy Broncos display thereafter.
Although Denver had an alarming 10 penalties for 71 yards at halftime, they trailed only 10-7, with a Lawrence pass picked on the goal line by Justin Simmons before Wilson led the Broncos up the field late in the second quarter for Jerry Jeudy to score.
Pressure had again been building on Wilson and coach Nathaniel Hackett up to that point, but a 98-yard drive early in the second half allowed Melvin Gordon to run in and secure the Broncos a first lead.
Lawrence, rather than Wilson, had struggled badly since his earlier interception, but Travis Etienne Jr. gave the Jaguars hope of a first win since Week 3, adding a touchdown to his 156 rushing yards.
Instead, Wilson came to the fore again with a 47-yard pass to K.J. Hamler that set up the game-winning drive, finished off by Latavius Murray before Lawrence threw a second pick to K'Waun Williams, ensuring there was no route back into the game for Jacksonville.
Daniil Medvedev celebrated "one of the best victories" as he beat Denis Shapovalov 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the Vienna Open on Sunday.
Playing in his first tour-level final since winning the Mexico Open in August, Medvedev found himself on the back foot after Shapovalov came out on top in a 50-minute opener.
The world number four conceded serve twice in the first set – the first time he had been broken throughout his run in Austria.
However, Medvedev hit back to claim the second set at the first time of asking.
Having lost serve twice in the decider, Shapovalov hung on in to frustrate Medvedev, saving six match points before finally succumbing to a deft drop-shot that the Canadian could only clip back into the net.
The victory marks Medvedev's second title of 2022, while it also ensures the Russian – who worked his way to world number one earlier in the year – will play in the ATP Finals next month, after going for glory at the Paris Masters.
"This match was the best of the week because Denis was really playing unreal until probably 4-3 in the second set," said Medvedev, who is aiming for a strong end to the season.
"He dropped his level by maybe two per cent and I was able to use it. This is one of the best victories when you know your opponent is on top of you, but you try and stay there and do what you can.
"I like to play indoor hard courts at the end of the season. I feel that I do a great job with my team not to arrive burnt out.
"I'm looking forward to the last two tournaments of the year which are really important and I usually play well."
Felix Auger-Aliassime climbed to sixth in the ATP Finals chase as he earned yet another title at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
The Canadian had not won any of his eight career finals before this season, but he has now come through four of five in 2022.
Three of those have been in Auger-Aliassime's past three tournament entries, as he followed up successes in Florence and Antwerp by beating Holger Rune on Sunday.
Rune had himself won last time out against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Stockholm final, but he was brushed aside by Auger-Aliassime 6-3 7-5.
The world number nine threatened to wrap up the victory in double quick time as he raced through the opener, with Rune responding in the second set to drag the match out to 100 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime fended off a break point early in the second and two more later in the set, protecting his serve throughout and then going on the offensive.
The fourth of four break opportunities at 5-5 was seized, and Auger-Aliassime – fresh from beating world number one Carlos Alcaraz – served out the match at the third attempt.
The 22-year-old has never previously made the season-ending Finals but moved ahead of Andrey Rublev with his latest success.
Chad Ziadie and Wendy McMaster emerged winners of the recent National Shotgun Champions (NSC) held at the Grand Port Royal Hotel.
The Seattle Seahawks are hoping to have DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett – their leading two pass-catchers – available against the New York Giants on Sunday.
The Week 8 matchup pits two of the NFL's surprise packages against one another, with the Giants 6-1 in the NFC East as the Seahawks lead the NFC West at 4-3 despite trading quarterback Russell Wilson.
Seattle have received a boost ahead of welcoming the Giants to Lumen Field, as both Metcalf and Lockett could feature.
Metcalf was carted off in last week's win against the Los Angeles Chargers with a patellar tendon injury, prompting fears he could miss an extended period.
But the wide receiver avoided surgery, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported he would face the Giants, while NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said he has "a good chance".
Metcalf has caught only two touchdown passes this season after a career-high 12 last year, although his 418 receiving yards rank in the league's top 25.
He trails team-mate Lockett, who has 468 yards and two TDs and also should play on Sunday.
Lockett has been managing both hamstring and rib injuries, but Schefter expects him to play. Rapoport described him as "a game-time decision" but with "some optimism he goes".
Elsewhere in the NFL, early reporting on Sunday had Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams and Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons both on course to play despite previously being listed as questionable.
Adams, whose Raiders go to the New Orleans Saints, was ill, while Parsons has been dealing with a shoulder injury ahead of the Cowboys hosting the Chicago Bears.
Vasiliy Lomachenko says he is "ready" to face undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney after defeating Jamaine Ortiz on his return from military service in Ukraine.
Three-time lightweight champion Lomachenko returned to defend his homeland in Ukraine after the invasion by Russia, before resuming his career on Saturday with a unanimous decision victory over Ortiz.
The 34-year-old will now eye a clash with Haney, who was in attendance at Madison Square Garden in New York and outlined his hopes for fighting Lomachenko, stating "hopefully we can get it on".
"I will be ready," replied Lomachenko, who reportedly rejected a major title unification with George Kambosos earlier this year, instead opting to return to Ukraine and enlist for the Territorial Defence force.
Lomachenko added on his return against Ortiz: "I'm happy to be back in the ring and make this great show. He is a tough fighter, he is a good fighter."
As for the mouthwatering prospect of a clash between Lomachenko and Haney, the Ukrainian's promoter Bob Arum suggested a potential clash would be a meeting between the two best lightweights.
"The fight to make in the lightweight division is Haney versus Lomachenko," Arum said.
"We will do everything we can to make the undisputed championship showdown that all fight fans want to see. They are the world’s premier lightweights, and it would be a fantastic battle."
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Lomachenko is expected to return to Ukraine to help his home country.
Captain Sam Cane and hooker Dane Coles have been ruled out of New Zealand's tour of Europe.
Flanker Cane suffered two cheekbone fractures in a 38-31 win over Japan at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday.
The vastly experienced Coles missed that victory after suffering a calf injury prior to kick-off and he will return home along with Cane.
Billy Harmon has been called up to the squad ahead of a Test against Wales at the Principality Stadium next Saturday.
Wing Leicester Fainga'anuku will also join up with the All Blacks for that Test in Cardiff after leaving the squad in Japan for family reasons.
The Rugby Championship winners will face Scotland and England next month after doing battle with Wayne Pivac's side.
New Zealand head coach Ian Foster said: "It will create a great opportunity for the likes of a Dalton Papali'i and he's in good form. It's the reality of rugby, you always want to get through your first couple of games injury free.
"It hasn't worked out this way, and it doesn't change the challenges coming up."
The All Blacks will appeal against Brodie Retallick's red card for a clean-out on loose forward Kazuki Himeno in the 65th minute of the win over the Brave Blossoms, with a hearing likely to take place on Tuesday.
Max Verstappen knows pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix does not guarantee first place, as the Formula One world champion aims to claim a 14th win of the season.
Of Verstappen's 13 race wins in 2022, nine have come without the Dutchman starting on pole, which has seen him surpass Lewis Hamilton's calendar-year record (eight in 2019).
Verstappen will, though, start from the front in Mexico City on Sunday.
Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton qualified in second and third respectively, though Verstappen does not expect pole position to dictate who wins the race.
"I've started, I guess, everywhere except pole here, and we won the races, so it is always important to have a good start around here," Verstappen told reporters.
"I think our top speed is not too bad to defend, at least, when people are in the draft. We just need to focus on that and honestly, I think if we have a good race pace, then it will be a good fight.
"We don't know [about the race pace] because we've been driving on these development tyres, so it's a bit difficult to tell. But I think the car we had [on Saturday], I'm expecting it to be alright."
Red Bull will match their longest winning streak in F1 should they clinch a ninth straight victory – only in 2013 have they achieved such a run.
Russell, who has enjoyed a strong debut season with Mercedes in a difficult campaign for the team, is hopeful of denting Verstappen's lead at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
"I think we were looking competitive. Similar to what Max said: we don't really know. But we think we've got a reasonable shot," Russell said.
"I think having Lewis and I there at the front gives us an opportunity to maybe do something different with the strategy.
"I don't think anybody really knows if it's going to be a one or two-stop. So, let's see what we can do."
Verstappen and Hamilton finished first and second respectively at the United States Grand Prix last week, becoming the pair with the most one-two finishes (32) in F1 history.
Hamilton, however, understands the difficulties of challenging Verstappen, given Red Bull's superiority throughout the year – though an early attack at the first turn could be crucial.
"Naturally, it's always a tough race around here, with the track temperatures and tyres," Hamilton said. "These guys have been rapid all year long.
"Even at our best this weekend, still losing out to them through straight-line speed. It'll definitely be difficult to get by them, but we'll give it our best shot. And Turn 1 is an opportunity. So, we'll go for it."
Jake Paul called out Nate Diaz for his next fight after downing his "idol" Anderson Silva on Saturday.
Paul extended to 6-0 with a third victory against MMA competitors, defeating former middleweight champion Silva in a boxing contest on a unanimous decision at Desert Diamond Arena.
Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren are the other two UFC fighters to fall to Paul, who labelled UFC legend Silva as his hero after a memorable performance that saw him knock down the Brazilian in the eighth round.
"I feel like I'm living in a movie," Paul said after the victory. "You couldn't have written this in a story.
"Just being in the ring with him, seeing his heart, his courage, his bravery, that's the champion that I looked up to.
"He's such an inspiration. He was my idol growing up. He inspired me to be great."
Silva defeated former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., after leaving UFC in 2020, and proved a much tougher task for Paul, who indicated already who he wants his next fight to be.
Diaz, in attendance supporting undercard fighter and team-mate Chris Avila, appeared to slap a member of Paul's team after a backstage altercation saw both camps throw drinks.
Now, Paul wants to face Diaz, who became a free agent after UFC 279, as he looks to extend his growing record.
"Nate Diaz, stop being a b**** and fight me," Paul added. "Everyone wants that fight – Nate, stop fighting people for free, let's do it in the ring."
Kyrie Irving says he will not "stand down" for what he believes in after facing widespread backlash for sharing a film on social media with alleged anti-Semitic connotations.
The 30-year-old tweeted a link to 'Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America' on Thursday, with Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai condemning Irving for promoting a film "full of anti-Semitic disinformation".
The Nets and NBA both released strong statements refusing to tolerate "hate speech", while coach Steve Nash said the star guard had been spoken to prior to Saturday's 125-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
However, speaking after the game against the Pacers at Barclays Center, Irving suggested he had not done anything wrong and would continue to speak with freedom.
"I'm not here to argue over a person or a culture or a religion and what they believe," Irving said. "Nah, this is what's here. It's on a public platform.
"Did I do anything illegal? Did I hurt anybody? Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?
"So out of all the judgement that people got for me posting, without talking to me, and then I respect what Joe [Tsai] said, but there has a lot to do with not ego or pride of how proud I am to be [of] African heritage, but also to be living as a free black man here in America, knowing the historical complexities for me to get here.
"So I'm not going to stand down on anything that I believe in. I'm only going to get stronger because I'm not alone. I have a whole army around me."
Irving had earlier defended his actions on Twitter, where his shared post still remains, stating the "anti-Semitic label" on him was "not justified", nor did he intend to disrespect "anyone's beliefs".
The Nets fell to a fourth straight loss of the season against the Pacers, though Nash does not believe the Irving situation influenced Brooklyn's performance.
"I don't think our group is overly affected by the situation," Nash said. "We've had so many situations over the last one or two years that I think we've kind of built an immunity to some of it.
"I also think our guys aren't that familiar with the material."
Star Nets forward Kevin Durant echoed Nash's comments, suggesting Brooklyn would pay no attention to those outside of the locker room.
"Absolutely not," Durant responded when asked if the furore had impacted his side. "The only impact is you guys and everybody outside the locker room."
Steve Nash implored the Brooklyn Nets to "care more" after falling to their fourth straight loss, with Ben Simmons revealing the side met for a players-only meeting to discuss problems.
Indiana Pacers recorded a 125-116 victory on Saturday, the fourth time in six games the Nets have conceded 125 points or more, as Nash's side dropped to 1-5 this season.
Brooklyn host the Pacers again on Monday and Nash outlined his frustrations with the Nets as he urged his team to show more commitment.
"It was a disaster," coach Nash said. "How else do you say it? I didn't see the will, didn't see the desire, or the connectivity necessary to get stops and get rebounds.
"We just got to make a bigger commitment and it's got to mean more and we got to care more.
"We have to look deep inside ourselves and what we want to do. What do we want to accomplish? Do we want to give up on this because it's been difficult early or do we want to stay the course and start to build something?
"We've had a lot of really good days here early in the season and we've lost a couple of games; it shakes our mentality, it has shaken our mentality hard.
"And we're not seeing the same competitive spirit, same purpose, and if we don't clean that up it's not going to get better. It's the only way to get out of difficult positions is to have character and competitive spirit."
The Nets have been largely reliant on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving thus far, the pair scoring 61 points at Barclays Center, and the former acknowledged Brooklyn must improve soon.
"It was a s***ty night," Durant said. "Excuse my language, it was a bad night. We're p***ed. We enjoy basketball.
"We like to win, though, so of course when we lose the games it's going to be a sombre mood in the locker room. But it will change once we start playing some good basketball.
"We got a lot of basketball to be played ahead of us."
While Nash urged his team to up their effort levels, Simmons suggested the Nets are confronting their problems after a meeting between the players following the defeat.
"It was honest," Simmons said of the meeting. "We had a conversation. Obviously, I'm not going to talk about it, but it was honest.
"That's what winning teams do. Hold each other accountable, be able to be open and talk to your team-mates, and respect that and be men."
The Houston Astros levelled up the World Series with Saturday's 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, but Jose Altuve's breakout performance may be the joker in the pack they need.
Altuve had a three-hit game, starting with a lead-off double as the Astros piled on three first-inning runs at Minute Maid Park to square the series after blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 1 on Friday, losing 6-5.
The second baseman is second on all-time postseason home runs list (23), but has struggled this postseason, averaging .171 with only seven hits from 41 at-bats, no RBIs and no home runs.
Altuve had been mired in a none-for-25 slump earlier in the postseason but has simplified his approach with Astros manager Dusty Baker sticking with him.
"If I say it every day, he's gotta have one of these days," Baker told reporters. "It's just how I feel about Altuve.
"His track record speaks for itself. He swung the bat great today. It's a good feeling to get him to lead off like he's been doing all year in the first inning. Boy it was great to see."
Alex Bregman added a two-run home run in the fifth inning to open up a 5-0 lead, but he praised Altuve for setting the tone.
"It was awesome," Bregman said. "I feel like that one swing of the bat to start off the game got the crowd into it, got our dugout into it, got our offense going."
"Early in the playoffs, I was swinging at everything and then getting slowly better at swinging at my pitch," Altuve said. "Yeah, I got a hit on a pitch almost above my head today. But it's a hit, so it's good."
The Phillies produced a sensational rally to win Game 1 after trailing 5-0 so Baker was rapt to square up the World Series at 1-1 before it heads to Philadelphia for Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park on Monday.
"It was almost a mathematical must [to win]," Baker said. "It's tough when you lose the first two games at home. But I've been on the other side of the things.
"It's good for the city, good for our fans that they went home happy after last night."
There will be one racing certainty when the WTA Finals gets under way: a new champion will be crowned.
Iga Swiatek heads the list of contenders to carry off the trophy in Fort Worth, Texas, having enjoyed a spectacular season.
Ascendant Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff will be chasing a home victory, while Tunisia's Ons Jabeur has reached finals at Wimbledon and the US Open so loves the big occasion.
Ahead of the tournament getting under way on Monday, Stats Perform has taken a look at the eight-player field.
Swiatek still the player to beat
With no past winner in the line-up, there is every reason to look to the world number one, Swiatek, as favourite.
The 21-year-old Polish player has eight titles this year, lifting trophies at Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, the French Open, the US Open and San Diego.
Indeed, she is the only grand slam singles winner in the draw, with Ash Barty having retired and Elena Rybakina absent after no ranking or race points were awarded at Wimbledon, where she was a surprise champion.
Rybakina's absence calls into question the meritocracy of this year's tournament, which is intended to showcase the top performers on tour, yet there can be no doubt the season's premier performer is in the draw.
French Open and US Open winner Swiatek's remarkable run of 10 straight-sets victories in finals (dating back to the 2020 French Open) was finally ended by Barbora Krejcikova, who sprang a shock by winning in Ostrava in early October.
But by getting back to winning ways a week later in San Diego, scrapping for a three-set victory over Donna Vekic in the title match, Swiatek produced a typically impressive response, beating Qinwen Zheng, Gauff and Pegula on her way through the draw to improve to 64-8 in her win-loss record for the year.
Here is a measure of her dominance this season: Swiatek headed the 'Race to the WTA Finals' rankings with 10,335 points, with the players in second (Jabeur) to eighth place (Daria Kasatkina) having tallies ranging between 4,555 and 2,935 points.
Is Pegula the chief rival to Swiatek?
She might not have been the player that would have sprung to mind even a month ago, but Pegula's victory at the Guadalajara Open this month was an eye-opener.
Beginning by saving match points in a thrilling three-setter against Rybakina, Pegula took down grand slam winners Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka before swatting aside Maria Sakkari in the final.
Pegula has reached quarter-finals at the Australian, French and US Opens in 2022, and she has a tour-high 39 wins in WTA 1000 events since the beginning of last year.
She is up to third in the WTA rankings, one ahead of Coco Gauff, with the United States now having two women in the top five for the first time since October 2010, when Serena Williams was number two and sister Venus sat fourth.
As Pegula said after the Guadalajara final: "I'm definitely a very ambitious person. A little bit of a perfectionist, as well. I don't think you could win if you weren't ambitious, especially at this level.
"I feel like it's going to give me more motivation going forward knowing I can win these big titles. I think it will give me a lot of confidence ending the year, going into next year."
These are spirited words. She heads into the tournament with a 0-4 record against Swiatek in 2022, however.
Who's in, who's out, what's it all about?
As well as Swiatek and Pegula, the field for the eight-day tournament includes Caroline Garcia, Aryna Sabalenka and Sakkari, who have all featured at the WTA Finals in the past.
Four players make their debuts, including Pegula, who is joined as a newcomer by Jabeur, Gauff and Daria Kasatkina.
Gauff, 18, has become the 14th player aged under 19 to reach the WTA top five since the rankings were introduced in 1975.
She would not be the youngest WTA Finals champion, were she to lift the title, as Monica Seles has a tight grip on that record, having triumphed at the age of 16 years and 11 months at the 1990 edition.
Last year's champion Garbine Muguruza is absent. The Spaniard was expected by many to push on and enjoy a stellar 2022 season, but it did not play out that way, with the former French Open and Wimbledon winner sliding to 57th in the world rankings after a dismal campaign.
It goes to show that whoever prevails in Fort Worth, we should be cautious about treating the outcome as an indication of what to expect in the new year.
Stephen Curry scored 31 points with 11 rebounds in his annual homecoming that ended in an overtime defeat for the Golden State Warriors, losing 120-113 to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Golden State had led by four points in the final minute of regulation, before P.J. Washington hit a jumper, followed by a Dennis Smith Jr layup to tie the game.
Curry missed a tough three-point attempt to win the game at the end of regulation time, and airballed another shot in overtime. The Warriors point guard finished with three-of-13 from beyond the arc, making 10-of-22 from the field.
The Hornets, who were without LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, were rampant in overtime, with Washington finishing the game with 31 points and Jalen McDaniels draining a crucial triple. Gordon Hayward made a strong contribution with 23 points and four assists.
Golden State shot at 29.5 per cent from three-point range, with Klay Thompson battling on one-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc in his 11 points.
Jordan Poole made four-of-11 attempts in his 24 points off the bench for the Warriors, who are 0-2 on the road this season and 3-3 overall.
Clutch Embiid lifts 76ers to back-to-back wins
Joel Embiid scored 25 points but none were better than his tiebreaking three-point shot as the Philadelphia 76ers made it back-to-back wins with a 114-109 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Embiid drained his wide-open three-point shot to put the 76ers up 112-109 with 18.1 seconds remaining in the game as Philadelphia improved to 3-4 after their 1-4 start to the season.
The 76ers center had seven rebounds and four assists, while James Harden contributed 15 points on two-of-13 field shooting with 11 assists, while Tyrese Maxey scored 14 points after posting a career-high 44 on Friday.
Nets woes worsen with Pacers shock
The Brooklyn Nets' defensive woes continued as they fell to a fourth straight loss, going down 125-116 to the Indiana Pacers for whom rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored a career-high 32 points.
The Nets conceded another big score, averaging 124.5 points against during their four-game losing skid, with Kevin Durant contributing 26 points with five rebounds and four blocks.
Kyrie Irving, who has come under fire for appearing to show support to an antisemitic film this week, responded on the court with 35 points including five triples with six assists.
The Houston Astros responded to blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 1 with a fast start to set up their 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to square the World Series on Saturday.
The Astros raced to a 3-0 first-inning lead, scoring two runs from the first four pitches from Phillies starter Zach Wheeler, before Alex Bregman's fifth-inning two-run blast shored up a 5-0 lead at Minute Maid Park.
The Phillies had rallied from that deficit on Friday but could not replicate that, despite plating runs in the seventh and ninth innings. Kyle Schwarber thought he had pulled it back to 5-3 with an eighth-inning two-run blast but that was called a foul after a replay review.
Framber Valdez was heroic, sending down 104 pitches before being retired in the seventh inning with nine strikeouts having allowed only four hits, three walks and one earned run.
Jose Altuve's lead-off double from the first pitch was followed by Jeremy Pena's left-field line drive from the second pitch to score the second baseman. Altuve put aside his postseason struggles with three hits for the game.
Two pitches later Pena scored when Yordan Alvarez's left-field shot sailed over Schwarber's head. Alvarez added the third in the inning from an error by shortstop Edmundo Sosa.
Wheeler corrected his early issues, allowing only two singles from 14 batters until Bregman's fifth-inning blast, his third of the postseason.
Nick Castellanos scored from Jean Segura's seventh-inning sacrifice fly, before Schwarber came close to halving the deficit twice, with his two-run blast overturned, followed by a right-field shot that was caught inches short by Kyle Tucker.
Astros first baseman's Yuli Gurriel error allowed Alec Bohm to score in the ninth but Ryan Pressly closed it out to square the World Series at 1-1.
Louis Oosthuizen beat Bryson DeChambeau 1up in 23 holes to secure a spot for Stinger GC in the LIV Golf Championship in Miami on Sunday after a 2-1 team semi-finals win on Saturday.
Saturday's semi-finals were match play, with Sunday's Championship to be stroke play, but Oosthuizen and DeChambeau offered plenty of drama in their singles match at Trump National Doral.
With Stinger and the Crushers tied at 1-1, the pair could not be split until the fifth extra hole, with Oosthuizen having a long-range putt for victory fall short on the 18th hole.
But the South African swooped when DeChambeau's tee shot on the fifth extra hole found the water, with Oosthuizen finishing the job.
"At the end I think the adrenaline took over in the last few holes," the South African said. "It was a great match.
"I don’t know how many birdies we made, but very relieved now. I thought the boys had it covered so when I saw Branden [Grace] lost and I'm like 'oh boy I've got to do something here', so very chuffed."
Grace was beaten by Paul Casey in their singles match, but Charl Schwartzel and Hennie du Plessis had won 2up in the alternate shot against Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri.
Dustin Johnson and his 4Aces GC also advanced to Sunday's decider with a 2-1 win over Cleeks GC.
Pat Perez and Talor Gooch held off Graeme McDowell and Richard Bland in extra holes to clinch the winning point.
Cameron Smith's Punch GC knocked off Sergio Garcia's Firebirds GC 2-1, while Brooks Koepka's Smash GC were too good for Majesticks GC 3-0.
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