Welcome to this week’s Hugh Watches Sports post. In this edition we will reflect on the conclusion of football’s international break, a huge tennis tournament, a big Prem rugby clash, the latest Formula 1 race, plus the second NFL London game of the season. Let’s get into it.
ENGLAND VS CZECHIA (FOOTBALL)
On Tuesday evening, the extended international break came to an end for England with a match against Czechia. This was the fourth round of matches in the UEFA Nations League, all played during this international window. These two teams were in Group C, alongside Spain and Croatia. So far, England had two wins to their name and one defeat. Having began their campaign with a tight 3-2 loss against Spain, they beat Czechia 2-0 last Tuesday and then thumped Croatia 7-0 on Saturday afternoon. As for Czechia, they were yet to register a point in the group after three straight defeats. Therefore, England were the favourites coming into this encounter and it was a particularly special one for their captain Harry Kane. When the team news was announced, it was confirmed that Kane would make his 125th cap which draws him level with Peter Shilton as England’s all-time most capped player. As the match got underway at Wembley, England had the better of the early exchanges but had to wait until twenty-four minutes for their first clear-cut opportunity to score. That came when a superb pass across the pitch from Jude Bellingham was met by Morgan Rogers who sent in an excellent first-time cross which Kane was close to connecting with but the ball narrowly evaded the England captain. Three minutes later though, the home side went ahead as Trent Alexander-Arnold carried the ball forward and laid it off to Kane on the left wing whose cross was turned into his own net by Czechia defender Vladimir Coufal. It was a great move from England but a disastrous moment for Coufal as his attempted clearance flew past his own goalkeeper and handed England a one-goal advantage. That set the tone for the remainder of the first half as the hosts were dominant in their pursuit of a second goal. In the fortieth minute, a stunning attacking move saw Elliot Anderson’s pass superbly touched by Rogers straight into the path of Kane who provided a trademark finish to score his ninetieth goal for his country. It was a fine goal and it put England firmly in control of the encounter as we reached half time at Wembley. In the second half, Kane went close to scoring his second goal shortly after the break when his shot from outside the penalty area beat the goalkeeper but clipped the top of the crossbar. Inevitably though, Kane did find the back of the net four minutes later as he rose highest at the back post to head Lewis Hall’s corner past Lukas Hornicek for England’s third goal. That marked his ninety-first goal for his country which is an incredibly impressive record for a man making his 125th appearance. With an array of substitutions made and the result as good as decided, the remainder of the match was fairly non-eventful as England cruised towards victory. The closest Czechia came to troubling England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was in the seventy-ninth minute when Roman Macek’s drilled strike from outside the penalty area flew just wide of the near post. Ultimately though, the night belonged to England as they clinched a 3-0 victory and captain Kane picked up two goals on a historic night for him. In the other game in the group which was played at the same time, Spain beat Croatia 2-1 to continue their perfect start to the competition. That means that after four games, Spain top Group C in the Nations League with England three points behind in second, Croatia in third and Czechia bottom. The two remaining rounds of fixtures in the group will be played during the next international break which takes place in the middle of November.
CHINA OPEN (TENNIS)
One of Asia’s biggest tennis tournament concluded this week as the final rounds of the China Open were played out in Beijing. For the women this marked the start of back-to-back WTA1000 event’s, ahead of another in Wuhan next week. Meanwhile, for the male players, Beijing played host to an ATP500 tournament which will be followed by the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 event of the year in Shanghai. In round one of the WTA tournament, the top thirty-two seed’s all received a bye, however there were still some big names in action. Among those was Qinwen Zheng who saw off qualifier Han Shi in three sets. Meanwhile, two former top ten players went head-to-head as Paula Badosa beat Daria Kasatkina 4-6 7-6 6-4. In round two, Elena Rybakina played her first match since becoming world number one although it ended in a shock defeat as she lost 3-6 6-4 6-3 to world number 118 Alina Charaeva. In contrast to the top seed, world number two Aryna Sabalenka opened her campaign with a comfortable 6-1 6-3 triumph over Renata Zarazua. Elsewhere, there were also second round wins for third seed Coco Gauff and fourth seed Mirra Andreeva. Plus, home crowd favourite Zheng continued her tournament by moving past fifteenth seed Anna Kalinskaya. As we reached the third round in Beijing, there was another big upset as second seed Sabalenka was beaten in straight sets by Nikola Bartunkova. Meanwhile, 2023 champion Iga Swiatek looked to be in danger of going out when she trailed Donna Vekic 6-4 5-2 but the eighth seed produced a magnificent comeback to win 4-6 7-6 6-2. In one of the best matches of round three, Zheng saw off Marie Bouzkova 7-5 in the third set to book her place in round four. The third round also saw Gauff and Andreeva cruise through with respective straight sets victories. Moving into round four, Zheng continued to please the crowd with a 6-1 2-6 6-4 triumph against Charaeva to progress into the last eight. The standout match-up of the fourth round saw eighth seed Swiatek face tenth seed Iva Jovic and it was Swaitek who emerged victorious in straight sets. Elsewhere in round four, Elise Mertens took out third seed Gauff with a 6-3 6-3 win. Plus, fifth seed Linda Noskova was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Ekaterina Alexandrova. Also in the last sixteen, Karolina Muchova got past Naomi Osaka in three close set’s to progress into the quarter finals. In the last eight, Zheng saw off sixth seed Elina Svitolina to reach her fourth WTA1000 semi final. She would face Mertens in the last four after the Belgian put in a stunning performance to defeat Swiatek 7-6 6-3. In the bottom half of the draw, the highest remaining seed in the tournament was Andreeva and she reached the semi finals with a 7-6 7-6 triumph over Alexandrova. The other quarter final was an all-Czech affair as Bartunkova beat Muchova in straight sets. On Saturday in Beijing, it was time for the semi finals. First up on court was Andreeva versus Bartunkova and it was the fourth seed who secured her spot in the final with a 6-2 6-2 win. That saw Andreeva progress into her fourth WTA1000 final and guaranteed she would achieve a new career high ranking of world number three at the conclusion of the tournament. Similarly, Bartunkova’s run to the semi finals means she will also achieve a new career high ranking and make her debut in the world’s top thirty. Later on Saturday, Zheng faced Mertens for a place in the final. After a tight first set, Zheng comfortably won the second to defeat Mertens 7-5 6-2 and progress into the final. For Zheng this marked the second WTA1000 final of her career and her first at home in Beijing. As the final commenced on Sunday, Andreeva made the perfect start by going up an early break however Zheng fought back to level the scoreline. In the tenth game, Zheng was forced to save three set points before she eventually held serve for 5-5. That proved crucial in the outcome of the set as Zheng then won the next two games to take it 7-5 and move one set away from victory. A break late on in set two saw Zheng seize control and presented herself with the opportunity to serve for the title. After an hour and forty-three minutes of battle, Zheng defeated Andreeva 7-5 6-4 to win her first WTA 1000 title. In doing so she became the first ever Chinese woman to win the China Open and picked up her first title since 2024. This marked the sixth title of Zheng’s career and it was her biggest on the WTA Tour, alongside winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the men’s ATP500 event, the headline news was the return of Novak Djokovic as the six-time former champion played in Beijing for the first time since 2015. Incredibly, Djokovic arrived at the China Open having never lost a match at this event, holding a 29-0 win-loss record. In his round one clash, the Serbian took on Nuno Borges and he recorded a 6-3 7-6 victory to win his first match since Wimbledon. Meanwhile at the top of the draw was recently-crowned US Open champion Alexander Zverev and he began his campaign with a straight sets triumph over Cameron Norrie. Elsewhere in round one, there was home success for two Chinese players as Juncheng Shang and Yunchaokete Bu picked up victories. Meanwhile, there were immediate exit’s for the second and fourth seeds. A 6-3 6-3 defeat against Karen Khachanov saw second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime eliminated, meanwhile fourth seed Flavio Cobolli went down in two sets against Roman Safiulin. Moving into round two, Djokovic came from a set down to see off Bu, whilst Zverev thumped Shang 6-0 6-3 to end the involvement of both Chinese players in the singles draw. Another stand-out result from the second round saw Francisco Cerundolo edge past eighth seed Jakub Mensik in straight sets. In the quarter finals, Djokovic faced Zverev in a blockbuster encounter. With an incredible performance the twenty-four time grand slam champion beat top seed Zverev 4-6 6-4 6-4 to maintain his perfect record in Beijing. It was a record-breaking display from Djokovic as he became the first man to ever win his first thirty-two matches at a single tournament, surpassing Nadal’s total of thirty-one at Roland Garros. Elsewhere in the last eight, Daniil Medvedev snuck past Cerundolo in two sets to reach the semi finals in Beijing for the fourth time in a row. Meanwhile, Humbert Hurkacz booked his spot in the semi finals with a 7-6 6-2 triumph over Khachanov. The other place in the last four was taken by fifth seed Alex De Minaur as he came back from a set down to defeat Andrey Rublev 1-6 6-2 6-3. In the semi finals, Hurkacz and De Minaur were scheduled to play first and the first set went the way of the Australian. However, unfortunately Hurkacz retired with an injury early in the second set to hand De Minaur a place in the final. Later on in the day’s evening session, Djokovic and Medvedev went head-to-head for the first time since the 2023 US Open final. The pair played out an epic first set which was won 7-5 by Djokovic after seventy-nine minutes. A break late in the second set presented the six-time champion with a chance to serve for the match but unfortunately he was denied that opportunity two points later when Medvedev was disqualified. After losing a point, Medvedev hit the ball into the crowd and it hit a spectator which resulted in an automatic default, bringing the match to an end and putting Djokovic into the final. The tournament concluded with a battle between Djokovic and De Minaur for the title. Whilst Djokovic was aiming to continue his perfect record in Beijing and clinch a seventh title, De Minaur was trying to win this tournament for the first time and secure his fifth ATP500 title. After a thrilling first set which included Djokovic saving a break point with a sensational backhand passing shot down the line, we headed to a tie-break. In the tie-break, Djokovic played the key points better to win it and claim the opening set 7-6. There was then a thirteen minute break between the first set ending and the second beginning as both players took a medical time-out. The timing of De Minaur’s was lengthy because he went off the court to receive treatment. Following just one game in set two, De Minaur opted to retire from the match which meant Djokovic sealed his seventh China Open triumph. It was an underwhelming end to the final but it should not be understated how incredible of an achievement this title was for thirty-nine year old Djokovic. The Serbian stretched his Beijing win-loss record to 34-0 to win his 102nd ATP title. Furthermore, he became the oldest champion of an ATP Tour level event in history and did it in style with three top ten victories. With Zheng and Djokovic being crowned champions, the 2026 China Open in Beijing was a historic edition of the tournament. Now, the players will quickly move on as the WTA Tour heads to Wuhan, meanwhile the ATP Tour continues in Shanghai.
LEICESTER TIGERS VS GLOUCESTER (RUGBY UNION)
After two rounds of the Gallagher Prem, Gloucester are the surprise league-leaders with back-to-back win’s to kick off their campaign. On Friday night, they looked to continue their perfect record when they travelled to face the Leicester Tigers. Having been playoff semi-finalists last season, the Tigers were narrowly beaten 40-38 by Saracens in their opening fixture before bouncing back with a 24-19 triumph over Newcastle Red Bulls last weekend. They came into this encounter against Gloucester sitting fifth in the league table, four points behind their visitors. Therefore, a win with a bonus point for Leicester could see them go top of the table ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures, although Gloucester would be determined to keep hold of top spot with a victory of their own. In addition to league points, this match took on further importance as Leicester and Gloucester competed for the Slater Cup. The trophy, which is named after Ed Slater who played for both of these teams, is on the line each time these teams meet in the Prem so provides an extra incentive for the players and coaches. As the match kicked off, Gloucester had a close-to-perfect opening ten minutes. It started when Leicester’s Billy Searle was shown a yellow card for foul play inside two minutes. From there, the visitors made the most of having an extra player by scoring two tries to race into a 14-0 lead. The first came courtesy of Jac Morgan powering the ball over the try line, before five minutes later some strong work from a line-out saw Dion Bleuer score. With both of those tries backed up by successful conversions from the boot of Caolan Englefield, the league leaders went fourteen points up. The onus was now on Leicester to come up with a response and once Searle returned to the pitch, they delivered that response in some style. On fourteen minutes, a sustained attack on the right hand side ended with Finn Carnduff opening Leicester’s account for the evening with his first ever try in the Prem. After his brief stint on the sidelines, Searle stepped up to add two extra points and close the hosts’ deficit to seven points. As the half continued, Leicester grew more and more into the game as they began to take over. On twenty-eight minutes, a thirteen phase move concluded with Joe Heyes finding his way through Gloucester’s resolute defence to score. When Searle then sent the following conversion through the posts, Leicester drew level at 14-14 on the scoreboard. However they weren’t content with just that and a line-out deep in Gloucester’s territory resulted in a superb maul from Leicester which saw Jamie Blamire carry the ball over the try line to complete the comeback. From 14-0 down, Searle’s duly scored conversion which followed saw Leicester go 21-14 ahead. That was the score at half time as the hosts completed a stunning turnaround after Gloucester had bossed the first ten minutes. After the interval, Leicester’s run of points continued as Searle scored a penalty to add three more to their total. Then, on fifty minutes, things got even better for the hosts as Aaron Wainwright powered through Gloucester’s determined defensive line to score their fourth try of the encounter. Furthermore, an array of fouls in the sequence of play as Gloucester tried to keep Leicester’s attack at bay resulted in Freddie Thomas being shown a yellow card by the referee. Then, Searle stepped up to score the conversion and extend Leicester’s lead to seventeen points. The home side’s run of consecutive points was finally halted ten minutes later as Gloucester put together a sustained eleven-phase attack which saw Will Trenholm eventually dive himself and the ball beyond the try line. With George Barton then adding the extra two points courtesy of a conversion, Gloucester closed to ten points behind their hosts. By this point, it was a really physical encounter which was absorbing to watch. The next try arrived in the sixty-ninth minute as a sweeping passing move from right-to-left saw the ball arrive into the arms of Ollie Hassell-Collins to run in and increase Leicester’s lead. As with every other Leicester try, Searle’s boot successfully provided an extra two points to put them 38-21 up as we entered the final ten minutes. Late on, a resilient Gloucester side secured a potentially crucial bonus point by scoring their fourth try of the evening. It came courtesy of Jack Innard and was backed up with a conversion from Barton. In the closing moments, Barton also scored a penalty to further reduce the deficit but Leicester held on to their lead to reign victorious. As the full time whistle blew to end a frantic and highly-competitive game of Prem rugby, Leicester retained the Slater Cup with a 38-31 triumph over Gloucester. Despite that defeat, Gloucester’s bonus point means they stay at the top of the league table for now, a point ahead of Leicester.
SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (FORMULA 1)
As we enter the final seven race’s of the year, championship points are more valuable than ever to both the drivers and constructors. This was particularly true this weekend in Singapore where there were extra points on offer because we had a sprint race as well as the main Grand Prix. Coming into the weekend, Kimi Antonelli held a comfortable championship lead over his teammate George Russell. The Singapore race presented a great chance for the Italian to extend his lead too as Russell would have to start the Grand Prix from the back of the grid due to taking a new engine outside of his permitted allocation. That was the result of an engine failure which forced Russell to retire from last Sunday’s race in Malaysia. As the action got underway in Singapore, Max Verstappen was the dominant driver as he won the sprint race from pole position and then secured pole for the main Grand Prix later on Saturday. On the grid for Sunday’s race, Charles Leclerc joined Verstappen on the front row, with his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton lining-up in third. Behind them was Antonelli in fourth, ahead of an all McLaren third row consisting of Lando Norris in fifth and Oscar Piastri in sixth. As the lights went out on Sunday in Singapore, Verstappen held off Leclerc to keep hold of the lead with Hamilton remaining in third. With overtaking difficult at a tight street track, the order remained the same at the front through the opening phase of the race. On lap nine, Gabriel Bortoleto had to stop his Audi on the start/finish straight due to a gearbox problem which meant a virtual safety car was declared, although that didn’t have any impact on the leaderboard as nobody opted to pit. When racing resumed, Verstappen was still out in front and had pulled away from the Ferrari pairing of Leclerc and Hamilton. On lap nineteen, Hamilton came into the pits to change his tyre’s, much earlier than expected. It appeared Ferrari hoped that would provoke a reaction from their rivals and allow Hamilton to gain position’s by under-cutting those around him, but that didn’t materialise. Instead the Brit came back onto the track down in seventh. Two laps later he was able to get past Liam Lawson which saw him move back into the top six. On lap twenty-four, Antonelli made his pit stop from third and dropped to sixth. Then, a lap later, Leclerc came in to pit and re-emerged on track in fourth, narrowly ahead of teammate Hamilton. Out at the front, Verstappen was having a comfortable afternoon and his pit stop saw him keep hold of the lead as the McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri also pit within a lap either side of the Red Bull driver. After one pit stop each, the top six were back to their starting order with Verstappen leading from Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris and Piastri. On lap thirty-one we saw a second retirement from the race as Franco Colapinto retired his Alpine due to an issue. Then, on lap thirty-nine, Lance Stroll joined the list of retiree’s with a brake problem, however he was forced to stop on the track which meant a virtual safety car was required. With less time lost by making a pit stop under VSC conditions, Ferrari headed out into the pit lane but then shocked everyone by being in Leclerc and leaving out Hamilton, despite the Brit being on much older and softer tyre’s. Behind them Antonelli’s also took the chance to stop for a fresh set of tyre’s, although his Mercedes teammate Russell got very unlucky because the VSC ended whilst he was in the pit lane. That saw the Brit, who started at the back of the grid, drop from seventh to tenth, when he likely would’ve been able to get back on the track in seventh if the VSC had remained in place. As racing resumed, Hamilton was now up into second but on notably older tyres than those immediately behind him. On lap forty-six, Leclerc cruised past his teammate to re-take second place. Then, Hamilton came under pressure from Norris and Antonelli. On lap fifty-four, Norris’ attempted overtake on Hamilton at turn one slowed hem both down and opened the door for Antonelli to slip past the McLaren. Inevitably, later that lap, Antonelli made a move to get past Hamilton and take away his place on the podium. At turn ten on the next lap, Norris also overtook Hamilton to move into the top four and further compound the confusion behind the Ferrari’s race strategy. As we entered the last lap, Verstappen continued to cruise to a dominant victory at the front, meanwhile things got even worse for Hamilton as he lost out on fifth place to Piastri. After winning in Malaysia last weekend, Verstappen crossed the finish line to pick up his second race win in a row and completed a very successful weekend. Remarkably, this was his first Grand Prix win in Singapore and that now means he has won at least once at every circuit on the calendar other than Madrid’s, which was only added this year. The Dutchman was joined on the podium by Leclerc and Antonelli. Elsewhere the rest of the point-scoring positions were filled by Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg, Russell and Isack Hadjar. The result of Russell was particularly significant as his ninth-placed finish means that Antonelli could mathematically win the world championship at the next race. That comes in the USA in a fortnight’s time, where Verstappen will be looking to continue his winning run and Antonelli will hope to clinch what seems a now inevitable first world title.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (AMERICAN FOOTBALL)
Week five of the NFL season saw the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars head to London for the fourth international fixture of the year. After the Indianapolis Colts beat the Washington Commanders in the English capital last weekend, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium played host to two different teams this Sunday. The Jaguars are regular visitors to London and will also play their week six game there next week. So far this season, Jacksonville hold a 3-1 record and come to England on a two-match winning streak after beating the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals in their two most recent fixtures. Meanwhile, the Eagles won their first two games but have lost their last two against the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams. Therefore, they would be hoping a change of scenery would lead to a change of fortune as they aim to get back to winning ways. We had immediate drama when the game commenced in London as the Jaguars received kick-off and took it all the way back up the field for a touchdown. However that was ruled out for a number of penalties on the play, which included a brawl in the middle of the field which resulted in Jeremiah Trotter Jr from the Eagles and Bryan Thomas Jr from the Jaguars being ejected from the game by the officials. It was a chaotic opening to the encounter before either quarterback had even had a chance to get a touch of the ball. When they did got on the field it was an underwhelming start for the Eagles offense with two three-and-out’s in the first quarter. In contrast, the Jaguars were able to put themselves ahead when Trevor Lawrence found Parker Washington and he carried the ball beyond the Eagles defenders and into the end zone. With Cam Little successfully adding the extra point, the Jaguars held a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Things changed in the second quarter though as the Eagles began to find their rhythm on both offense and defense. Whilst the defense limited the Jaguars to a pointless quarter, the offense scored two touchdown’s to move in front. The first of those came when running back Will Shipley rushed into the end zone from two yards out to score. Then, on the Eagles next offensive play, quarterback Jalen Hurts’ pass was caught by Darius Cooper who then took the ball all the way to the end zone to score a sixty-two yard touchdown. Both of those touchdown’s were backed up by Jake Elliot kicking an extra point, which meant the Eagles were 14-7 up as we reached half time in London. Moving into the second half and the third quarter was dominated by the defense’s with a thirty-four yard field goal from Little the only points posted on the scoreboard. That meant the Eagles remained in the lead heading into the crucial final fifteen minutes of play. The defense’s remained on top in the early stages of the fourth quarter whilst the offense’s made some sloppy errors. For Jacksonville, they reached the red zone but then saw two of their four down’s end in delay of game penalties, much to the frustration of quarterback Lawrence. Then, the Eagles were forced to punt on their first set of down’s in the next possession and gift the ball back to the Jaguars. With three minutes left on the clock, it looked as if we were set for another offensive slip-up when the Jaguars were taken to fourth down but Lawrence produced a magnificent pass which was spectacularly caught one-handed by Washington for a touchdown. That saw the Jaguars take the lead, although Little’s extra point attempt missed the uprights. As a result, the Eagles got the ball back with just a two-point deficit and could re-take the lead with a field goal. However the ball was quickly gifted back to the Jaguars who then gave it straight back. With twelve seconds to go, the Eagles finally got themselves into field goal range and Elliot stepped up to send a forty-eight yard attempt through the uprights to put them 17-16 ahead. That should’ve won the game for the Eagles but from their kick off, Ammer Abdullah received the ball and managed to run into Eagles territory before he was tackled to the ground. That created the opportunity for Little to attempt a walk-off field goal to steal victory for the Jaguars with just one second left on the clock. It was a terrible tactical miscalculation from the Eagles and now they were at risk of throwing away a win. With the last action of the encounter, Little directed a fifty-seven yard field goal between the uprights to secure a 19-16 triumph for the Jaguars in London. It was a thrilling ending to a game which began with drama and concluded with even more of it. That victory see’s the Jaguars move to 4-1 for the season, whereas the Eagles slip to 2-3 with a third consecutive defeat. Looking ahead, the Jaguars remain in London where they will face the Houston Texans at Wembley, meanwhile the Eagles return home to take on Carolina Panthers. Elsewhere in the NFL on Sunday, we saw our first tie of the season as the New York Giants and Washington Commanders ended 27-27 after overtime. Meanwhile the San Francisco 49er’s continued their perfect start to the season with a 32-29 win over reigning Super Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks in a big divisional match-up. Finally on Sunday night, the late game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Atlanta Falcons required overtime before the Ravens were able to seal a 30-23 victory.
