Bayern Munich were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to Borussia Monchengladbach as their winning start to the Bundesliga season came to an end.

The champions had been in blistering form previously in 2022-23, scoring 15 goals across three wins, but they were met with firm resistance by Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer on Saturday.

Julian Nagelsmann's side saw two first-half Sadio Mane goals disallowed before Dayot Upamecano's mistake was pounced upon by Marcus Thuram, whose cool finish looked like it might be enough to win the game.

Bayern threw everything at Gladbach in the second half, with most of it repelled by Sommer until a powerful Leroy Sane effort snatched a point – the very least the hosts deserved but enough to take them back to the top of the table.

Consistent with the theme that was to develop throughout the game, Bayern were nearly ahead within a minute, but Sommer made a brilliant save to palm Upamecano's header wide.

The hosts continued to dominate, and Mane saw two goals ruled out for offside in quick succession before Nagelsmann's men were hit with a sucker-punch before half-time.

Upamecano failed to deal with a long punt forward, and Thuram raced onto it, sliding the ball past Manuel Neuer to give his side the lead against the run of play.

Bayern ramped up the pressure further with a second-half onslaught, and Sommer was forced into an excellent double-stop to deny Mane from close range with just under half an hour left.

The Switzerland international was alert again to keep out Sane in a one-on-one situation, but the winger finally got the better of him on 83 minutes, steering into the bottom-left corner.

Bayern pressed for a winner, yet Sommer returned to form to keep them at bay, finishing with a remarkable 19 saves.

Gabriel Magalhaes made amends for a terrible mistake by scoring a late winner as Arsenal maintained their 100 per cent Premier League record with a 2-1 victory over Fulham.

Aleksandar Mitrovic capitalised on Gabriel's error to give the Cottagers the lead with his 100th goal for the club against the run of play, as Saturday's London derby burst into life in the second half at Emirates Stadium.

Martin Odegaard equalised with a deflected strike and Gabriel scrambled the ball home in the 85th minute after former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno flapped at a corner.

Victory for the Gunners in Mikel Arteta's 100th Premier League game in charge made it four out of four in the top flight this season and put them back at the top of the table.

Arsenal zipped the ball around with swagger in a promising start and Granit Xhaka burst into the penalty area to volley off target after Gabriel Jesus set him up.

Leno produced a fine save to deny Bukayo Saka an opening goal when the winger found himself through one-on-one, in a first half where Arteta's side dominated but lacked a cutting edge.

Leno was called into action again early in the second half, palming away Odegaard's drive and smothering a shot from the lively Jesus.

It was Fulham who took the lead 11 minutes into the second half courtesy of a gift from Gabriel, who was made to pay for dallying on the ball when Mitrovic robbed him and slotted beyond Aaron Ramsdale.

Arsenal were level eight minutes later, though, when the excellent Odegaard's left-footed shot from just inside the area deflected in off Tosin Adarabioyo.

Mitrovic almost restored Fulham's lead with a powerful header that tested Ramsdale's reactions and Ben White's block thwarted Bobby De Cordova-Reid following up.

Eddie Nketiah flashed a shot wide of the far post and fired straight at Leno as Arsenal piled on pressure, but Gabriel pounced to prod in from close range when the Fulham keeper made a mess of trying to deal with a corner from the left.

Nathaniel Chalobah could have snatched a point, but Ramsdale denied him to ensure Arsenal have maximum points in a promising start to the campaign.

Tammy Abraham turned in a goal assisted by Paulo Dybala as Roma battled to a 1-1 draw at Juventus to leave both sides unbeaten after three Serie A matches.

Roma had won their first two games without conceding but were behind to a sublime Dusan Vlahovic free-kick after just 76 seconds – the forward's fastest strike in the competition.

After being held to a 0-0 draw by Sampdoria last time out, Juve looked far brighter in an attacking sense and had a second goal through Manuel Locatelli contentiously ruled out.

Jose Mourinho's side hit back in the second half when former Juve player Dybala's attempt at goal turned into an assist for Abraham, meaning the points were shared in Turin.

Vlahovic managed just eight touches of the ball in last week's stalemate with Sampdoria but required just one touch to fire Juve in front against Roma.

The Serbia international left Rui Patricio stranded to the spot with a 25-yard free-kick that he lifted over the wall and into the back of the net via the underside of the crossbar.

Locatelli thought he had doubled Juve's lead when firing in a first-time effort from outside the box, but VAR ruled it out due to a perceived handball from Vlahovic in the build-up.

That proved a big moment in the match as Abraham levelled up for Roma with 69 minutes played after heading in Dybala's miscued acrobatic volley from six yards out.

Dybala was met with a mixture of jeers and cheers when substituted soon after, with neither side able to find a winner in the remainder of the contest.

Scott Parker was not surprised by Bournemouth's remarkable 9-0 defeat at Liverpool and warned the club they need to "get competitive" to avoid a repeat.

Liverpool, who were winless heading into Saturday's game at Anfield, tied the Premier League record with a hugely one-sided scoreline – the joint-worst loss Bournemouth have suffered in their league history.

Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino both scored twice, while Harvey Elliott, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Fabio Carvalho also netted, along with a Chris Mepham own goal.

Bournemouth have now lost three consecutive games to Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, conceding 16 goals without reply. No side have previously shipped as many at this stage of a Premier League season.

Parker was critical of his players against Arsenal but sided with them after this latest rout, repeating his pre-season belief that the squad was short of the required quality following promotion from the Championship.

"I think the bottom line is we were in the arena with massive quality," he explained to Sky Sports. "At this present moment in time, we're probably not equipped to handle where it currently is really.

"So, I'm hugely disappointed, one, because of the result, of course.

"I'm disappointed for the travelling fans, and I'm also bitterly disappointed for the players as well really. It doesn't surprise me, and I probably sensed this.

"Yeah, this is probably where it is at this present moment in time, in terms of the players and everyone needs a little bit of help.

"Today just proved too big a challenge. The levels were far too big, and the quality was there for everyone to see, really.

"A clinical team, and we couldn't bear that, at times the intensity of the stadium as well.

"We've got a decision to make, really – I think that's where it is as a football club. We've got a decision to make. We need to get competitive in this division, really, because there will be days like this."

Pep Guardiola put Manchester City's Premier League rivals on notice as he nonchalantly shrugged off the significance of Erling Haaland's hat-trick against Crystal Palace as "nothing special".

City beat Palace 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday as they came from two goals behind for the fourth time in six Premier League matches.

A John Stones own goal and Joachim Andersen's header had Palace in a commanding position by the 21st minute, but the excellent Bernardo Silva instigated the comeback by pulling one back just after half-time.

Haaland then took over, scoring twice with poacher's finishes before wrapping up his hat-trick with a clinical strike after holding off his marker.

It was his fourth hat-trick in one of Europe's big five leagues and made him just the fourth player to score six or more goals in his first four Premier League appearances.

Initially, Guardiola was hardly giddy with excitement about the hat-trick as he essentially suggested such a display of goalscoring is par for the course with the Norwegian, but he later expanded on his early impressions of City's new star striker.

Guardiola told Sky Sports: "What he has done today he has done all his career. It's nothing special."

He then added in his post-match press conference: "I would say thanks to me for my brilliant ideas, but I'd say Erling has done this since he was born.

"Always he has done this in his life, at Salzburg, BVB [Borussia Dortmund], always scored goals. These teams who defend deep... he has an incredible sense of goal. The three goals, especially the last one, the first one as well, good goals.

"He came for that [scoring important goals], what he has done all his life, the numbers of this guy is beyond [comprehension].

"The most important thing is he settled perfectly, an incredibly humble guy. He chats more with guys from the academy players, and it means a lot.

"What I like about Erling is we are still knowing each other, still need more time. I saw his body language at 2-0 down how he encouraged his mates. I had the feeling maybe he was not involved in the game, but always he was there.

"He didn't run from the game, always he is there. As a striker, that is incredible, he didn't touch the ball but had a feeling the ball was there and was always involved.

"Football is here [the head]. The third goal, it's the same pass from [Ilkay] Gundogan at West Ham, we spoke to put the ball to his feet between the central defenders.

"It was quite similar to West Ham how he used his body. He didn't shoot, he put it soft where the keeper cannot save. Look at the numbers, strikers are numbers. You see how many games in his career; how many goals [he's scored] is astonishing."

Haaland's hat-trick came from 1.4 expected goals, highlighting just how clinical the former Borussia Dortmund star was on the day.

But more importantly, his exploits turned a losing position into a winning one, and that is essentially why Guardiola wanted to sign him.

"Definitely for this type of game," Guardiola told BBC Sport of his reasons for signing the striker. "We have not done anything special for him that he didn't do before.

"It is important for him to get goals. He has the sense to score goals. The third one, to have the quality to be strong then put the ball in the net... the space depends on the movement of the opponents.

"You have to be patient and have more runners. It gives him more space."

Raheem Sterling's first two Chelsea goals proved decisive as the 10-man Blues edged out Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday.

The former Manchester City forward opened his account at Stamford Bridge with a second-half brace to get Chelsea back to winning ways in the Premier League.

Thomas Tuchel – who served a touchline ban and watched this game from the stands – had seen his side beaten 3-0 at Leeds United last week, and they looked to be in for another tough day when Conor Gallagher was sent off.

However, Leicester's latest poor display saw them slump to a third defeat in four league games, only replying through Harvey Barnes after Sterling had struck twice.

Chelsea made a promising start but had their penalty award overturned following a VAR review as Kai Havertz had strayed offside before Youri Tielemans bundled over Loftus-Cheek, who was earlier denied by Danny Ward.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men just before the half-hour mark as Gallagher earned two yellow cards in little over six minutes, the second for a foul on Barnes.

Leicester thought they had snatched the lead when Daniel Amartey prodded in, but the goal was disallowed after Barnes fouled Edouard Mendy, while Reece James rattled the post at the other end.

It was Chelsea who were in front within two minutes of the second half as Sterling's 20-yard effort looped over Ward via a deflection off Amartey.

Sterling was denied by the post soon after, but he did double his tally in the 63rd minute, touching in James' low cross from the right.

Leicester responded three minutes later as Barnes fired past Mendy at his near post, yet they then missed a flurry of chances to equalise, with Ayoze Perez going closest as he hit the underside of the crossbar.

Erling Haaland's scored a hat-trick as Manchester City once again fought back from two down, beating Crystal Palace 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's men found themselves trailing by two goals for the fourth time in six Premier League matches, but they stormed back to defeat Palace.

Eberechi Eze had a role in both goals as Palace raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to John Stones' own goal and Joachim Andersen's bullet header, leaving a blunt City side stunned at the interval.

But the excellent Bernardo Silva began the comeback by halving the deficit just after half-time before Haaland took over, completing the turnaround with a pair of poacher's finishes and a third clinical strike for the champions.

City had an uphill task early on, as Eze's free-kick delivery deflected off Kyle Walker and found its way in off Stones.

The hosts' response was hardly emphatic, and they found themselves two down by the 21st minute for the first time in the league since December 2010.

Another Eze set-piece – this time a corner – teed up a powerful header into the bottom-left corner from Andersen, who easily evaded Walker.

Silva looked City's biggest threat and was unsurprisingly the one to pull a goal back in the 53rd minute, cutting in from the right and seeing a low strike flicked past Guaita by Jeffrey Schlupp.

City levelled just past the hour as Haaland beat his marker to head Phil Foden's cross in from close range, before then putting them in front with a tap-in 20 minutes from time.

He slotted past Guaita to complete his hat-trick and cap a fine second-half City display after brilliantly holding off his marker.

Pep Guardiola's influence on Mikel Arteta is clear to see at Arsenal this season, former Gunners midfielder Paul Davis has told Stats Perform.

Arsenal are the only Premier League side to have made a perfect start to the 2022-23 campaign with three wins from their opening three matches.

It is the first time the north London club have achieved that in 18 years and has left fans excited about an unlikely title tilt – or a top-four finish at the very least.

Arteta previously spent three years working under Guardiola on the Manchester City coaching staff, which Davis believes has made the Spaniard a better manager.

"If you're not going to become a better coach when working with someone like Pep, you shouldn't be there," said Davis, who spent 15 years at Arsenal prior to departing in 1995.

"He's obviously learned so much and he's now using a lot of that with Arsenal. You can now see that in games."

While supporters are now firmly behind Arteta, it was a different story 12 months ago after Arsenal lost their first three matches without scoring.

"Arsenal are in a good place now and everybody's happy," Davis added. "But all the fans last year were saying we've got to let him go. They're not saying the same thing now.

"Last season they were going through a bad time. When people were telling me he's got to go, I was saying 'Hold on, he doesn't have to go yet – give him some time'.

"It doesn't surprise me that he's been given time, and now you can see the development of the team and the players."

Arsenal's fast start comes on the back of a busy close season in which they signed Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the latter two joining from Man City.

Jesus has been involved in five goals in his first three Premier League appearances, which is the most of any Arsenal player in their first three games in the competition.

And Davis, speaking exclusively on the release of his new book, Arsenal And After, can see comparisons between Jesus and another Arsenal favourite from the past.

"What's surprised me about him is the hunger he's shown – it's like he really wants to be here," added Davis, who works as a senior coach developer at the Football Association.

"Someone mentioned the other day that Jesus reminds them of Ian Wright, which I can see now but couldn't at the time. 

"Ian had that enthusiasm of wanting to score goals, and he scores goals similar to the ones we've seen from Jesus. They have a similar type of game in wanting to get in behind.

"If he can carry on scoring goals like Ian, Arsenal fans will be happy and I'll be happy. He's made a great start and I can't see why it won't continue."

Bruno Fernandes guided Manchester United to a 1-0 victory over Southampton at St Mary's as they claimed back-to-back wins for the first time in the Erik ten Hag era and built on Monday's victory over Liverpool.

Fernandes, retaining the captain's armband as both Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench, produced a classy 55th-minute finish to hand United the win.

Joe Aribo went closest to a leveller for Southampton with a close-range header, but United produced one of their most composed defensive performances in recent months to secure a first away league win in eight attempts.

After making a dire start to the new campaign, United have now strung together consecutive league wins for the first time since February, giving lift-off to Ten Hag's tenure.

As part of an even first half, United were denied an opener in stunning fashionwhen Gavin Bazunu, Kyle Walker-Peters and Armel Bella-Kotchap all made astonishing last-ditch blocks, as Anthony Elanga, Fernandes and Christian Eriksen all failed to convert from inside the six-yard box.

Bella-Kotchap should have done better when volleying over on the stretch near the half-hour mark, before the lively Che Adams hit a weak effort straight at David de Gea after running in behind. 

Bazunu turned away a right-footed volley from Scott McTominay four minutes after the break, but he was unable to prevent the Saints from falling behind soon after, as Fernandes side-footed Diogo Dalot's bouncing cross into the bottom-left corner. 

United were indebted to De Gea for maintaining their advantage, with the Spaniard producing a fine reflex save from Aribo's powerful header before Ronaldo was introduced.

Casemiro then made his United debut from the bench as the Red Devils clung on for a valuable win despite Sekou Mara twice going close to a last-gasp leveller.

There seems to be no escaping the number 23 for Serena Williams as she prepares for an emotional final grand slam at the US Open.

It is 23 years since the legendary American won her first major singles title at Flushing Meadows, where she was also crowned doubles champion back in 1999.

Williams has gone on to win an astonishing 23 grand slam singles titles and 14 major doubles titles in an incredible career that is about to come to an end in New York.

One of the all-time greats turns 42 next month and although she is unlikely to bow out by claiming an elusive 24th major singles title in her home major, she is sure to be given a spine-tingling farewell.

Novak Djokovic's absence due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19 has been the big talking point in the men's singles, with Rafael Nadal getting an opportunity to extend his record tally of major successes.

Stats Perform picks out the standout numbers to preview the final major of the year as Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev prepare to defend their titles.

Serena's incredible longevity

Such is the remarkable longevity of Williams' career, defending champion Raducanu and world number one Iga Swiatek were not even born when she won her first major.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina was only a few months old when the iconic Saginaw native beat Martina Hingis in the 1999 US Open final for the first of so many major titles.

Only Chris Evert can boast as many US Open titles as Williams' tally of six in the Open Era, while she has played in a record 10 finals at Flushing Meadows.

The retiring veteran has 106 victories in her home major, a record in the Open Era, and only Martina Navratilova has recorded more wins in a single major - with 120 at Wimbledon.

Williams will be making her 21st main-draw appearance at the US Open, with only her older sister, Venus, bettering that figure in the Open Era as she prepares for her 23rd.

Long-awaited New York return for Nadal 

Nadal has not played at Flushing Meadows since he was crowned champion for a fourth time three years ago, having missed the 2020 tournament amid the coronavirus pandemic and not played last year due to a foot injury.

The Spanish great's hopes of completing a first calendar Grand Slam were ended by an abdominal injury that resulted in his withdrawal from Wimbledon ahead of a scheduled semi-final against Nick Kyrgios.

He could make it three major titles out of four this year in New York, though, where he will be bidding to take his haul of grand slam titles to 23 and move two clear of the absent Djokovic once again.

If Nadal lifts the trophy on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it would give him a record-equalling fifth US Open men's singles title - matching the haul of Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Only Bjorn Borg (89.2 per cent) has a higher winning ratio in grand slam tournaments during the Open Era than Nadal's 88.3 per cent among players with at least 100 victories to their name, 

Another record in women's singles?

Teenage Brit Raducanu made history when she became the first qualifier to win a major title last year, beating Leylah Fernandez in the final.

Swiatek has dominated the women's game for much of this year, the highlight being her second French Open triumph.

With the retired Ash Barty, Swiatek and Rybakina taking the singles titles in 2022, there could be four different gram slam champions for a fifth consecutive season - excluding 2020 - and that would be the longest such streak in the Open Era.

Alcaraz to make major breakthrough?

While Nadal will be the Spaniard with the largest burden of expectation on his shoulders, Carlos Alcaraz should be a big threat in New York.

The 19-year-old could become the fifth player in the Open Era to reach at least the quarter-finals in his first two appearances at Flushing Meadows after Ken Rosewall, Arthur Ashe, John Newcombe and Johan Kriek.

Alcaraz has the joint-most ATP Tour titles this year with four, matching Nadal's tally.

Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out signing a replacement should Marco Asensio leave, as Real Madrid "do not need" another forward.

Spain international Asensio has been repeatedly linked with a move away, but remains a Madrid player with less than a week of the transfer window to go.

The 26-year-old, who has just started his seventh season at the Santiago Bernabeu, is reportedly a target for Premier League pair Arsenal and Manchester United.

Asensio has featured for just eight minutes across Madrid's three matches this campaign, and Ancelotti is not ruling out an exit in the coming days.

"There is nothing new with regards to his situation," Ancelotti said at a press conference on Saturday ahead of his side's trip to Espanyol.

"He is evaluating his situation and we are waiting. On September 2, if he is still here, he will be an important player in our squad. I'd be delighted because he contributes a lot.

"But if Marco leaves, we are not going to sign anyone because we don't need them."

Dani Ceballos is another who is into the final year of his contract and had been expected to depart the Spanish capital this month, but Ancelotti has put an end to those rumours.

"Dani is going to stay, there is no doubt," the Italian said. "He wants to stay and we are delighted. 

"He hasn't played much yet, but next week we have three games, and he will have more minutes because he deserves it."

Madrid are looking to maintain their 100 per cent record at the start of this season when they travel to RCDE Stadium, where they have lost on two of their past four league trips.

Los Blancos have made a perfect start after two matches for the 34th time in their history, and a first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

It is a third successive away game to begin the season for Madrid due to renovation works at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Ancelotti says his side have had to adapt.

"When you're travelling so often, there is not a lot you can do," he said. "We do intense work for those who have not played, while the others must rest.

"We have had to do a little more video work than usual. But the less you work, the less damage you can do."

At the age of 16, Serena Williams had a fairly confident grip on how the world saw her, and her older sister Venus.

"A lot of people think that black people can't rally, just think they're athletes and they can't think," Williams said at the 1998 Lipton Championships. "As you can see, that's not true. I can rally, Venus can rally."

And my word, how they could rally. As teenagers, then into their roaring twenties, onward into their thrilling thirties and even after turning 40.

Serena turns 41 next month and will retire after the US Open. She has been a title winner on tour in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, a beacon to black youngsters with a dream everywhere.

It was a March day in Key Biscayne, Florida, when the teenage Serena floated her belief that racism was already circling the siblings.

She had just lost a deciding-set tie-break to WTA number one Martina Hingis in the quarter-finals of the Florida tournament, missing out on two match points. It was one of those occasions where Williams conceded she "could have rallied a little better".

The 40th-ranked youngster said she would "go home and work on that", and brushed off the missed match points by pointing out Pete Sampras had lost to Wayne Ferreira from the same position.

"Maybe I'm just like Pete. Maybe one day I'll be number one, too," Williams said, presciently.

Eighteen months later, she was the US Open champion, beating Hingis in the title match at Flushing Meadows. Bill Clinton, President of the United States, called after the match ended to offer his congratulations.

In that instant, the 17-year-old Serena said it felt "really amazing", but a day later her mood had darkened. Tennis life and fame was already proving wearing. Dad Richard had groomed the sisters for this life, but Serena, who had to give up her skateboarding hobby because of a wrist injury, realised she had left normal life behind.

"I mean, it's actually impossible for me to go out now," she said. "I can't go anywhere. From the beginning of the tournament, I just can't walk down the street.

"It's the same [at home]. You're driving, people honk their horns. It's actually kind of annoying."

Serena and Venus put up with garbage for many years. Whether it was horns honking, or critics honking, they were frequently served a raw deal.

At Wimbledon in 2000, it was tossed to Serena that "critics" were suggesting she and her sister might not be "as strategically aware as some of the other players", but that they were "incredible athletes with great bodies".

"We definitely have great bodies, yeah. Nice, slim, sexy shapes. They're right," Serena replied, unimpressed.

Later that year, after her US Open defence ended with a quarter-final loss to Lindsay Davenport, Williams discussed opposition to the prospect of sisterly dominance.

"I'm sure a lot of people never want to see an all-Williams final," said Serena. "It's going to happen in the future inevitably. Nobody's going to be able to stop it. Obviously, no one would want to see an all-Williams final because everyone doesn't really like us. That's just the way it is."

Those are depressing words to revisit, and they came as Davenport claimed Hingis had been urging her to beat Serena. Venus went on to beat Davenport in the final.

Yet, as Serena forecast, nobody could stop the sisters' march. Serena and Venus first matched up in a slam final in New York at the 2001 US Open, and Venus got the better of Serena.

They clashed again in five of six slam singles finals from the 2002 French Open through to Wimbledon in 2003, and Serena won every time. Across the next five years, she won a modest – by her astonishing standards – three further slams, but Williams was back at the height of her powers when she won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2009 and 2010.

A near-disastrous accident said to have happened in a Munich restaurant, with Williams standing on some glass, followed just days after Wimbledon, and she did not play another slam until returning to London the following year.

It was there that Williams was handed a Court Two assignment for her second-round clash with a fledgling Simona Halep. I remember being on court that day, puzzled why this sporting colossus was sent out to a court that is seriously modest when matched up to Centre Court and Court One.

"They like to put us on Court Two, me and Venus, for whatever reason," Williams said afterwards. "I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe one day we'll figure it out."

It was put to Serena that the sisters might take it as an insult, given Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal tended not to be sent out to Court Two, an awkward spot in the grounds for superstars to reach without causing a fuss.

"Yeah, they're never moved across," said Serena. "I don't make it a big issue. I think at some point maybe I should."

She streaked together three US Open titles from 2012 to 2014, and further Wimbledon triumphs in 2012, 2015 and 2016. It seemed a matter of time before Williams went past Margaret Court's record 24 singles slams, removing any question mark over who is the greatest women's player of all time.

Slam number 23 arrived in Australia while Williams was in the early stage of pregnancy in 2017, and the birth of daughter Olympia was followed by another harrowing health scare.

Williams still reached four more slam finals, going all the way to the title matches at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018 and 2019, but she could not land the elusive 24th. In fact, she did not win a set in any of those finals.

Defeat to Bianca Andreescu in the 2019 Flushing Meadows title match was hard to take, Williams acknowledged afterwards.

"I honestly don't think Serena showed up," said Williams. "I have to kind of figure out how to get her to show up in grand slam finals."

That was to be her last slam final, barring something most unexpected happening over the coming fortnight.

Serena saw room for improvement, but she 'showed up' more than often enough on the big stage.

She fought racists, sexists, ignoramuses and charlatans to get a foothold on tour, then made a mockery of the "black people can't rally" jibe.

Her 23 singles slams ranks as a record for the sport's Open Era. She has 365 grand slam match wins in singles, 59 more than second-placed Martina Navratilova.

It's one for every day of the year so far, but this great American will want more before that final farewell.

She announced her retirement in Vogue, a power move, just like having the likes of Beyonce, Jay-Z and Meghan Markle in her corner always was.

The pursuit of Court is up; just about, anyway. It probably helps that the likes of Billie Jean King and John McEnroe hold up Williams as the greatest of all time.

After her magazine piece, Williams spoke in Toronto about seeing "a light at the end of the tunnel".

"I can't wait to get to that light," Williams said, being serious but laughing hard.

What does it represent?

"Freedom," said Williams.

Mikel Arteta has challenged Emile Smith Rowe to demonstrate hunger and consistency to regain his place in Arsenal's starting line-up.

The playmaker enjoyed a successful 2021-22 season with the Gunners, scoring 10 goals and providing two assists in 33 Premier League appearances.

Bukayo Saka (11 goals, seven assists) was the only Arsenal player to be directly involved in more goals than Smith Rowe, whose impressive performances saw him break into Gareth Southgate's England squad.

However, a combination of injuries and illness has seen the 22-year-old lose his place in Arsenal's team. Indeed, he has only appeared twice from the bench during the Gunners' bright start to the Premier League season.

Speaking ahead of his side's clash with Fulham at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta issued a rallying cry to the youngster.

"He needs to now earn the right to play in the team," Arteta said. "In order to do that, he needs to perform and be consistent.

"He's been injured. He's not had a clean pre-season, he's not there yet.

"Every day for me is the key. What he shows every day and that consistency and that hunger to increase the level."

Australia got back on track in the Rugby Championship by recording a deserved 25-17 win against South Africa in Adelaide, responding to their humiliating defeat to Argentina in emphatic fashion. 

Dave Rennie's men appeared keen to atone for their 48-17 hammering against the Pumas from the outset on Saturday, with Fraser McReight going over to put them in charge almost straight from the kick-off.

A further McReight try, as well as a fine effort from Marika Koroibete, handed the Wallabies an unassailable lead after the break, though South Africa restored some pride with two late scores from Kwagga Smith.

But the final score ultimately failed to reflect Australia's superiority as they inflicted back-to-back defeats on the out-of-shape visitors.

The Wallabies made a flying start and hit the front less than two minutes in; McReight going over following good work from Saia Fainga'a and Nic White after the hosts won possession in South Africa's 22.

Having opened his account with the subsequent conversion, Noah Lolesio successfully kicked a penalty just five minutes later as the hosts established a 10-point lead.

Handre Pollard reduced the arrears 24 minutes in with a penalty of his own as South Africa finally responded, but that was the sum of their first-half efforts as the Springboks spurned several opportunities to cut the hosts' advantage. 

The visitors were made to pay for their wastefulness eight minutes after the break, as Koroibete darted between two challenges to convert after the ball was worked out to the left by White.

Australia then added some gloss to the scoreline as James Slipper found Lolesio in space from a fine set-piece move, allowing the number 10 to hand over to McReight to ease to his second try of the match.

The visitors were at least able to salvage some pride – and deny their opponents a bonus point – when Smith took advantage of a defensive mix-up to cross unopposed with five minutes remaining, before doubling up on the final whistle. 

But even that late flurry could not prevent South Africa making it eight Tests without a win on the road against Australia (D1 L7), as Rennie's side moved on to nine points at the top of the Championship standings.

McReight at the double for rampant Wallabies

With the home crowd expecting a response following Australia's dismal loss in Argentina last time out, McReight settled the nerves by going over after just 62 seconds.

He then capped a brilliant move in the 57th minute to hand the Wallabies what proved to be an unassailable lead.

World champions' woes continue

There was to be no resounding reaction from the Springboks, however, who were well beaten by New Zealand last time out and looked well off the pace for much of this contest.

They are still without a win over the Wallabies in Australia since September 2013, when they enjoyed a comprehensive victory in Brisbane.  

Paris Saint-Germain will be out to continue their lightning start to the Ligue 1 season against one of the few teams to depose them as Ligue 1 champions in the QSI era when Monaco visit the Parc des Princes.

New coach Christophe Galtier has seen his team claim three wins from three league games, their latest victory coming at the expense of a Lille side he guided to the title in 2020-21.

PSG thrashed Les Dogues 7-1 and already hold a two-point lead at the top of the table.

Monaco, who edged out PSG in 2016-17, look unlikely to challenge them this season, having taken four points from three games.

It would be harsh to overly criticise that points return but the consistency of PSG's star-studded squad has made early slip-ups something potential title rivals cannot afford.

And, after losing 4-1 at home to Lens last time out, Monaco have the appearance of a team who could be emphatically put to the sword by one of their former heroes.

PSG FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

The superstar front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi did not gel in the spectacular fashion many anticipated following the latter's shock move from Barcelona last year.

This season, the fearsome triumvirate look to have established a devastating rapport.

PSG have scored 17 goals across their three league wins, the second-highest total at this stage in Ligue 1 history behind Rennes and their 18 scored in 1950-51 (also W3).

With the Mbappe-inspired hammering of Lille following five-goal efforts against both Montpellier and Clermont, PSG have scored at least five in each of their past four Ligue 1 matches in a run stretching back to last season.

They are only the second team to achieve that feat. The other team to do so was Reims between August and September 1952.

Messi has three goals to his name already while Neymar has found the net five times. It is Mbappe, however, who is the best bet for a hat-trick against his former club.

THREE THE MAGIC NUMBER FOR MBAPPE

With his treble against Lille, which saw him score eight seconds into the game at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, equalling a Ligue 1 record, Mbappe netted his third hat-trick of 2022.

That tally of three-goal showings is more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, the France international also hitting hat-tricks against Clermont in April and Metz in May.

He has 23 league goals to his name in this calendar year, comfortably outperforming his expected goals (xG) of 16.9, highlighting his supreme reliability.

Though Monaco will be concerned by the threat posed by PSG's cavalcade of goalscoring talent, they will be heartened by the fact the Parisians have conceded three goals this term, and they have a potential means through which to exploit the hosts' defensive vulnerabilities.

CAIO THE CREATIVE OUTLET

Caio Henrique made only one first team appearance for Atletico Madrid, but he has blossomed into a hugely important player for Monaco since joining in 2020.

Last season, the full-back produced eight assists in the league and has already managed to set up a goal this term.

PSG had previously been linked with the Brazilian, and they will be wary of his threat when Monaco get the ball to him on the left.

Six of Caio Henrique's assists since the start of last season have come from a cross. Jonathan Clauss (7) is the sole player to deliver more in that manner.

GALTIER'S MONACO MISERY

If Monaco are searching for encouragement from the numbers, they should look towards Galtier's record against the Principality club.

The former Saint-Etienne and Nice boss has won just 21 per cent of his games against Monaco as a coach (4/19).

Only against Marseille (16 per cent – 4/25) and PSG (17 per cent – 4/24) does he have a worse record among teams he has faced more than five times in the top flight.

Monaco are also unbeaten in their last six away games in Ligue 1 and have won three of their last four league matches against PSG.

But, with PSG having avoided defeat in their past 23 home Ligue 1 games since losing 1-0 to Lille in April 2021, the odds are stacked against Monaco extending their impressive run of form on their travels.