At the end of her standout 2022 season, Jessica Pegula faced a frustrating trend—reaching the quarter-finals in three of the four major tournaments but losing each time to the top seed. After yet another loss to Iga Swiatek at the US Open, Pegula humorously arrived at her press conference with a beer in hand, joking, “I’m trying to pee for doping… although it does help ease the loss.” The lighthearted moment went viral, reflecting her upbeat attitude despite repeatedly falling short of a semi-final spot.

It took two more years and six heartbreaking quarter-final defeats for Pegula to finally break through. In a fitting turn of events, she defeated Swiatek, the world No. 1, 6-2, 6-4 at the US Open, securing her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final appearance. “I’ve lost so many times, I just kept losing,” Pegula said, acknowledging her past defeats to top players. “I just needed to get there again and win the match. Thank God I was able to do it and finally say I am a semi-finalist.”

In the men’s draw, top-seeded Jannik Sinner is the last Grand Slam champion standing. He advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Daniil Medvedev in a hard-fought match, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, setting up a semi-final showdown with Great Britain’s Jack Draper.

Pegula’s triumph over Swiatek was particularly impressive. She employed a smart, tactical approach by hitting deep, flat shots down the middle, limiting Swiatek’s angles and attacking opportunities. Her movement was sharp, absorbing Swiatek’s aggressive strikes and patiently waiting for her own chances to go on the offensive.

While Pegula was on top of her game, Swiatek struggled with her serve and timing throughout the match, ending with 41 unforced errors. “I didn’t find the right solution,” Swiatek admitted. “You’re not going to win if you make so many mistakes. It’s on me.”

Pegula’s victory also marks a historic moment for U.S. tennis, as she joins Emma Navarro, Taylor Fritz, and Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals. This is the first time since 2003 that multiple American players have reached the semi-finals in both the women’s and men’s US Open draws. Pegula will face unseeded Karolína Muchová, who reached last year’s semi-finals before undergoing wrist surgery. Muchová advanced by defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4.

In the men’s tournament, Sinner’s powerful groundstrokes and strong defense proved too much for Medvedev, who was below his best throughout the match. Although the momentum shifted wildly, with Sinner dominating the first set and Medvedev responding in the second, Sinner regained control in the third and fourth sets to claim victory. Medvedev, who hit 57 unforced errors, couldn’t keep up with Sinner’s intensity.

“It was very tough,” said Sinner after the match. “We knew it was going to be physical. I’m really happy.”

Sinner has now reached the semi-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments, becoming the fourth active player and the only man under 35 to achieve this feat. His next challenge is Draper, a familiar opponent and good friend. The two have faced each other since their junior days and recently played doubles together at the Canadian Open.

“We are good friends off the court, so it’s going to be tough one,” Sinner said. “He’s playing incredibly well, so let’s see who plays better in a couple of days.”

Christian Clark, a true freshman, tore his Achilles tendon during practice on Monday, ending the team’s second season-ending injury at running back for No. 4 Texas, the school confirmed on Tuesday.

Six days after revealing that CJ Baxter, the starting quarterback for the first game of the previous campaign, would require season-ending knee surgery, Texas announced that Clark would have surgery and miss the rest of the campaign.

The Longhorns are down to three scholarship running backs as a result of the losses.

This season, Jaydon Blue—who has played in 23 games for Texas—is anticipated to carry the weight after rushing for 431 yards and three touchdowns. In the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Washington, he had four receptions for 45 yards and three kickoff returns for 80 yards.

The Longhorns have two players behind Blue: sophomore Jerrick Gibson, who was listed as the No. 2 running back and the No. 3 overall, and Quintrevion Wisner, a sophomore who participated in all 14 games last season on special teams.

In December, Clark, a four-star prospect from Phoenix’s Mountain Pointe High School, committed to Texas.

Although Gibson and Clark both stumbled during Saturday’s scrimmage in what he called a “welcome to college football moment,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters on Monday that both players were improving and were “further down the road than some may think.”

In a post-practice video chat with media on Tuesday night, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said of the injuries, “It definitely hurts to see that go down.” “Injuries do happen. It’s just a part of the game we play. I think [running backs coach Tashard] Choice and Coach Sark do a good job of recruiting good running backs that can ultimately fill in the position if needed. … I think we have guys that are going to be more than capable of stepping in and filling up those roles.”

After gaining confidence in his running ability, Ewers ran for five touchdowns last season, including 30- and 29-yard touchdown runs against Kansas and Baylor. Sarkisian said after the Kansas game that Ewers realized, “Man, maybe I’m a little faster than I thought.”

On Tuesday, Ewers stated that he would be more than willing to take on additional running responsibilities.

“Ultimately, I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help this team win football games,” Ewers stated. “So if that means I need to run more, so be it.”

Nick Gonzales aimed for a powerful hit as he took the bat to the ball. The second baseman for the Pirates was aware that José Alvarado could hit for three runs, but he also had that cutter, which could tail away from right-handers and hit where he wanted to.

Gonzales remarked, “I was just trying to get something a little away from me, and I just hit it hard.”

In the ninth inning on Friday, Gonzales got a hold of Alvarado’s first-pitch cutter and sent most of the PNC Park crowd home with a base hit through the left side of the infield. Gonzales’ single gave the Pirates their first and only lead of the game after they had been behind for the majority of the game. The Pirates went on to win 8–7 against the Phillies.

There were signs on Friday night that this squad might be taken by surprise after the All-Star break. Martín Pérez, the starter, was removed from the game in the fourth inning after giving up six runs in the game. His poor play continued. The baseball team with the best record was taking on the Pirates. They spent most of the evening performing from behind.

Nevertheless, Gonzales and his colleagues were the ones having fun after the game on the right side of the diamond.

“I think it would’ve been really easy to fold after the first inning, especially going against the Phillies,” Gonzales stated. “But nobody here in the dugout, nobody in this clubhouse, did that. So kudos to them. And kudos to the coaching staff, too.”

Pérez faced the whole Phillies lineup in the first inning, which was maybe his worst, giving up three runs before loading the bases. Oneil Cruz immediately responded for the offense against Aaron Nola, hitting an RBI double with an exit velocity of 120.5 mph, the second-hardest hit ball for him this season in all of Major League Baseball. Later on, he would return home on a sacrifice fly hit by Rowdy Tellez, the first of three that Tellez would hit and set a record for the Pirates in a single game.

With the score tied at six, in the ninth inning, Connor Joe reached base on a single through the left side of the infield, moving Michael A. Taylor to pinch run, setting up the game’s biggest wager. Coach Tarrik Brock of first base saw a chance to run, and with two on and no one out, Andrew McCutchen and Taylor executed a double steal to advance the tying run ninety feet.

“We took a good chance in a situation where we thought we were going to take a chance,” manager Derek Shelton said.

Cruz then hit a ball off home plate for a fielder’s choice that tied the game, and Gonzales won it with a line drive to left on the next pitch.

Shelton remarked, “To come out and play as complete a game as we did and do all the little things we needed to do, yeah, I was really excited about how they responded.”

It’s only one victory, but considering the season’s circumstances, it might be greater. The Pirates have a 49-48 record and are once again above 500. They started winning before the All-Star break and have already won five straight. With just nine games remaining before the July 30 trade deadline, the team is looking to add players, but each victory helps to strengthen their argument for being aggressive. This is also the season’s hardest stretch, the first of nine series against winning clubs vying for a postseason berth.

The clubhouse’s objective has been to make the playoffs the entire year. The Pirates believe they are making progress in that direction right now.

“We talk about it a lot,” Tellez stated. “We’ve had a couple guys in here win some World Series. With Milwaukee, we made it to the playoffs every year. Younger players, when they ask questions and want to talk through it, I always say, ‘There’s nothing more driving than getting to the playoffs.’ Once you’re there, that’s all you want the next year, over and over again. For a lot of us, when we talk about that kind of stuff, it resonates with guys. We’re in a good spot. But just talking it game-by-game.”