Welcome to this week’s edition of Hugh Watches Sports. In this post we will look back on a big tennis tournament, a tie from the fourth round of the EFL Cup, a clash from the rugby Prem, the crowning of a new Formula 1 world champion, a huge derby in Italy, plus a divisional match-up from this Sunday’s NFL fixtures. Let’s get into it.
ATP VIENNA (TENNIS)
The race to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin intensified this week with two huge ATP500 tournament’s in Vienna and Basel. To qualify for the showpiece season finale, the players must finish in the world’s top eight of points gained from across the season. Due to the continued absence of Jannik Sinner, that is now the top nine and it is a tight race with an array of players still in contention to clinch a spot in Turin. So far Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have already mathematically secured their places, with Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe and Rafael Jodar occupying the other qualifying spots at the beginning of the week. All of those players, plus some of the others in contention were in action across Vienna or Basel this week as they continue to fight over the remaining five places. In this post I’m going to focus specifically on the Vienna tournament as it featured more of the top players involved in the race to Turin, although I will also round up the main takeaway’s from the event in Basel at the end. In round one in the Austrian capital, top seed Zverev came through an epic encounter, saving four match points on route to defeating Martin Landaluce 7-5 3-6 7-6 in over three hours. In contrast, second seed Alcaraz picked up a slightly more routine victory to open his account as he saw off Karen Khachanov in straight sets. Elsewhere in the first round, Turin contender Tiafoe suffered an immediate exit after losing 7-6 7-5 to Lorenzo Musetti. Meanwhile, Tommy Paul stayed in contention to qualify for the ATP Finals by beating former Vienna champion Andrey Rublev in the opening round. Moving into round two, Zverev recorded a 6-4 7-5 triumph over Tallon Griekspoor which means he is guaranteed to be the world number one when the rankings are next released. With Sinner out until next year, we already knew that Zverev would reach top spot at some time before the end of the season however this win confirmed he would make his debut as the top player in the world next week. Elsewhere in the second round of Vienna, Cobolli was forced to retire with an injury during his match against Matteo Berrettini. Plus, in a highly-entertaining encounter, Alcaraz got past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1 7-6 after saving four set points in the second set tie-break. On Friday in Austria, it was time for the quarter finals. First up, Medvedev beat Adrian Mannarino 6-2 6-3 which sealed his qualification for the ATP Finals, meaning there are just four places remaining to be filled. Then, Alcaraz defeated Paul in straight sets to progress into the semi finals. In the opposite half of the draw, Zverev put in a performance fitting of his new title as the world number one as he thumped Arthur Fery 6-0 6-2 in under an hour. Meanwhile, in the other quarter final, fifth seed Alex De Minaur reached the semi finals in Vienna for a third consecutive year by seeing off Berrettini in straight sets. In the last four, Medvedev and Alcaraz went head-to-head for the tenth time and the second this year. After Alcaraz claimed a close first set 6-4, the second went all the way to a tie-break which was won by the Spaniard to book his place in the final. Then, Zverev took on De Minaur for the right to face Alcaraz on Sunday. After De Minaur edged the opening set 6-4, Zverev cruised through the second to claim it 6-1 and force a decider. In the third set, a tie-break was required to separate the two players with De Minaur emerging victorious to progress into the final. With Zverev out, we were guaranteed a new champion in Vienna as neither Alcaraz or De Minaur had previously won this event. In the final, Alcaraz was dominant as he comfortably took the first set 6-1. Then, the Spaniard continued to be in command during the second set on route to clinching his first Vienna title with a 6-1 6-4 success. That marks the twenty-eighth title of Alcaraz’s career and his fourth of the year as he enjoyed a perfect week in Austria. Elsewhere on the ATP Tour, Valentin Vacherot was the surprise champion in Basel as he defeated Jiri Lehecka 2-6 6-3 6-3 in the final. Meanwhile a big story from the event was the end of a legendary career as three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka played his final match. Looking ahead, the race to qualify for the ATP Finals continues next week with the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris. Going into that event, Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton and Medvedev have already booked their places in Turin. Meanwhile, Cobolli, Tiafoe, Fils and Jodar currently hold onto the other top eight slots. However, they are still at risk of being overtaken by De Minaur, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Paul, Lehecka, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Brandon Nakashima depending on results in Paris.
LIVERPOOL VS CHELSEA (FOOTBALL)
Two legendary Liverpool midfielder’s returned to Anfield this week as Xabi Alonso managed a Chelsea side which included Jordan Henderson in the EFL Cup fourth round. Across the past five season’s, these two sides have met in the final of this competition twice however this year they had been paired together in the round of sixteen. After both changing manager over the summer, this would be an early test for Alonso’s Chelsea and Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool against a fellow ‘big six’ opponent. Heading into this encounter, Liverpool were coming off an impressive 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday. In contrast, Chelsea would be looking for a response in this game after a dismal 2-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening. As the match kicked off at Anfield, it was a cagey affair with neither team able to establish much rhythm or manufacture any clear-cut opportunities. On thirty-seven minutes, Moises Caicedo’s run into the penalty area was spotted by Malo Gusto who played a pass towards his captain who was tripped by Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, leaving referee Darren England with little option but to point to the penalty spot. That little spark of creativity from Caicedo caught his Liverpool counterpart off-guard and gave Chelsea a chance to open the scoring from twelve yards. With regular penalty taker Cole Palmer suspended, Morgan Rogers stepped up for the Blues and calmly sent Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way to put the visitors 1-0 up. However Chelsea weren’t ahead for long as three minutes later, Liverpool were awarded a penalty of their own. It came when Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana handled the ball from Konstantinos Tsimikas’ corner, prompting England to point to the penalty spot. Just like Rogers up the other end of the pitch, Cody Gakpo made no mistake from twelve yards and buried the ball past Mike Penders to equalise. After a tight first forty-five minutes at Anfield, two penalties saw the side’s level at one goal each when the half time whistle blew. Moving into the second half, a frantic passage of play saw both teams have a chance to score in the sixty-first minute. First, Ronald Araujo’s close-range header from Joe Gomez’s cross was excellently saved by Penders, before Caicedo’s clearance was gathered by Rogers who drove towards goal before his shot was well-blocked by the recovering Gomez. That seemed to burst the match into life and four minutes later Penders was forced into action again as he got down well to tip Bradley Barcola’s attempt out for a Liverpool corner. Next, it was Chelsea’s turn to go close to scoring a second goal as Rogers set up Marco Palestra to shoot on the left hand side of Liverpool’s penalty area but his effort was well-saved by Mamardashvili. In the eightieth minutes Liverpool had another big chance to score when Tsimikas’ cross from the left was headed down by Gakpo into the path of Florian Wirtz inside the six-yard box but his poke towards goal was superbly blocked by Chelsea defender Levi Colwill. With neither side able to find a second goal during a highly-entertaining second half, we headed to a penalty shootout to decide which team would progress into the quarter finals. After the opening seven penalties were all scored, Liverpool found themselves 4-3 ahead with Valentin Barco next to step up for Chelsea. With the pressure increasing with every kick, the Argentinian midfielder saw his effort bounce off the post and handed Liverpool a chance to win the tie. However Tsimikas put his effort over the bar to waste that opportunity, before Henderson scored to level the shootout at 5-5. That took us into sudden death where Barcola and Colwill both scored, before Gravenberch and Chelsea substitute Emmanuel Emegha both saw their penalties saved. Next, Gomez stepped up to score and put Liverpool 6-5 ahead. Then came what turned out to be the concluding penalty as Fofana smashed the ball into the stands to hand Liverpool a place in the last eight of the EFL Cup. Following a 1-1 draw, Liverpool were victorious 6-5 on penalties and will now face Bournemouth in the next round. Elsewhere in this week’s EFL Cup fixtures, the big story came from Highbury Stadium where league two side Fleetwood Town beat last season’s finalists Arsenal on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
BATH RUGBY VS SALE SHARKS (RUGBY UNION)
After both suffering defeats on ‘Derby Weekend’, Bath Rugby and Sale Sharks were looking to bounce back when they faced each other on Saturday afternoon. So far this season, these two side’s have identical records with two wins and two losses to their name. Although Bath have picked up two more bonus points than Sale through those four matches which means they sit sixth in the league table and one place above their visitors. That all suggested that this should be a close match-up and it being both side’s final league game before an international break only increased the anticipation. As the match got underway, Bath quickly opened the scoring when Henry Arundell found some space and charged into it to carry the ball all the way to the try line and put them 5-0 ahead inside three minutes. That try, coupled with a successful conversion from Finn Russell, saw the home side seven points up early on. Ten minutes later, a maul from Sale got them on the scoreboard with Nathan Jibulu the man credited with carrying the ball over the try line. A conversion from George Ford then levelled the score, although a penalty gave Bath the chance to re-establish their lead moments later. However, that penalty was missed by Russell and as we reached the halfway point of the first half, the score was tied at 7-7. Next, on twenty-two minutes, Bath shifted the ball across the field from a line-out on the right to Tom De Glanville on the left who dropped his shoulder to beat a defender and then dived in to score. In contrast to his earlier penalty miss, Russell made no mistake with his kick this time to convert the try and restore Bath’s seven point advantage. Eight minutes later, a swift exchange of passes from Bath worked wonders for them again as they moved the ball from left-to-right to find Joe Cokanasiga in space and he carried the ball beyond the try line to score their third try of the afternoon. That turned out to be the final scoring play of a first half in which the home side showed their quality and deservedly led 19-7 at the interval. After the break, Bath picked up where they had left off as Russell’s kick out to the right was collected by Cokanasiga who showed immense speed and power to break through Sale’s defence and force the ball over the try line. Two minutes into the half, that try along with Russell’s conversion increased Bath’s lead to nineteen points. However that lead was quickly reduced as Sale went straight up the other end of the pitch and scored with Tom O’Flaherty squeezing beyond the try line on the left wing. With Ford then scoring the conversion, Sale moved back to within twelve points of their hosts. A chaotic start to the second half settled down after that, before Russell added three more points for Bath courtesy of a penalty scored in the fifty-ninth minute. Six minutes later, Bath broke through a stubborn Sale defence thanks to a creative kick from Bernard Van De Linde which was gathered by Louie Hennessey before he dived himself and the ball over the try line to score. The conversion from Russell then saw the home side move 36-14 in front. Similarly to earlier in the half though, Sale quickly fought back to reduce their deficit as Luke Cowan-Dickie powered in to score a try. That was then converted by Ford to keep Sale competitive in the encounter heading into the final ten minutes. Whilst a comeback was still an unlikely possibility, a fourth try for Sale would earn them a bonus point. As we reached the seventy-ninth minute, it seemed as though a resilient Bath defence would deny their visitors that bonus point, before conceding a penalty. With under thrifty seconds left on the clock, Sale opted for a tap and go restart and Elia Canakaivata forced the ball over the try line to score and pick up that bonus point for Sale. With Ford’s kick adding two extra points to their total, Sale reduced their deficit to eight points but there was no time left for a comeback. Overall, a commanding performance from Bath saw them defeat Sale 36-28 and ensure they head into the international break with a winning feeling. This triumph see’s Bath move up into fifth in the league table, whilst Sale drop a place to eighth. The Gallagher Prem now takes a break with no games in November, before it returns on the first weekend in December. During that time many of the players will be in action for their national teams with the conclusion of the inaugural Nations Championship taking place across the next four weekends.
MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (FORMULA 1)
Mexico City was the location where Formula 1 could potentially crown a brand new world champion as Kimi Antonelli began the weekend within touching distance of clinching the driver’s championship. The Italian arrived in Mexico with a comfortable lead in the standings and knew that he would become world champion for the first time if he finished Sunday’s race inside the top nine. Furthermore, in the event he missed out on that, either George Russell or Lewis Hamilton would still have to win the race to prevent Antonelli securing the title this weekend. Prior to the race there was no shortage of drama across the F1 paddock. First, a bizarre moment between Amad Verstappen and Liam Lawson in Friday’s second practice session saw them both handed a one-place grid penalty. Then, we learnt on Saturday that Esteban Ocon would be replaced by Ryu Hirakawa at Haas for the remainder of the weekend with no reason given as to why. Additionally, Lawson was disqualified after qualifying due to a technical breach which saw him demoted to the back of the grid for Sunday’s race. Whilst those were the headlines off the track, Hamilton secured pole position on it with a superb lap. It marked the seven-time world champion’s 105th career pole and his first Grand Prix pole as a Ferrari driver. Alongside him on the front row for Sunday’s race would be former teammate Russell, with Charles Leclerc and Antonelli on the second row. We then had an all world-champion third row as Verstappen lined-up alongside Lando Norris in fifth and sixth respectively. As we the lights went out on race day, Hamilton made a quick getaway, whilst Russell had a horrible start which saw him drop to fifth. By the time the car’s reached turn one, Hamilton was in the lead with Leclerc directly behind him and Verstappen had snuck up into third, ahead of Antonelli. At turn four, Leclerc attempted a move to overtake his teammate which ended with them both going off the track, with Leclerc emerging back on track in front of Hamilton, who then was overtaken by Verstappen. That saw Leclerc into the lead but under investigation by the race stewards for going off the track and gaining an advantage. Further back on lap one, Russell’s disastrous start continued as he collided with Isack Hadjar and was handed a ten-second penalty for doing so. At the end of the opening lap, Leclerc was top of the leaderboard ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton, Antonelli and Russell. Eventually we learnt that Leclerc was handed a five-second penalty for his squabble with Hamilton which both the Brit and Verstappen were notably unhappy with on the team radio. On lap seven, Aston Martin realised there was a problem with both of their car’s and asked Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll to retire from the race, which briefly created a virtual safety car period. When racing resumed on lap nine, the order remained pretty settled as Leclerc held onto the lead although would still have to serve his five-second panel to when he made a pit stop. That stop came on lap twenty-seven as the Ferrari came in from the lead and was followed into the pit lane by Verstappen. With Leclerc serving his penalty, Verstappen departed the pit lane ahead of the Ferrari and in the net-lead of the race. One lap later, Hamilton made his pit stop, before five laps later Russell came in to serve his penalty and make his stop. That meant that having not pitted, Antonelli was now at the front of the field with Norris tucked in behind him. After extending their opening stint’s, both Antonelli and Norris pitted later than those around them and came back onto the track down in fourth and fifth, behind the trio of Verstappen, Leclerc and Hamilton. On lap forty-four, a front suspension failure sent Valtteri Bottas crash into the barriers at turn one, initially brining out the safety car before the race was then red-flagged two laps later. Thankfully Bottas reported he was okay after a huge crash and the race was stopped whilst the barriers were fixed and the debris cleared away. When racing resumed, there was a standing start and this time Hamilton overtook Leclerc on the run to turn one to claim second place. The British driver then tried to get past Verstappen through turn’s one and two before backing off after they two made contact. Elsewhere at the restart, Nico Hulkenberg went into the back of Ollie Bearman which sent the Haas driver out of the race and earnt Hulkenberg a ten-second penalty. On lap forty-eight, Antonelli progressed up into the top three as he snuck past Leclerc on the exit of turn one. From then the race began to settle down with Verstappen put in front, ahead of Hamilton, Antonelli, Leclerc and Norris. Then, on lap fifty-nine, the safety car was required again after Arvid Lindblad and Oscar Piastri collided at turn two, sending Lindblad into the wall and ending his race. After four laps behind the safety car, the race resumed and that proved to be the end of the drama as Verstappen cruised to a third Grand Prix victory of the season and Antonelli became the youngest ever Formula 1 world champion. It was a historic moment for the twenty year-old Italian who won his first world driver’s title in just his second year in the sport. With a number of dominant drive’s throughout the year there is no doubt that Antonelli is a worthy world champion as he ended Italy’s seventy-three year wait for a Formula 1 championship winner. Looking ahead, there are still four race’s to go this season which Antonelli will surely be able to enjoy even more now that the world championship is secure. They begin with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix next weekend where Mercedes will hope to back up Antonelli’s success by adding the constructor’s title to their collection.
AC MILAN VS INTER (FOOTBALL)
One of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures in the Italian footballer calendar took place this weekend as the San Siro hosted the Milan derby. This was officially an AC Milan home fixture and they were in need of a win after suffering a surprise 4-2 defeat to Bologna on Tuesday after having been 2-1 up. They began the weekend fifth in the league table and already seven points behind city rivals Inter at the top. Therefore it was vital for AC Milan to take at least a point to keep pace with the teams around them in the race to secure Champions League football. As for Inter, the champions have enjoyed an excellent start to the season domestically and sit top of the league. They are unbeaten and have dropped only two points so far this campaign which came in a 2-2 draw against third-placed Roma. Taking all those things into consideration, Inter were the favourites coming into the first Milan derby of the season. However it was AC Milan who made the better start to the game with a goal inside the opening five minutes. It came courtesy of Christian Pulisic whose header from six yards out diverted Diego Moreira’s cross into bottom corner of Inter’s net. It was the ideal start for the red side of Milan as they quickly went a goal up against their rivals. Six minutes later, things got even better for the hosts when a well-worked corner routine saw Moreira find Adrien Rabiot inside the penalty area and his near post flick beat Inter goalkeeper Josep Martínez and nestled into the far corner of the net to double AC Milan’s lead. With a stunning opening ten minutes, Ruben Amorim’s team moved 2-0 up and now the onus was on Inter to come up with a response. As expected, the league leaders began to establish themselves in the game as they took on a greater share of possession and tried to threaten AC Milan’s goal. On twenty-two minutes, Inter halved their deficit when Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner was flicked on at the near post by Manuel Akanji and then headed past Mike Maignan by Alessandro Bastoni. Moments later, Inter almost equalised when Calhanoglu’s shot from outside the penalty area looked to be dipping under the crossbar before it was magnificently palmed away by Maignan to keep AC Milan’s lead intact. With the game now being mostly played inside AC Milan’s half, Inter continued to push for an equaliser and it wasn’t long before Maignan was required again. When Carlos Augusto’s cross from the right was met and guided towards goal by Djed Spence, Maignan showed great agility to produce a spectacular save and push the ball around the post. As we reached the final minutes of a frantic first half, AC Milan won a free-kick about twenty-five yards out from Inter’s goal. To take it, Moreira stepped up and unleashed an incredible curling effort which beat the wall and flew into the top corner of Martinez’s net to score their third goal. It was a truly magical moment from the best player on the pitch in the opening forty-five minutes as Moreira added a stunning goal to his two assists from earlier in the half. That meant at the midway point of the derby, Amorim’s AC Milan were two goals ahead and in control of the encounter. After the interval, AC Milan’s well-oraganjsed defensive structure frustrated Inter, who struggled to build up any rhythm or create many clear-cut chances. In fact, their best opportunity to score came in the seventieth minute as Augusto’s cross from the left wing was headed towards goal by Marcus Thuram but well-gathered by AC Milan goalkeeper Maignan. On seventy-four minutes, the league leaders thought they’d been handed a way back into the game when referee Marco Guida pointed to the penalty spot after he thought Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s cross had been blocked by the arm of AC Milan defender Mario Gila. However, after a VAR review which clearly showed the ball hit Gila’s chest rather than his arm, the penalty decision was overturned. Whilst AC Milan got closer and closer to victory in the derby, Inter’s frustrations grew as they struggled to find a second goal that would set up a nervy finish for the hosts. As we entered stoppage time at the end of the second half, AC Milan went close to adding a fourth goal courtesy of Alphadjo Cisse’s effort which was superbly tipped away from goal by Inter goalkeeper Martinez. That proved to be the final action in a thrilling Milan derby as AC Milan defeated their city rivals 3-1 with a phenomenal first half display followed by a resolute second half performance. This victory puts AC Milan up into fourth in the league table, four points behind Inter, who could drop to second if Lazio won their game later in the weekend.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ MIAMI DOLPHINS (AMERICAN FOOTBALL)
A divisional match-up from the AFC East rounded out the weekend on Sunday evening as the New England Patriots travelled to the Miami Dolphins. These two teams started the season with contrasting ambitions as the Patriots aim to return to the Super Bowl for a second successive year, whereas the Dolphins are enduring a transitional campaign. So far on the field, the Patriots were underwhelming in the first few weeks of the season and come into this encounter with a 4-3 win-loss record. Having looked in form with three wins in a row, the Patriots slipped up last time out when they lost 30-24 to the Chicago Bears. Therefore, they’d be looking to get back to winning ways in Miami. As for their hosts, the Dolphins made huge chances during the off-season by bringing in a new general manager, head coach and quarterback. After losing their opening five games of the season, the Dolphins finally tasted success last week as they beat the New York Jets to register a win. Whilst this is widely recognised to be a season of rebuild for Miami, a divisional clash with the Patriots provided a good test of how well that rebuild is going. As the game got underway on a rainy evening, both side’s got on the scoreboard with a field goal each in the first quarter. First, Andre Borregales sent a thirty-four yard attempt through the uprights to put the Patriots ahead. Then, Miami drew level courtesy of Zane Gonzalez’s thirty-one yard field goal to end the quarter at 3-3. In the second quarter, the Patriots offense struggled to find any rhythm, meanwhile the Dolphins’ seemed to grow in confidence. The home side took the lead when Gonzalez scored a fifty-two yard field goal which hit the left upright before going between them. In the final seconds before half time, the Dolphins delivered the first touchdown of the encounter when Malik Washington caught Malik Willis’ pass in the end zone to score. With Gonzalez then adding the extra point, Miami were 13-3 up at half time. Moving into the third quarter, the Patriots thought they’d scored their first touchdown of the day when Kyle Williams gathered a sensational forty-three yard pass from Drake Maye, although the officials on the field ruled it an incomplete pass as Williams dropped the ball before he was in the end zone. However, that call was challenged by Patriots’ head coach Mike Vrabel and on review it was overturned and Williams was awarded the touchdown. Then Borregales kicked the extra point to cut the Patriots’ deficit to just three points. Whilst the Patriots offense began to click into gear, Miami’s struggled and it wasn’t long before the ball was back in the hands of Maye. Towards the end of the third quarter, a superb play from Maye saw him fake a pass and then sneak through a gap in Miami’s defense to rush in for a touchdown. That out the Patriots into the lead for the first time since early in the opening quarter and Borregales’ extra point saw them end the third 17-13 ahead. With the intensity of rain increasing inside the Hard Rock Stadium, the fourth quarter began disappointingly for the hosts. First, Dolphins quarterback Willis saw his pass intercepted by Kevin Byard. Then, the Patriots extended their lead with DeMario Douglas catching Maye’s pass at the thirty-yard line and then carrying the ball all the way to the end zone to score. When Borregales then converted the extra point, the Patriots run of twenty-one consume rive points had seen them turn the game around from 13-3 down to 24-13 up. On their next possession, Miami resiliently worked their way into field goal range but the attempt by Gonzalez missed the uprights. After their offense won the ball back, the Dolphins had the ball again and this time they produced a moment of magic as quarterback Willis found Kevin Coleman in the end zone for a thirty-five yard touchdown. With just over two minutes left on the clock, the Dolphins opted to go for a two-point attempt rather than kicking an extra point although that failed as Willis’ pass wasn’t caught by a teammate. Trailing by five points, the Dolphins then attempted an on-side kick to try and retain possession but it was gathered by the Patriots to as good as end the encounter. With some good time management from Maye and his offense, the Patriots secured a 24-19 win in Miami to move to 5-3 for the season and get back to winning ways. Elsewhere in the NFL on Sunday, the final unbeaten record in the league came to an end as the Minnesota Vikings went down 19-15 to the Detroit Lions. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos produced an incredible comeback to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-24, with fifteen of their points coming in the fourth quarter. Another remarkable result saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers become the first team to win an NFL game without completing a single pass since 1974 as they beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0.
