Naomi Osaka gets emotional, Everton finally win a game, Travis Kelce buys a Swift horse
The US Open, the EFL Cup, transfer news, and a long overdue driver change in F1, it’s all been happening overnight
I know we’re all still trying to get over the stunning news that Jennifer Lopez has left Ben Affleck, which was about as surprising as learning the US had covered up failed drugs tests among its athletes, so here’s something to warm the cockles of your heart.
Having had so much fun relaying the events of the Paris Olympics, keeping you up to date on Tom Cruise zip-lining from a ceiling and general goings on in France, we’ve decided this is now going to be a daily occurrence.
This then, is what happened while you were sleeping.
It’s been emotional
Where else would we start but the US Open, and another busy day at Flushing Meadows.
Having recovered from the disappointment of only winning bronze at the Paris Olympics, world No 1 and French Open champion Iga Swiatek launched her bid for a second grand slam title of the year with a relatively simple 6-4, 7-6 victory over determined lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova.
The only sign of a wobble came in the second set, when Swiatek was broken as she served for the match and the found herself 6-3 down in the tiebreaker. But against an opponent ranked 103 places below her, that was more of an inconvenience than a real problem.
In another unsurprising development, Naomi Osaka said there were nearly tears – when aren’t there – on her return to the tournament. The emotion didn’t stop her swatting aside 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 6-2.
Meanwhile, China’s interest in the men’s singles took a beating, with Zhang Zhizhen limping out of his first round match with Jack Draper. The Brit was leading 6-3, 6-0, 4-0 when his opponent retired.