Alize Cornet is through to the third round of the US Open after defeating Katerina Siniakova 6-1 1-6 6-3, making it the first time she has been beyond the second round of every grand slam in a single season.

Cornet, who defeated reigning champion Emma Raducanu in straight sets to begin her campaign, was terrific with her return game early on, winning 54 per cent of the points off Siniakova's serve in the opening set.

Three double faults for Cornet and the inability to win a single point off her second serve led to a quick second frame for Siniakova, but she steadied in the decider, becoming the first Frenchwoman to win her opening two rounds of each grand slam in a season since Caroline Garcia in 2017.

Cornet has now won five of her past six matches and should be considered a threat given her victory over world number one Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon in July.

She will play the winner between Danielle Collins and Cristina Bucsa in her next match.

Manchester United have won three Premier League games in a row for the first time this year as they beat Leicester City 1-0 at the King Power Stadium on Thursday.

Although United's performance was by no means flawless, victory moved them up to fifth in the table, with the nightmares of their first two games of the season seemingly a distant memory.

United were fully deserving of the first-half lead that was given to them by Jadon Sancho at the end of an incisive move – though their level dropped significantly after the restart.

Leicester were encouraged and carried greater threat, but clear-cut chances remained at a premium as United's solid backline helped guide the visitors to another win.

United looked sharp right from the start and almost went ahead in the 11th minute, but Christian Eriksen shot into the side-netting after breaking into the left side of the area.

The breakthrough arrived 12 minutes later, though.

Diogo Dalot intercepted Danny Ward's long ball and found Bruno Fernandes, who hurried the ball on to Marcus Rashford and he fed Sancho to round the Leicester goalkeeper and apply a simple finish.

The hosts looked reinvigorated after the break and nearly levelled early on as David de Gea produced an acrobatic save to keep James Maddison's free-kick out of the top-right corner.

Leicester failed to build on that momentum and United – boosted by a lively Cristiano Ronaldo cameo – finished with something of a flurry, though their inability to add a second goal might have been punished had James Justin kept a stoppage-time strike down.

Iga Swiatek is through to the third round of the US Open after securing a routine victory against Sloane Stephens at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Stephens, who won the 2017 US Open, struggled to keep up with Swiatek as the latter showed her quality on Thursday to win 6-3 6-2.

The number one seed set the tone early by breaking her 29-year-old opponent, and though Stephens responded by breaking straight back, she lost her own service again immediately after.

Swiatek almost broke for a third-straight time but Stephens was able to rescue herself from 15-40 down in the fifth game of the match, though it just delayed the inevitable as the Pole sealed the first set after her opponent hit a backhand effort down the line too long.

There was little sign of a momentum shift as Swiatek broke twice more and raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set.

Though Stephens was taking several games to deuce, Swiatek showed her class to edge over the line in most of them and although the American made the score more respectable with two service holds, it was not enough.

Swiatek confirmed a routine victory with a service hold to love, and will now face another American, Laura Davis, in the next round.

Data Slam: Swiatek's impressive 2022 numbers grow and grow

Swiatek has now won 52 matches in 2022. The last players with more WTA-level wins in a single campaign were Ash Barty (57) and Kiki Bertens (55) in 2019.

The way she is playing at Flushing Meadows, it would not be a surprise to see her overtake Bertens before the end of the tournament.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek – 14/17
Stephens – 7/18

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek – 1/2
Stephens – 1/3

BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek – 4/12
Stephens – 1/2

The NFL is all about evolution. The constant fight to gain a decisive advantage, in a league where those who can adapt fastest are kings, consistently leads to sweeping changes every offseason.

While it is the raft of head coaching changes that dominate the headlines when the regular season gives way to 'Black Monday', it is the more granular alterations to a team's approach that can often have the greatest influence on a franchise's fortunes in a given season.

Switches in scheme or a diversion away from a team's long-standing tendencies are regularly brought on by the arrival of a new coaching staff or a change in coordinator, but personnel moves also frequently dictate the approach coaches settle on as they plot a path towards success.

Schematic decisions that may not cause much of a league-wide stir can end up having a huge influence on the outcome of a season, and there are no shortage of such changes that figure to have a significant bearing on the race for the playoffs in 2022.

Here, with the help of its advanced data, Stats Perform looks at five switches in scheme or tendencies that could play a defining role in the coming campaign.

Can McDaniel transform Tua?

The Miami Dolphins' second-half surge in 2021 was tied to their reliance on the run-pass option as they tailored their offense to Tua Tagovailoa's strengths.

Not only were the Dolphins prolific in going to the RPO, they were very effective when they called them.

Miami called a RPO on 12.27 per cent of their pass attempts, the league average was 3.5 per cent. They averaged 7.25 yards per play on RPOs, comfortably above the league average of 5.85.

Given their success on those plays and Tagovailoa's comfort in executing them, RPOs will still be a part of the Miami attack in 2022.

But the usage numbers are unlikely to be as high under new head coach Mike McDaniel, who brings his take on the Kyle Shanahan offense to Miami afer serving as the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator last year.

McDaniel will likely reduce the number of straight dropback pass plays for Tagovailoa. The Dolphins ran them on 34 per cent of passes last year, below the league average of 36.1 per cent but well above the 2021 49ers, who used such plays only 22.9 per cent of the time while utilising the quick game on 40.97 per cent of passes compared to 25.97 per cent for the Dolphins.

The arrival of McDaniel will likely tip the balance towards the quick game for Miami in 2022 as he looks to give Tagovailoa easy buttons in the same way Shanahan did for Jimmy Garoppolo, getting the ball into the hands of Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill to do damage after the catch.

McDaniel, who was San Francisco's run-game coordinator prior to his promotion last year, will undoubtedly lean on Raheem Mostert, Chase Edmonds and a ground attack certain to be heavily based around inside and outside zone runs to take the burden off Tagovailoa and set up play-action.

Miami used play-action on 14.57 per cent of their passes in 2021, above the average of 12.7 per cent but still trailing the 49ers (15.89 per cent). With Tagovailoa's ability to hit Hill and Waddle downfield with consistent accuracy in question, look for McDaniel to put significant stress on defenses by attracting linebackers up to the line of scrimmage with play-action and then running Hill and Waddle cross-field on horizontal routes at the intermediate levels that are well within his quarterback's range.

Under Shanahan, McDaniel has had an education into scheming his weapons into space, and he should thrive at doing so when running an offense himself for the first time. Tagovailoa's challenge will be to prove he can deliver and make the most of the advantageous situations in which his coach will put him. Fail, and the Dolphins may soon be searching for a new franchise quarterback.

More deep balls and diversity for Niners

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Shanahan has insisted nothing in his playbook has changed as he enters the season with a new starting quarterback, and the 49ers head coach will unexpectedly have the same top two signal-callers as he did last season.

It is the order that has flipped, with Jimmy Garoppolo agreeing a reworked contract for 2022 to be Trey Lance's backup. Regardless of what Shanahan says, the 49ers' approach is likely to be different with Lance under center.

Lance averaged 10.10 air yards per attempt across his 10 full quarters of action last season (he started two games and played the second half when Garoppolo was injured in Week 4), the second-most among quarterbacks with at least 50 pass attempts.

On the other end of the scale, Garoppolo's 7.38 air yards per attempt were well below the league average of 7.99. Garoppolo attempted just 26 passes of 21 or more air yards the entire season, while 11 of Lance's 70 passes were of that distance.

The scheme isn't changing, but the tendencies certainly will. Lance will be more aggressive and attack downfield more often, likely leading to explosive splash plays that are not necessarily reliant on receivers creating yardage after the catch.

Though the plays may have already been in Shanahan's playbook, there is certain to be more of an emphasis on the threat of the quarterback run with Lance at the helm.

Just 2.62 per cent of the 49ers' run plays came on the zone-read last year, below the league average of 4.2. That number should increase, as should San Francisco's usage of the RPO game, which the Niners used on only 1.09 per cent of pass plays last year but averaged 8.43 yards per play when they did.

With Lance and the running back both threats to run on such plays, defenses will have to account for three possibilites when defending RPOs against the 49ers, exemplifying how much more diverse their offense can become with the 2021 third overall pick under center.

San Francisco's attack will be even more varied and more aggressive in 2022, but it is also likely to be more volatile due to Lance's inferior precision to Garoppolo on the intermediate passes that set up the yards after catch opportunities on which the 49ers have done such damage in recent years. How that volatility impacts the win-loss column will determine whether Garoppolo gets on the field at any point in the final year of his contract.

Vikings look to the 3-4

The Vikings swapped out basically everything this offseason. New general manager, new head coach – who will also be the offensive play-caller – and new defensive coordinator.

Though head coach Kevin O'Connell's offense will be different to the one run by former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, the systems are similar enough that Kirk Cousins and Co. are unlikely to endure too much pain in acclimating to the new scheme.

The biggest adjustments will come on the defensive side of the ball, which will be run by Ed Donatell, who spent the last three seasons coordinating Vic Fangio's defense for the Denver Broncos.

The Fangio defense has become the en vogue scheme in the NFL as acolytes such as Brandon Staley have put their spin on it and the two-high safety shells that have been a hallmark of the system have helped limit explosive plays and level the playing field a little in an offense-dominated league.

Denver played Cover 1 robber – which is where a safety from a two-high look drops down into the box to disrupt in-breaking routes in the congested area – as the defense's primary coverage in 2021. The Broncos ran Cover 1 robber 41.87 per cent of the time in a season where the league average was 14.17 per cent.

The Vikings were more varied but still used Cover 1 robber more than any other coverage, relying on it for 21.81 per cent of defensive snaps.

Whether Donatell uses that coverage to the same extent in Minnesota remains to be seen, but the transition for the Vikings' secondary may be a smooth one given how often they ultilised the same shell under Mike Zimmer. 

The most significant change to the defense comes up front, with the Vikings switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Though defensive fronts are much more hybrid in the modern NFL, the tenets of the 3-4 front are the same. The three-man line is tasked with holding ground and filling up gaps at the point of attack, offering more space to the four linebackers to take better pursuit angles against the run and opening a wide menu of blitz packages against the pass. 

Minnesota's two starting outside linebackers are de-facto edge rushers and both players who should each theoretically thrive in that role. Za'Darius Smith has significant experience with the 3-4 from his time with the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers while the athletic profile of Danielle Hunter – whose 60.5 sacks since 2015 are tied for the seventh-most in the NFL – makes him an ideal candidate to excel as a stand-up pass rusher.

Possessing two impressive space-eating interior defenders in Harrison Phillips and Damon Harrison and an inside linebacker in Eric Kendricks who had five sacks last year, the Vikings have the personnel to continue to succeed rushing the passer despite the change in front. They were 10th in pass rush win rate in 2021, had the sixth-most pressures (291) and the second-most sacks (51).

Despite their joy in getting after the quarterback, the Vikings were 26th in yards per play allowed (5.66), with their struggles tied to a run defense that allowed 51 runs of at least 10 yards. Only 12 teams allowed more. If the switch to the 3-4 helps the Vikings grow more stout against the ground game, then a team with the talent on both sides of the ball to contend for the playoffs will be in a much better position to make noise as a potential Wild Card team.

The Raiders' overdue defensive switch

The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new offensive system after hiring Josh McDaniels as their head coach and will also have the benefit of expanded firepower following the blockbuster trade for All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams. 

Las Vegas will have the personnel and the offensive scheme to go blow for blow with their high-powered rivals in the AFC West.

The question is whether their defense can do enough to contain their divisional foes, and its success in doing so likely rests on how the Raiders adapt to new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

In 2021, the Raiders only gave up 5.2 yards per play, the ninth-fewest in the NFL; however, former coordinator Gus Bradley's steadfast commitment to single-high Cover 3 defenses saw Las Vegas shredded for 888 net yards in a pair of defeats to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Las Vegas played Cover 3 zone on an incredible 65.79 per cent of snaps last season. The league average was 23.75 per cent.

In his final year as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator, Graham relied heavily on Cover 3, which the Giants used 45.58 per cent of the time. 

But Graham used a wider range of coverages more regularly than his predecessor. The Giants played Cover 1 robber, Cover 2 and Tampa 2 at a rate above the league average.

The Raiders' secondary talent is questionable, but Graham is a coordinator who predominantly plays the coverage with which they are most familiar but is more flexible than Bradley. As such, the transition to Graham should be a relatively smooth one for the Raiders' defensive backfield; however, it will be their ability to excel in a defense that promises to be much more multiple than it was a year ago that determines whether this unit improves.

Las Vegas' defense did not embrace the two-high revolution in 2021. With Graham running a unit that will be tasked with stopping three explosive downfield passers in Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson in the AFC West, such shells will almost certainly become a bigger part of the Raiders' gameplan. How their defenders adapt to playing those coverages more frequently will have a huge bearing on the Raiders' success in competing for top spot in a loaded division.

Will 'Big Red' turn to the run?

As the Raiders perhaps shift towards a more two-high heavy world, the Chiefs' hopes of regaining the Lombardi Trophy will in part be tied to their proficiency in attacking such defenses.

The Chiefs' often exaggerated struggles against two-high coverage shells dominated much of the discussion in the first half of last season as defenses looked for a way to take away the shot play to Tyreek Hill.

By the end of the year, the Chiefs appeared to have solved the riddle and averaged 33.2 points per game over the final six weeks of the regular season.

Yet with Hill gone, the Kansas City offense has lost the reason many opponents not named the Raiders defended them with such coverages.

Defenses are unlikely to suddenly move away from the two-high looks when playing Kansas City now Hill is a Miami Dolphin, and teams will continue to dare Mahomes to take what he is given underneath and attempt to limit his opportunities to go downfield to the deep threats the Chiefs do have, namely Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman.

Mahomes will need to be patient and connect with tight end Travis Kelce and other receivers who should excel attacking the underneath areas such as Juju Smith-Schuster and rookie second-round pick Skyy Moore.

But the Chiefs may also look to run the ball more to get defenses out of those coverages and draw more defenders into the box, opening the deep areas of the field for Mahomes to attack.

Kansas City ran the ball on only 31.8 per cent of offensive snaps last season, and there is plenty of evidence to suggest they would succeed if they did so more often.

The Chiefs ranked first in run block win rate in 2021 – their exploits in that regard allowing Clyde Edwards-Helaire to average 3.08 yards before contact per attempt, the eighth-most among running backs with at least 100 attempts – and Kansas City were seventh in yards per play on the ground (4.54). Rookie undrafted free agent Isaiah Pacheco has caught the eye in training camp and could blossom into a dynamic threat out of the backfield.

It is tough to make the case for taking the ball out of Mahomes' hands. However, as defenses continue to present him with more varied and complex looks, there is a need for a greater balance in the Chiefs' offense.

Between using a first-round pick on Edwards-Helaire and building an O-line that can produce dominant run-blocking, the Chiefs have spent significant resources on players with the potential to help them achieve that balance by committing to what has been an efficient run game. A modest shift in their offensive tendencies could be the key to the Chiefs getting back to the top of the pile despite the loss of one the league's most fearsome playmakers.

Serena Williams revealed how Tiger Woods encouraged her to return to tennis for one last glory mission after she powered into round three of the US Open.

Golf great Woods was on his feet and rapturously celebrating as Williams beat number two seed Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday night in New York.

He had been invited to sit in Williams' player box and shared conversations with Venus Williams as they watched Serena push past Kontaveit with a dynamic display, coming through 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It was remarkable from the 40-year-old on court as she found an extra gear for the deciding set, teeing up a clash with Australian world number 46 Ajla Tomjlanovic.

Williams has firmly indicated this will be her final tournament before retirement, and a host of stars have come out to watch her in action, with former US president Bill Clinton in the crowd for her first-round match.

Woods, actress Zendaya and film director Spike Lee were among those watching the Kontaveit match, and Williams suggested afterwards that she and 15-time major champion Woods had helped each other with their respective comebacks.

At this time last year, Williams was sidelined by a leg problem sustained at Wimbledon, while Woods was recovering from the serious leg injuries he suffered in a car crash.

"He's one of the reasons I'm here, one of the main reasons I'm still playing," Williams said. "We talked a lot. He was really trying to get me motivated.

"There's a few people, but we were like, 'Okay, we can do this together'.

"It was good, because I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was just lost, so many questions. When you can rely on someone like that, I mean, my goodness, he's Tiger Woods, it was really helpful to get clarity."

What Williams is wary of at this stage is raising her own expectations.

She was charmingly dismissive of an on-court question when asked if she was surprised by how well she was performing.

As far as Williams is concerned, she has proven countless times she is the greatest player, certainly of her own era, so even with limited preparation she backs herself.

But thinking too intently about winning majors may have been costly in recent years, with Williams having lost her last four grand slam finals to remain on 23 singles titles, one short of Margaret Court's all-time record.

"I cannot think that far," when asked about the prospect of winning the tournament. "I'm having fun and I'm enjoying it. Honestly, I've had so many tough matches the last I don't know how long that I just feel like just being prepared for everyone that I play is just going to be really, really difficult. Get through those moments."

In typical Williams fashion, she has danced around the subject of retirement since writing in Vogue in early August she would be "evolving away from tennis".

She spoke of wanting to "relish these next few weeks" in the magazine article, and so far at Flushing Meadows she is savouring every moment.

Serena and Venus were due to play doubles on Thursday, again on the Ashe Stadium court, with more fanfare expected.

"I think I've mostly been kind of blocking everything out, but then at the same time I've been embracing a little bit of it, because I also want to enjoy the moment," WIlliams said.

"I just feel like I have had a big red X on my back since I won the US Open in '99. It's been there my entire career, because I won my first grand slam early in my career.

"But here it's different. I feel like I've already won, figuratively, mentally. It's just pretty awesome the things that I've done."

Serena Williams' remarkable run in her final grand slam continued to gather pace on Thursday as she reached the US Open women's singles third round with a 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-2 triumph over Anett Kontaveit.

The record-breaking 23-time major winner may be set to step away from tennis following the conclusion of this year's event at Flushing Meadows, where she is also partnered with sister Venus in women's doubles.

But her latest victory arguably ranks as one of the most impressive she has racked up in recent years, with the record-extending stats underneath her win backing up her place in the sporting pantheon.

Williams has now won 367 matches in grand slam tournaments, comfortably extending her Open Era record for women's tennis and moving her within two of Roger Federer's outright record of 369.

In turning over Kontaveit, she also made it 10 victories against top-two seeded opponents in grand slam tournaments on the trot, last losing such a match at the 2007 US Open against Justine Henin.

In addition, it also brought up 100 US Open match victories when winning the opening set, with Williams having only tasted defeat on a further three occasions when striking first at this major.

Shohei Ohtani became the first player in American League/National League history to record 10 wins on the mound and 30 home runs after his go-ahead blast in the Los Angeles Angels' 3-2 triumph over the New York Yankees.

The Angels two-way star homered at the bottom of the sixth inning off Gerrit Cole with two runners on and his side trailing 2-0.

Ohtani's three-run shot means he has three homers in his past four games and delivered the winning blast for the second time in the three-game series against the Yankees.

He also became the first Japanese-born player with multiple 30-homer seasons, after blasting 46 home runs last year.

Aaron Hicks had made a leaping catch on the wall in the first inning to deny Ohtani, who had four at-bats for his three RBI.

Left-hander Patrick Sandoval allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings for the Angels, while the Yankees move to 79-52.

Nimmo robs Turner with unbelievable catch

Brandon Nimmo plucked one of the catches of the season to rob Justin Turner a game-tying homer in the New York Mets' 2-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

At the top of the seventh inning, Turner blasted Jacob deGrom over his head to deep center field where a leaping Nimmo produced his moment of magic.

Starling Marte hit a two-run homer, while DeGrom was typically stingy with nine strikeouts across seven innings and only three hits, before Edwin Diaz closed it out.

Nick Kyrgios has complained of the smell of marijuana during his second-round US Open victory over Benjamin Bonzi on Wednesday.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist made the claim to the chair umpire late in the second set of his hard-fought 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over the Frenchman at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The chair umpire remarked that the smell could be coming from the kitchen which Kyrgios retorted with "it was f***ing marijuana".

"People don't know I'm a heavy asthmatic," Kyrgios told reporters after the match.

"When I'm running side to side, I'm struggling to breathe, probably not something I want to be breathing in in between points.

"Yeah, US Open, it's a very different vibe to everywhere else. I feel like Wimbledon was so proper. Australian Open, you kind of expect it there, being an Aussie.

"But here, it's just like noisy. Point in, point out, I can't barely hear. Half the time I can't even hear my team because it's so noisy all the time."

The latter half of Kyrgios' second-round match coincided with major drawcard Serena Williams playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium against second seed Anett Kontaveit.

"Ashe was unbelievably noisy," Kyrgios added. "I couldn't hear anything. Constant jitter. Things going off, sirens.

"In Armstrong today, hearing trains and people. For someone that's struggled to focus in my career, I'm really trying hard to put my head down and play point by point, try to dig myself out of some certain situations.

"It's hard because there's a lot of distractions. Obviously a lot of heckling going on as well. People are saying things. I got to be very careful with what I say these days."

Kyrgios' win means he will take on American J.J. Wolf in the third round on Friday and the 23rd-seed Australian, who won August's Citi Open in Washington DC, said he was feeling motivated and more professional than ever.

"This year's been amazing in so many different ways," he said. "For my tennis, I kind of wanted to almost reinvent myself, get back to the top of the game where I know I belong.

"The Wimbledon final was a turning point I think for me mentally. If I won that match, I don't know where my motivation would have been at. Losing it and being so close, it was really tough for me to kind of swallow that.

"Winning Washington, winning so many matches, I just feel like I thought the pressure would be off me after winning Wimbledon. He's a Wimbledon finalist, he's nearly-over-the-hump-type thing.

"I didn't think I'd be putting this amount of pressure on myself. Every day I come in, I watch what I eat, I try and get sleep. Like every practice session I try and have good intent. I almost don't know who I am anymore, to be honest, because that's not me.

"I feel like I'm really professional right now. I never thought that the Wimbledon final would make me that way. I thought it would be the other way, the reverse, almost a bit lax and a bit chilled with it."

Serena Williams gave the celebrity-laden crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night a taste of her very best, pulling through in the third set to defeat world number two Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4-7) 2-6 6-2.

The two-hour-and-27-minute victory sees Williams, who has announced her intention to evolve out of playing tennis after the US Open, move into the third round where she will face Australian world number 46 Ajla Tomjlanovic.

The opening set had Williams' power serving game on full display, winning 89 per cent (24-of-27) of the points when she landed her first serve fair, while producing six break point opportunities in her return game while only facing three.

She could only convert one of those break point chances, going up 5-4 with a chance to serve out the set, before handing the break straight back, leading to a tiebreaker.

Of the 11 tiebreaker points, only one went against the serve, with Williams seizing her opportunity to secure the opening frame.

As Williams' serve fell off in the second set – only winning 50 per cent of her successful first serves – Kontaveit fought her way back into the game, producing a clean set as she hit 13 winners to only three unforced errors, wrapping up the frame in a snappy 36 minutes to take it to a decider.

After holding serve to open the set, Williams then took a 2-0 lead as she was able to convert her third break point chance of the marathon 13-point game. That was followed with a 12-point game where Kontaveit was able to break back, as the 40-year-old American was visibly slowing down the longer the match dragged on.

As Williams' energy reserves began to run low, she tried to compensate with as many one-shot rallies as possible, going for sink-or-swim drives down the line and across the court – resulting in some spectacular winners, but also an increase in unforced errors.

It turned out to be the right strategy as Kontaveit continued to have trouble with Williams' power, giving up the late break again to go down 3-1 before the living legend consolidated her advantage with a hold-to-love, sending the crowd wild as they could see the finish line.

With Tiger Woods in her players' box cheering her on, Williams secured a point from a 19-shot rally as the atmosphere hit fever pitch, and despite the effort required in that point, she was able to repel another break point opportunity to hold and go 5-2 up.

Ultimately, the cauldron inside the sold-out stadium proved too much for Kontaveit, who could not find winners down the stretch. She posted three winners and 11 unforced errors in the final set, including a double-fault in her final service game as she was broken-to-love to secure the stunning result.

Data Slam: Serena continues to win the big matches

Williams has now won her last 10 grand slam matches against opponents ranked in the top-two, with her last loss coming to Justine Henin 15 years ago at the 2007 US Open.

She has also only lost three of her previous 104 US open matches when she has won the first set, and is 42-0 in the opening two rounds at Flushing Meadows.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Williams – 38/39

Kontaveit – 30/27 

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Williams – 11/6

Kontaveit – 5/5 

BREAK POINTS WON

Williams – 5/12

Kontaveit – 5/11

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could not hide his delight with Fabio Carvalho's last-gasp winner against Newcastle United on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old came off the bench to fire in a 98th-minute goal to give the Reds a 2-1 win at Anfield, as they came from behind having conceded to Newcastle debutant Alexander Isak in the first half.

Roberto Firmino equalised after the break before Carvalho's late winner as he slammed in a loose ball off the crossbar following a corner.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Klopp conceded his team had not been at their best as the visitors tried to stifle them, with Liverpool having just five shots in the first half.

"During the game we should have played more football," he said. "We told the boys in the first half, always when we played football it looked really good, we were dangerous, that was fine.

"Newcastle did really well how they put us under pressure; they had to invest a lot and I think we could see it was really a lot in the last 20, 25 minutes when they started struggling a little bit with the intensity. But we should have done better.

"So we scored the equaliser and then it was just a difficult game to play because we didn't play a lot. All of your colleagues asked me now about it, that's why I mention it, everybody asked me about it – it was just interrupted constantly for some reason and that doesn't give you the momentum. There was no chance to gain any kind of momentum.

"In the end, I was really happy in the moment when we got this last corner in the 98th minute. What Mo [Salah] and Fabio made then of it was obviously absolutely outstanding, a wonderful goal. A perfect moment; that we scored it after 98 minutes, I thought, is the perfect response to everything that happened during the game."

Carvalho joined Liverpool at the end of last season from Fulham and the goal came just four days after his first strike for the club in the 9-0 hammering of Bournemouth, and a day after his 20th birthday.

"He scored now twice in the last two games," Klopp added. "Yesterday, birthday. So it's probably a better week.

"He is an outstanding player, wonderful talent, very mature in a lot of departments already. So I'm really happy for him. Harvey [Elliott] was the best player on the pitch and Fabio decides the game. That says a lot about the talent of the boys."

The German coach did not have everything to smile about though as he revealed his captain, Jordan Henderson, went off with a hamstring injury.

Liverpool are already without Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita from their options in midfield, while Curtis Jones was named on the bench for the first time this season, though was not brought on after only just coming back from injury himself.

Klopp had previously indicated he wanted to sign a midfielder before the end of the transfer window, which closes on Thursday, but seemed pessimistic about doing so in spite of losing Henderson to injury.

"I don't think so," he said when asked about making a signing on Thursday. "But as long as there is time we should not close the door completely.

"Obviously Hendo is injured, he got a hamstring [injury], which is absolutely not helpful.

"[It was] that serious that he couldn't carry on, so it was no tactical change [when he was substituted for Carvalho]."

Antonio Conte says English football "must learn to use VAR the right way" after Tottenham had a penalty decision overturned in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Referee Peter Bankes awarded Tottenham a spot-kick early on at London Stadium after Harry Kane's downward header struck the arm of Aaron Cresswell.

However, after a VAR check spanning four minutes, Bankes was instructed to view the incident on the pitchside monitor and decided the ball had inadvertently hit Cresswell's arm.

Conte was furious with the decision, although his side did go on to open the scoring before half-time when Thilo Kehrer turned Harry Kane's delivery into his own net.

Spurs were on course to make it 13 points from their first five Premier League games at that point – which would have been a club record – only for West Ham to hit back.

Michail Antonio flicked the ball into the path of Tomas Soucek to fire in an equaliser for the hosts, who looked the more likely to win the match in the remaining 35 minutes.

Tottenham remain unbeaten after five Premier League games for just the third time, but Conte was not happy after the game as he took aim at the match officials.

"Honestly, at the end of the first half, I spoke with the referee and told him 'you have taken the right decision'," Conte told BT Sport.

"It's incredible that VAR looked again and called the referee. [The referee] can see it was the right decision and the call from VAR was strange.

"I can tell only that the referee has taken the right decision. Usually the VAR calls when the call is not right.

"In England they have to learn to use the VAR in the right way. You have to study very well and be more accurate. 

"If there's VAR, you have to utilise it in the right way or accept the decision of the referee. If you have a TV, you have time to see. It's difficult not only for me but every coach."

Elaborating on his comments at his post-match news conference, Conte said: "It's difficult to explain as you know very well that I don't like to comment on refereeing decisions. 

"I've never done this in England. But today I like to comment on the decision because it was the right one [initially].

"With a smile I told [the referee] you've taken the right decision. For sure VAR embarrassed the referee because to make him change the right decision was really, really strange."

Tottenham, who are now winless in their past three league trips to London Stadium, ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) return of 0.6 compared to 1.3 for West Ham.

While upset with VAR, head coach Conte accepts his side could have done more to see out the victory.

"Without the penalty, we still went 1-0 up. In my opinion maybe we can do better to kill the game," he said.

"If you stay and you keep your opponent in the game it can happen a corner, a throw-in, a free-kick, and especially against West Ham you can pay and we paid.

"I think we have to learn for next time, for the future. We are going step by step. I think that the team today showed also to be strong and to be difficult to play against.

"But at the same time, when you have the opportunity to get three points, you have to get three points."

Bernardo Silva has declared he will be "staying in Manchester", putting an end to rumours the Manchester City midfielder would be moving to Barcelona.

Silva has been an integral part of City's success under Pep Guardiola since arriving from Monaco in 2017.

The Portugal international has won four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and an FA Cup in England, though has been heavily linked with Barca in the past couple of years.

Despite seeming to indicate he would like to play for the LaLiga giants one day, Silva has confirmed he will not be making the move in this transfer window, which closes on Thursday.

After grabbing an assist in Wednesday's 6-0 thrashing by City of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, the 28-year-old committed to his team, telling Spanish outlet RAC1: "I'm staying in Manchester, here. I'm happy and the decision has been made."

Silva has scored two goals in five league appearances so far this season for City, with three starts.

His goal in the 4-2 comeback win against Crystal Palace on Saturday was his 100th goal involvement for the club, with an even split of 50 goals and 50 assists, which became 101 on Wednesday in his 257th appearance with his assist for Joao Cancelo.

Erling Haaland continued his incredible start to life in the Premier League with a record-setting treble in Manchester City's 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.

The Norway international made it two hat-tricks in the space of five days – and a perfect one at that, with his right foot, left foot and head – in City's latest statement victory.

Meanwhile, Liverpool left it late to see off Newcastle United 2-1 at Anfield.

There were goals and drama elsewhere on Wednesday, too, and Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data.

Manchester City 6-0 Nottingham Forest: Haaland makes history

Haaland now has nine goals in five Premier League games since joining City from Borussia Dortmund – the best start of any player in the competition's history at this stage.

He surpassed the record of eight goals previously held by Micky Quinn and City great Sergio Aguero, the man he is effectively replacing at the Etihad Stadium.

The prolific striker is just the seventh player to score a hat-trick in back-to-back games in the competition and the first since Harry Kane did so for Tottenham in December 2017.

Fellow newbie Julian Alvarez also scored twice, while Joao Cancelo netted the other as City bagged five or more goals in a league game for the 32nd time under Pep Guardiola.

That accounts for 14 per cent of City's games under the Catalan coach in the competition, with that tally more than twice as many as any other side over that period (Liverpool, 15).

The only side to have exceeded the 18 goals City have scored after five games of a Premier League season were Manchester United, who had 21 to their name at this stage 11 years ago.

Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle United: Carvalho the late hero

Newcastle led with an hour played at Anfield, only for Roberto Firmino to level and Fabio Carvalho to fire home in the 98th minute to snatch all three points for Liverpool.

That was the 40th winning Premier League goal scored by Liverpool in the 90th minute or later – the most of any side – with three of those coming in this fixture.

Timed at 97 minutes and nine seconds, it was Liverpool's latest goal in the top flight since Dirk Kuyt's penalty against Arsenal in April 2011 (101:48).

Alexander Isak had earlier given Newcastle the lead with a debut goal, making him the sixth Swedish player to net on his Premier League bow.

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa: Martinelli keeps Gunners perfect

Arsenal dug deep to overcome Villa and make it five wins in a row to begin a league campaign for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when they went on to finish second.

Gabriel Jesus steered Arsenal ahead for his sixth goal involvement in his first five Premier League outings for the club, breaking Mesut Ozil's previous record of five.

Douglas Luiz equalised directly from a corner, but Arsenal hit back just 151 seconds later through Gabriel Martinelli, who converted Bukayo Saka's cross.

That was Saka's 17th Premier League assist – only Cesc Fabregas (38), Wayne Rooney (22) and Michael Owen (18) had more before turning 21.

West Ham 1-1 Tottenham: Soucek denies Spurs

Tottenham could not see out a lead at London Stadium as they were denied the chance to make their best start to a Premier League season after five games.

Thilo Kehrer turned a Harry Kane delivery into his own net, with that a league-high seventh own goal scored by West Ham since the start of the 2020-21 season.

Tomas Soucek levelled for West Ham with his 19th Premier League goal, each of those coming from inside the 18-yard box.

That strike was assisted by Michail Antonio on his 200th league appearance for West Ham, whose tally of two goals after five games is their fewest since 1994-95 (one).

While Spurs could not hold on for the win, they are unbeaten after five games in the competition for only the third time, having previously done so in 2004-05 and 2016-17.

Erling Haaland described his start to life in the Premier League as "amazing" after hitting his second consecutive hat-trick to make history in Manchester City's 6-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest.

Haaland – who scored a match-winning treble against Crystal Palace on Saturday – needed just 38 minutes to clinch a perfect hat-trick as Forest wilted on Wednesday, taking him to nine goals in his first five Premier League outings.

That tally represents a new competition record, bettering the eight-goal hauls managed by Sergio Aguero and Micky Quinn at the start of their Premier League careers.

City, meanwhile, have scored 18 goals across their opening five matches, the highest tally in their league history. The last side to exceed 18 goals after five matches at the start of a Premier League season was Manchester United in 2011-12 (21 goals).

Haaland has scored at the remarkable rate of a goal every 43 minutes since arriving at the Etihad Stadium, and is the first player to score hat-tricks in back-to-back Premier League games since Harry Kane in December 2017.

Speaking to BT Sport after the dominant win, Haaland said: "It's amazing. Nothing more to say. It's been good so far, I'm not complaining!

"It was about making sure we kept doing what we did in the second half against Palace, and just to play, play, play, play and play. We knew there was going to be chances, and it was nice.

"I try to listen as much as I can to Pep and to play with the boys because they're amazing footballers and without them, I would not be able to score goals.

"So it's about finding chemistry, playing together, and listening to Pep [Guardiola].

"It's fantastic, that's why I came here. You can see we play so good, we find each other and we will become even better, so it's going to be nice.

"It's important to keep going, it's going to be a lot of games so it's important to keep going and to enjoy as much as we can."

While Haaland stole the show with his remarkable display of finishing, fellow City striker Julian Alvarez also enjoyed a landmark outing, scoring two goals on his first Premier League start.

Alvarez is the seventh Argentinian to score on his first Premier League start, and the first to do so more than once, and is targeting more than a bit-part role in Guardiola's side.

Speaking to the BBC, Alvarez stated his belief he could form an effective partnership with Haaland, saying: "Obviously I'm very happy for the team performance, and for my two goals, and getting that reception from all the fans.

"I think it's not me or Erling, we can play together in the starting eleven. We fit together, which is good for the team.

"Some things are similar from Argentina, like the ball pressing, but the Premier League is faster, I have to adapt to that. My team-mates help me and I am super grateful for that."

It's no surprise that at the end of this latest PGA Tour season it was Rory McIlroy ultimately hosting the FedEx Cup, considering the statistically dominant campaign the Northern Irishman put together.

Though his three-win season might not appear at the top of his career highlights - the major championship triumphs in 2012 and 2014 may never be matched - it nevertheless culminated in one of the best statical campaigns of his heralded career.

After lifting the FedEx Cup for the third time, the first player in Tour history to do so, McIlroy capped off a season that saw him earn his fourth scoring average title, at 68.67, the only player on the PGA Tour to finish with a sub-69 average (the overall average for the 2021-22 season was 71.092).

Only Vijay Singh (2003) and Tiger Woods (eight different times) have matched McIlroy with a season-long average below 68.7.

McIlroy's six-shot comeback over Scottie Scheffler at the Tour Championship also cemented the 33-year-old’s fourth season of at least three wins, as he also jumpstarted his campaign with a victory at the CJ Cup before claiming the RBC Canadian Open midway through the year.

"I'm back to playing the golf that I'm used to playing, and the golf that I know that I can play," McIlroy said prior to the FedEx St. Jude Championship. "COVID was a weird time for everyone, and then coming out of it and going into the 2021 season, with my swing where it was, I was trying to change a couple of things and was going down a path I realised wasn't the path for me. [I'm] coming back out of that and now getting back to playing the golf I know I can play."

The late-season rise was in no doubt due to McIlroy's impressive resurgence across several aspects of his game. After ending The Masters ranked next-to-last among 209 TOUR players in average proximity from 50 to 125 yards (24 feet, one inch), McIlroy went on a tear that saw him close out the season with an average of 14 feet, one inch, best among all players with more than 30 attempts in that span.

But that wasn’t the only area where he’s upped his play. McIlroy ranked No. 131 in scrambling percentage last season, only to finish 30th this year, while also improving more than 50 spots in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (63rd in 2020-21 to 12th this season). Perhaps most importantly, the 22-time PGA Tour winner was 16th for Strokes Gained: Putting per round, after he finished 66th in 2021 and 122nd in 2019-20.

McIlroy ended the season ranked inside the top-50 in all four primary Strokes Gained categories (off-the-tee, approach the green, around the green and putting), only the second time he's done that, joining the 2018-19 season. That season he also won the TOUR Championship and RBC Canadian Open, along with The Players Championship.

"This year feels very similar to the way I played in 2019," he said. "It's a carbon copy in terms of the consistency and the numbers and the strokes gained numbers, but my finishes in the majors have been better and that's been – that's been a real positive looking ahead into next year and the future."

CANTLAY REPEATS

Before McIlroy hoisted the PGA Tour's ultimate prize, all eyes were on Patrick Cantlay for a potential repeat.

Last season's FedEx Cup champion was primed to go back-to-back after he became the first player to successfully defend a Playoffs event since their 2007 inception. At the BMW Championship, the 30-year-old birdied the 17th at Wilmington Country Club to hold off Scott Stallings in a one-shot victory, his second win at the event in as many years.

A year ago, Cantlay survived in a six-hole playoff at Maryland's Caves Valley Golf Club to win the BMW Championship, before sealing the FedEx Cup with a one-shot win over Jon Rahm.

"I think every time I've tried to defend, I don't think I've been able to do it, but it's something that you definitely circle on your calendar as something you want to do," Cantlay said. "These golf courses reminded me a lot of each other, and I was glad not to go six holes in a playoff."

Much like a season ago, it was largely the putter that lifted Cantlay to a post-season victory. Over the last two FedEx Cup Playoffs, Cantlay is +18.39 in total Strokes Gained: Putting, the most of any player.

The BMW Championship was a microcosm of that, as Cantlay was ranked 49th of 67 players in the third round, losing 1.493 strokes to the field. But after a late-night putting session, the Californian ranked 10th in Sunday’s final round, gaining 1.628 strokes on the field. He was a perfect 10-for-10 on Sunday putting inside 3 feet, after missing one in 13 attempts the day before. He was 16-for-17 from inside 10 feet on Sunday and just 15 for 20 on Saturday.

ZALATORIS BREAKS THROUGH

Fans have been anxiously awaiting Will Zalatoris’s first trip to the PGA Tour winner's circle, after heart-aching playoff losses this year at the Farmers Insurance Open and PGA Championship.

Viewers finally got their wish in the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, as the young 26-year-old poured in a clutch par at the last to force extra holes with Sepp Straka. He ultimately outlasted the Austrian on the third playoff hole.

"It's kind of hard to say 'about time' when it's your second year on Tour, but about time," Zalatoris joked. "Obviously this was a grind considering the start that I had. I love this golf course, I played well here last year. Considering all the close finishes that I've had this year, to finally pull it off, it means a lot."

The budding superstar led the field in both Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+1.93) and Tee-to-Green (+2.35), becoming just the second player to lead both at the FedEx St. Jude Championship (Dustin Johnson, 2020).

All the more impressive was that he finished the first round at one over, the highest score to par after the opening round by a winner at the FedEx St Jude Championship. The previous worst opening round by a winner? Vijay Singh, who was one under after 18 holes in 2008.

Zalatoris was tied for 86th after the first round, marking the lowest position by a winner after the opening round of the playoffs (McIlroy previously held the honor, sitting at T67 after the opening round of the 2016 Dell Technologies Championship).