Alexander Bublik claimed his first ATP Tour title with a stunning straight-sets victory over Alexander Zverev in the Open Sud de France final.

The 24-year-old went into Sunday's match without a career win over a top-five opponent and having lost two finals in a career-best season in 2021.

He was not to be denied this time, however, powering his way to a 6-4 6-3 win over the world number three in Montpellier in just one hour and 10 minutes.

The Kazakhstani lost just four points behind his first serve throughout the match, the only blip coming when he handed Zverev a break back to love after moving 3-2 ahead in the first set.

After regaining the advantage, Bublik survived two more break points before closing out the opener and the pressure only increased on the Zverev serve in the second set.

Bublik broke to love to lead 3-2 and again in the final game as Zverev's resistance wilted.

He can now look forward to rising to a career-high place in the rankings when the updated list is published on Monday.

Joao Sousa won his first ATP Tour title since 2018 as he defeated Emil Ruusuvuori in the final of the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune on Sunday.

Ruusuvuori initially gave a good account of himself in his first final on the tour, but he was ultimately blown away in the final set as Sousa won 7-6 (11-9) 4-6 6-1.

After sealing the first set in a tense tie-break, Sousa appeared set to cruise to victory when an early break in the second had him 3-0 up.

But Ruusuvuori then won five games in a row at 4-1 down to fight back brilliantly and force a decider.

Sousa had too much for him in the end, however, an early break in the third set seeing momentum shift the 32-year-old's way and give him the boost he needed to claim a first title since winning on home soil in Estoril in May 2018.

Andy Murray has decided to skip the entire clay court season, including the French Open, as he feels the surface aggravated "issues" in the past.

Former world number one Murray has endured a torrid time with injuries in the past few years, but he has featured more regularly since the second half of last season.

While he only made it as far as the second round at last month's Australian Open, his preparation for the year's opening grand slam saw him reach a first final on the ATP Tour since October 2019.

He lost to Aslan Karatsev in the decider of the Sydney Classic, going down 6-3 6-3, but the Scot's run to the final provided evidence he still has plenty to offer.

Murray will not be playing in the next grand slam, though.

The eyes of the tennis world will be on Roland Garros in late May and early June, but Murray is opting to miss that and every other event on clay for fear of worsening his condition, with Wimbledon scheduled to begin on June 27.

"Right now, I am not planning on playing through the clay," the three-time grand slam winner said.

"The past couple of years, the clay has made issues worse; last year I had some issues at the beginning of the year, the clay didn't help, so I've spoken to my team about that and this year while I feel good and healthy, I don't want to take that risk.

"It's not that I wouldn't potentially play on clay in the future. Last year I almost missed Wimbledon, was close to not playing the grass season. I'm not planning on playing the clay. I will still try to compete a bit during that period, I won't do nothing, that's my plan just now.

"I had a busy end of last year and the next couple of months I won't take any risks and hopefully get a good build up to the grass season."

Murray parted ways with long-term coach Jamie Delgado in December and then decided against making Jan de Witt a permanent member of his team following a trial period leading up to and through the Australian Open.

The 34-year-old is now once again working with Dani Vallverdu, Stan Wawrinka's coach, having teamed up with him between 2010 and 2014.

But Murray accepts the situation is far from ideal, with Vallverdu only available while Wawrinka continues his rehabilitation from a foot injury that has kept him out since March last year.

"It's not been easy to find someone," Murray added.

"Obviously, Stan Wawrinka has been rehabbing for quite a long time and is hopefully coming back to the tour, but he agreed for Dani to come and work with me for a few weeks over the next month or so, which is great for me in the short term, but still trying to find a longer-term solution.

"It's not that straightforward, I'm not as in demand as a few years ago. Ultimately, I want it to be the right person. I'm aware there's no perfect setup, but medium, longer term I want some stability and will try and get that in the next few weeks."

Qualifier Alejandro Tabilo stunned top seed Diego Schwartzman to progress to his first ATP Tour final at the Cordoba Open.

Schwartzman, the world number 14, had been hoping to win a title on home soil in Argentina for the second time in his career.

But his Chilean opponent continued his remarkable run with a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) upset, the world number 144 now having won 12 successive sets at the tournament stretching back to qualifying.

Tabilo only won his first title on the Challenger Tour in November but has carried that momentum through into 2022.

"I've been playing my best tennis for a few months now and I finished the year strong," said Tabilo.

"I think I just needed one of these weeks to kind of click and get going. Hopefully this is the start of something good, and hopefully I can keep this level."

Tabilo will face Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the final after the Spaniard beat another home hope in Juan Ignacio Londero.

Ramos-Vinolas prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, surpassing his own expectations after a first-round exit at the Australian Open.

"When I came here after Australia, I didn't expect to be in the final, to be honest," he said.

"I was not playing my best. The pre-season [I worked] very hard but the feeling was not very good.

"Now I'm in the final. The only thing I can do is try to fight as much as I can."

Alexander Zverev will face Alexander Bublik in the Open Sud de France final after easing to victory over Mikael Ymer on Saturday.

The top seed is seeking a 20th tour-level title and has yet to drop a set in his three matches in Montpellier after beating Bublik 6-1 6-3.

Ymer eliminated Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet en route to the semi-finals, but the world number 83 struggled against Zverev in his third straight loss to the German. 

Zverev was triumphant in his last appearance in this tournament five years ago and is the strong favourite heading into Sunday's final with Bublik.

"I am in the final and I am happy about that," Zverev said in his on-court interview. "I played a pretty good match. I think I played one bad game in the whole match. 

"Overall I am happy to be in another final, playing against Alex who I have known since I was 12 years old, so hopefully it will be a fun match."

Bublik also claimed a routine win in his semi-final against Filip Krajinovic, the sixth seed prevailing 6-4 6-2 in a little over an hour.

The 24-year-old is through to his fifth ATP Tour final, having most recently gone all the way at the Singapore Open last February, where he lost to Alexei Popyrin.

At the Tata Open Maharashtra, Mikael's older brother Elias Ymer squandered three match points to lose 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 to Joao Sousa in Pune.

The Swedish qualifier had defied the odds to make it to the semi-finals and took the opening set against Sousa, before recovering from 4-1 down to level up the second set 4-4.

But Sousa edged the tie-break and survived three match points in the 10th game of the deciding set, which he would go on to win.

Sousa will face Emil Ruusuvuori in Sunday's final after the world number 87 overcame Kamil Majchrzak 6-3 7-6 (7-0) earlier in the day.

It marks the first tour final that Ruusuvuori has reached, while Sousa is in the hunt for a fourth title at this level.

Diego Schwartzman survived a scare from lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan to reach the semi-finals of the Cordoba Open.

Top seed Schwartzman lost the first set to this Colombian opponent, but recovered to prevail 3-6 6-0 7-5.

Yet the Argentine still had to battle to clinch the decisive set, dropping serve when attempting to wrap up the match at 5-3.

He recovered from that setback and is just two wins away from his second title on home soil, having won in Buenos Aires last year.

Schwartzman will face qualifier Alejandro Tabilo in the last four.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas, seeded sixth, beat fourth seed Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets to book his place in the semis, where he will face Juan Ignacio Londero.

Alexander Zverev breezed into the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France by beating home favourite Adrian Mannarino for the loss of just one game.

The world number three needed just 50 minutes to swat aside Mannarino 6-1 6-0 to set up a last-four match with Mikael Ymer.

Champion at this event in 2017, Zverev's record in Montpellier moved to 9-1 and he has now won seven matches in a row against Mannarino.

Ymer, the world number 83, squandered one match point in his contest with Richard Gasquet but eventually came through 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-1.

The best entertainment came in the earlier match between Alexander Bublik and Roberto Bautista Agut, sixth seed Bublik eventually coming through 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-4) after just over two hours on court.

He will face Filip Krajinovic for a place in the final, the Serbian having beaten Damir Dzumhur in straight sets.

At the Tata Open Maharashtra, rising Italian star Lorenzo Musetti was surprised by world number 95 Kamil Majchrzak.

The Pole, who defeated Musetti's compatriot Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open in straight sets, won 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to set up a semi-final against Emil Ruusuvuori.

The other semi-final sees Joao Sousa, into the last four at Tour level for the first time since St Petersburg in 2019, face Elias Ymer.

 "I think I played a great match," said Sousa after beating Daniel Altmaier in straight sets. "I was very solid. I knew it was going to be a tough match, so I was prepared to run a lot."

Sebastian Baez stunned world number 18 Cristian Garin in three sets to reach the last eight at the Cordoba Open, his first career ATP Tour quarter-final.

Baez took a set off Stefanos Tsitsipas – his first ever top-10 opponent – before losing at the Australian Open, but he has kicked on again in Argentina.

The 21-year-old faced a huge uphill battle when he fell a set behind to third seed Garin, who won in Cordoba in 2020.

However, Baez roared back in quite remarkable fashion to prevail 4-6 6-1 6-1 in perhaps the best result of his career – and one of his opponent's worst.

"It was a pretty bad match, one of the worst of my career in terms of feeling," Garin said. "He deserves it as well, but I feel like I wasn't up to it.

"I had a regular first set and then I couldn't find myself. The little adaptation I had was clear, I was slow. It was one of my worst matches in many years."

Baez faces Alejandro Tabilo next after his last-16 defeat of Carlos Taberner, but a tricky field remains as the two seeds in action besides Garin on Thursday both won.

The reward for Lorenzo Sonego and Albert Ramos-Vinolas is a match against one another on Friday.

Top seed Alexander Zverev returned to winning ways after a surprise fourth-round Australian Open exit when he won his first match at the Open Sud de France on Thursday.

The German world number three was bounced out at Melbourne Park by Denis Shapovalov in straight sets, but he navigated his way safely past Mackenzie McDonald to reach the quarter-finals in Montpellier.

A largely dominant Zverev won 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to set up a clash with Adrian Mannarino in the last eight, and the 24-year-old highlighted how important he felt it was to quickly get back in the swing of things after disappointment in Melbourne.

"I'm going to give myself the best chance to do well in this tournament. But obviously, I'm happy to be back here," he said of the tournament he won in 2017.

"This is a place I really enjoy coming back [to]. After the Australian Open that I had, I wanted to play tournaments before my scheduled tournaments in Acapulco, Indian Wells and Miami. I said Montpellier is the perfect fit for that, and I'm happy to be here."

The same cannot be said for Gael Monfils, who suffered a crushing 6-1 6-2 defeat to Mikael Ymer on home soil.

The Swede was practically flawless throughout, winning a whopping 83 per cent of points on first serve and 89 per cent on second, with Monfils never even sniffing out a single opportunity to break back.

Richard Gasquet is a force to be reckoned with in Montpellier and reached another quarter-final, seeing off South Korean's Kwon Soon-woo 7-5 6-4.

Frenchman Gasquet reached six consecutive finals in Montpellier while in his prime years, being crowned champion in 2013, 2015 and 2016, and finishing runner-up in 2014, 2017 and 2018. Now 35, his last quarter-final appearance in an ATP main tour event came in August at Winston-Salem.

Gasquet's fellow Frenchman Mannarino sank the hopes of defending champion David Goffin, scoring a sparkling 6-4 6-2 victory.

Fourth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, who lost twice to Andy Murray in Australia last month, this time fell to world number 152 Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina, sliding to a 6-1 5-7 6-2 defeat. Basilashvili, the world number 21, now has a record of played five, lost five, for the 2022 season.

At the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune, there was a surprise defeat for Russian top seed Aslan Karatsev. Karatsev won a title in Sydney last month before losing to Mannarino in the third round of the Australian Open, and in his first match since that disappointment he slumped 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer.

Three seeds joined Ymer in the quarter-finals, with Jiri Vesely, Emil Ruusuvuori and Stefano Travaglia all making smooth progress without dropping a set. Vesely faces Ruusuvuori on Friday, while Travaglia awaits Ymer.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will combine for Team Europe in this year's Laver Cup.

Nadal became the record holder for men's singles grand slam titles on Sunday, as he came from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open.

Federer, who like Novak Djokovic has 20 grand slam titles to his name, has not featured since losing to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year.

The Swiss star is recovering from a knee injury and chose to sit out the season's first major in Melbourne.

However, injury permitting, the great rivals will team up to represent Team Europe in London in September.

Europe have won the last four editions of the tournament, though neither Nadal nor Federer featured in 2021.

"The Laver Cup is such a unique event and I've loved competing in it," said Nadal, who has played in the competition on two occasions previously.

"I suggested to Roger we should play doubles together in London and he seems keen, so now we just need to persuade our captain Bjorn [Borg].

"Roger has been a huge part of my career, a big rival and also a true friend. To be part of Team Europe together is great and if we're able to possibly share the court one more time as a doubles pairing then this would be a truly special experience for us both at this stage in our careers."

Federer added: "I'm really looking forward to getting back into competition later this year and Laver Cup is very much part of my plan.

"It's no secret that I love the event and I'm super excited to be returning to The O2 and to London, one of the greatest cities in the world.

"Rafa is an incredible person and an inspiration to me and countless others around the world. He messaged me on social media after the Laver Cup in Boston last year suggesting we play doubles in London and I am definitely up for a Laver Cup 'Fedal' comeback!"

Federer and Nadal have only teamed up for a doubles match once before – in the inaugural Laver Cup back in 2017.

They beat American duo Jack Sock and Sam Querrey in three sets.

Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner have been replaced by Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the upcoming Rotterdam Open.

World number two Medvedev lost a thrilling five-set Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal on Sunday and does not feel ready to compete in the Netherlands.

The Russian explained his decision in a statement on Thursday, while Sinner has had to pull out due to COVID-19.

"Unfortunately I will not play in Rotterdam this year," Medvedev said. 

"I just got back from Australia and am not ready to compete. Rotterdam is one of the favourite stops. I look forward to coming back in the future."

Roberto Bautista Agut and Borna Coric had already pulled out of the competition. Tournament director Richard Krajicek has confirmed that Murray and Tsonga, who won the event in 2009 and 2017 respectively, will now take part as wild cards.

Andrey Rublev is the reigning champion in Rotterdam after beating Marton Fucsovics in last year's final.

Top seed Diego Schwartzman cruised into the quarter-finals of the Cordoba Open after a straight-sets win over countryman Juan Pablo Ficovich on Wednesday.

World number 14 Schwartzman triumphed 6-3 6-2, converting three of five break points to win in one hour and 10 minutes.

Schwartzman will face Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan who progressed with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory over Jaume Munar.

Eighth seed Pedro Martinez was eliminated by Argentina wildcard Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Londero will face Serbian Nikola Milojevic, another lucky loser, who got past wild card Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

Roger Federer still has the drive to return to the ATP Tour but is yet to run and is still months away in his recovery from a third knee operation.

The 40-year-old 20-time grand slam winner missed last month's Australian Open after a knee operation in August.

Federer has not played since a quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon last year and previously said he would be "incredibly surprised" if he was fit to play at the event in 2022.

"It's a very important next few months ahead of me," Federer said at a sponsor's event on Wednesday. "I'll know a whole lot more in April what my body is going to be like.

"Up until now I was not able to run yet and do the heavy workload. I hope that starts in the next couple of weeks and then we'll see how my body reacts.

"For now, the drive is there. I'm really motivated to do my work and what I'm allowed to do. I'd love to do way more, but the doctors are holding me back a bit."

The eight-time Wimbledon champion elaborated on his recovery, revealing he hopes to put weight on his knee again in the coming weeks.

"I can still not run. But I'm working daily in the gym," Federer said. "I really hope that I can put weight on my knee again in two to three weeks. Then we'll see how the body reacts so we can hit the ball again in April or May."

He added: "Of course I wish that everything could go quicker. But the doctors don't want me to overdo everything."

Alexander Bublik moved into the quarter-finals of the Open Sud de France as he continues to put a poor Australian Open behind him.

Bublik is seeded sixth in Montpellier but is coming off a second-round exit at the hands of Gael Monfils in Melbourne.

However, the world number 35 moved into the last eight on Wednesday, though he needed three sets to do so against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the qualifier taking the second set to force a decider.

Bublik claimed a 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 win and will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarters. 

Bautista Agut claimed the first set against Gilles Simon 6-4 and was 3-2 up in the second when the Frenchman retired injured. 

Besides Filip Krajinovic's 6-4 7-6 (7-2) defeat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the rest of the day's action comprised of round of 32 matchups. Seventh seed Ugo Humbert crashed out in three sets to four-time champion Richard Gasquet, while Adrian Mannarino and Mackenzie McDonald both prevailed.

Meanwhile, at the Tata Open Maharashtra, Lorenzo Musetti claimed his first win of 2022 following an impressive 2021.

The 19-year-old, who progressed to the last 16 at Roland Garros last year, fought back from losing the first-set tie-break to defeat Aleksandar Vukic in three sets.

"Aleksandar was playing good, he was serving really big, and I tried to stay calm even in the second set, [which] I didn't win. It didn't go the way that I planned. But the third set was a really great set," Musetti said.

"I stayed really focused with the right attitude and I won a great match with a tough opponent. I'm really happy to be here and to be in the quarter-finals."

Also victorious in Pune were Joao Sousa, Daniel Altmaier and Kamil Majchrzak, whom Musetti will face next.

Rafael Nadal is motivated to win more grand slams than rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic come the end of the trio's careers, but he believes he will need more than 21 to achieve that.

Spaniard Nadal sealed a record 21st grand slam title on Sunday at the Australian Open, beating Daniil Medvedev 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 in a marathon five hours and 24 minutes.

It was only the second Australian Open title of Nadal's decorated career and put him out ahead of Djokovic and Federer (both 20) as the man to have won the most grand slams of all time.

Nadal worried his career was over just a matter of weeks ago as he struggled to recover from the foot injury that has affected a large part of his career.

He abandoned a stop-start 2021 season in August and missed Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open, leaving many to wonder if Nadal would ever be a force at the top level again.

Now, the 35-year-old is the man to beat once more, although he suspects he will need to add more major titles to his name to ensure he is ahead of his two great rivals when their careers are over.

"A short time ago I would have accepted just being able to just play tennis and not to win any more grand slams, but now I have 21," he told a media conference. 

"My way of seeing it doesn't change. I want to be the one with more grand slams at the end of the careers of the three of us, because nowadays it is the three of us. Yes, I would like that, but I am not obsessed by it and it does not frustrate me that I might not be the one. 

"Honestly, I don't think that 21 will be enough to end up being who has more grand slams, but the future will tell what will happen. Again, I feel fortunate in this life.

"All three of us have won more than we could have dreamed when we were kids. I understand the debate of who is the best, and it feeds the fans, but I don't think about it like that. As always, I try to do it my way and not focus on others.

"I follow my way and if that allows me to have options to fight in order to have more moments like the ones I've just had, it will be welcome. I will fight for it and I hope to keep having chances if my physical condition allows me."

Nadal's focus now turns to the Indian Wells Masters, which starts on March 10, with it appearing unlikely he will play in Acapulco a fortnight earlier. 

"My first priority is to try to analyse how I am after the Australian Open," he added. "I need a few days and then I will analyse things with calm and clarity. 

"For Indian Wells, I would say I have the maximum determination to go if there isn't any setbacks. For Acapulco, I would like to be there but I have to make a smart choice. The perspective has changed and I do have to take decisions according to what my body allows me."