Andy Murray snapped a six-match losing streak as he beat Alexandre Muller 6-1 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Qatar Open.

The 36-year-old held his nerve in a tight second set tie-break to secure his first win since October 2023 and renew hopes of a late career swansong.

Victory over the world number 75 seemed imperative if Murray was to continue to quell retirement talk and progress in a tournament in which he reached the final last year.

He eased into a 3-0 lead against the French qualifier and spurned two break points for a 4-0 advantage before a brief interruption as he sought treatment for an apparent knee injury.

Murray showed few ill effects as he completed a one-sided first set but Muller became more aggressive at the start of the second and sought to capitalise on his opponent’s restricted movement.

The Scot fought off a series of break points before grabbing a break of his own with his first opportunity in the seventh game, only to surrender his lead immediately and allow Muller to haul back level.

Muller held the advantage for much of the tie-break and looked set to level the match when he led 5-3, but Murray dug deep to reel off four points in a row and seal victory and set up a second-round clash with 18-year-old Jakub Mensik.

Murray said on court: “The last few months have been tough on court for me. I’ve clearly not won many matches and lost a lot of close ones as well.

“I’m proud I managed to get through the match and get another win, happy for my team who have been working hard trying to find solutions. Hopefully this is the start of a better run.”

Cameron Norrie hit the ground running at the Rio Open on Monday, defeating Bolivian player Hugo Dellien 6-3 6-2 in Brazil.

The world number 23 saved the only break point he faced as he breezed into the second round in one hour and 21 minutes.

In his on-court interview after the match, Norrie said he was happy with how he bounced back after a first-round exit in Argentina last week.

He said: “I served much better than last week, and I was a bit more patient and knew I had to play point for point and really make the rallies a bit longer.

“I think I learned from last week with that, and just happy to be back in Brazil.”

He will face off with Chilean player Tomas Barrios Vera next, after the world number 120 knocked out Brazilian wild card Gustavo Heide 7-5 6-3.

Norrie won the top prize at last year’s Rio Open, defeating world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

Andy Murray has vowed to keep playing tennis as he looks for an end to his losing run.

The former world number one has lost his last six matches stretching back to October and slipped to 50th in the ATP rankings.

The 36-year-old has faced questions about his future but, ahead of playing in next week’s Qatar Open, he has shared his determination to keep going.

“I can do whatever I want,” Murray told Sky Sports Tennis.

“I don’t have to do what fans or journalists or anyone is telling me to do.

“I’m qualifying for all of these tournaments on my right, on my ranking from the matches I’ve won. I want to keep playing just now. I’m not going to stop.”

Murray will face a qualifier in the first round of the Qatar Open, a competition he won in 2008 and 2009 and finished runner-up in 2017 and 2023.

The three-time grand slam singles champion admits he has found his start to the year hard, but is hoping he can return to form.

He added: “Tennis-wise it hasn’t been a great start to the year. I’ve never experienced a period like this as a professional. It’s been difficult, a new experience for me (which) is not the nicest, but good to experience new things and try and learn from them.

“I was never a great practice player, I didn’t used to win practice matches, exhibition matches. It’s been the complete opposite for me recently.

“I know there’s better tennis in me than I’m showing just now, but I’m hoping I can turn it around.”

Iga Swiatek will take on Elena Rybakina as she bids for a third consecutive title at the Qatar Open.

The world number one did not even have to take to the court on Friday, earning a semi-final walkover when opponent Karolina Pliskova withdrew because of a back problem.

The Czech dashed to Doha after winning the Transylvania Open title in Romania on Sunday but decided she could not push her body any further.

Rybakina is also attempting to win back-to-back titles after triumphing at the Abu Dhabi Open last week, and she ended the impressive run of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a 6-2 6-4 victory in the last four.

It was closer than the scoreline indicates, with Rybakina saving eight of the nine break points she faced. Pavlyuchenkova won three games in a row from 5-1 down in the second set but could not force a decider.

Rybakina has proved one of the most difficult opponents for Swiatek, with the Kazakh number one winning their last three meetings, all last season.

Rybakina prevailed in straight sets on hard courts at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells before Swiatek retired in the third set of their clash on clay in Rome.

Rybakina, who has now won eight straight matches, said: “First I will try to recover because I played so many matches. Iga’s a great champion so it’s going to be very difficult but I’ll try to enjoy it as much as I can.”

Naomi Osaka’s run at the Qatar Open ended in the quarter-finals with a narrow defeat by Karolina Pliskova.

The former world number one was through to the last eight at a tournament for the first time in nearly two years following her maternity break but she could not capitalise on good starts in both sets.

Instead it was Pliskova, champion at the Transylvania Open last week, who continued her winning run by triumphing in two tie-breaks for a 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5) victory.

The Czech moves on to face top seed and two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek, who remained unstoppable in Doha, defeating Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-0.

Having trailed 4-3 in the opening set, world number one Swiatek raced through nine games in a row to stay on course for a third straight title.

The other semi-final will be between in-form third seed Elena Rybakina and unseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Pavlyuchenkova matched her best run at a WTA 1000 with a 7-5 6-4 win over Danielle Collins while Rybakina came from 4-1 down in the first set to defeat Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-2.

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s Qatar Open after announcing he is “not ready to compete”.

The 22-time grand slam singles winner, who missed the Australian Open due to a hip injury, had been hoping to feature in the ATP 250 event in Doha.

But the 37-year-old will now target next month’s BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells for his return to competitive action.

Nadal posted on his social media: “I would have loved to play in Doha, where the tournament team, as well as the amazing Qatar fans have always supported me greatly.

“Unfortunately I am not ready to compete and I won’t be able to come to Doha where I really wanted to be and play again after that unforgettable win in 2014.

“I will focus on keep working to be ready for the exhibition in Las Vegas and the amazing Indian Wells tournament.”

Nadal made his comeback at the Brisbane International in January after spending a year on the sidelines due to a long-term hip problem.

The Spaniard sustained a muscle tear near his hip in his quarter-final defeat to Jordan Thompson in Brisbane, but scans revealed it was not in the same area.

Naomi Osaka has reached the quarter-finals at a tournament for the first time in nearly two years.

The four-time grand slam champion was given free passage through to the last eight at the Qatar Open after opponent Lesia Tsurenko withdrew because of injury ahead of their scheduled contest.

Osaka returned to the tour in January following the birth of daughter Shai last summer and had won only one of her first four matches prior to heading to Doha.

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But the Japanese star has hit form in the Qatari capital, reversing her Australian Open loss to Caroline Garcia in the first round and then defeating Croat Petra Martic.

It is her best run since she reached the final of the Miami Open in April 2022, losing to Iga Swiatek.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova’s difficult start to the year continued with a 7-5 6-3 loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen was beaten 7-5 6-3 by Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.

Coco Gauff lost six games in a row in a shock defeat by Katerina Siniakova at the Qatar Open.

Making her first appearance since losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the Australian Open last month, Gauff was out of sorts and fell to a 6-2 6-4 defeat.

The American second seed looked to have turned things around after losing the opening set when she eased into a 4-0 lead in the second set.

But Czech Siniakova, better known for her achievements in the doubles game, responded with six games in a row for one of the biggest singles victories of her career.

Melbourne runner-up Zheng Qinwen, playing her first match as a top-10 player, came through 6-2 2-6 6-3 against Magda Linette, while teenager Linda Noskova, who was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, upset seventh seed Maria Sakkari 3-6 7-6 (2) 7-5.

Leylah Fernandez recovered from losing the first set to love to defeat Paula Badosa 0-6 6-2 6-3 and Victoria Azarenka was a 7-6 (2) 6-2 winner over Wang Xinyu.

Emma Raducanu squandered set point in a second-set tie-break as she lost 0-6 6-7 (6) to Anhelina Kalinina in the opening round of the Qatar Open.

Raducanu had been granted a wild card for the first WTA 1000 event of the season in Doha, but slipped to a fourth defeat in seven matches since returning from injury.

The British number seven rallied bravely in the second set against Ukrainian Kalinina after a one-sided first set, which lasted little over half an hour.

Raducanu saved two match points at 6-5 down in the second set to force a tie-break and was one point away from squaring the match while leading that 6-5.

But world number 30 Kalinina held her nerve and will now face Latvia’s eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.

Kalinina won the opening game of the match on Raducanu’s serve and broke the Brit twice more, while comfortably holding her own serve without facing any break points to take the opening set 6-0.

Raducanu came under immediate pressure at the start of the second set, losing her serve for the fourth consecutive time before responding to break back and win her first game of the match.

The following eight games all went with serve, with Raducanu saving five break points to lead 4-3.

After being broken for a fifth time in the match to trail 6-5, the Briton responded again, saving two match points against Kalinina’s serve to force a tie-break.

Raducanu served for the set at 6-5 up in the tie-break, but lost the next two points on her serve and Kalinina sealed victory on her third match point.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner can join Novak Djokovic as members of a new 'Big Three' in men's tennis over the coming years, before taking up the Serbian's mantle when he retires.

That is the view of four-time grand slam semi-finalist Tommy Haas, who believes Sinner's sheer power will help him build on the Australian Open title he captured last month.

Sinner recovered from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling Australian Open final in January, claiming his first grand slam title at the age of 22.

The Italian's triumph made him the third-youngest man to win the event since it moved to Melbourne Park in 1988, older only than Djokovic in 2008 and Jim Courrier in 1992.

That breakout victory led to suggestions that Sinner could join Alcaraz in becoming a regular challenger to Djokovic, who has largely dominated men's tennis in recent years, with Roger Federer retiring in 2022 and Rafael Nadal beset by injury problems.  

While Haas believes Alcaraz is currently a more rounded player than Sinner, he feels the Italian has every chance of adding to his first major crown in the coming years.

"Maybe with Al, it's a bit more of an all-round game, but I think Sinner is going to continue to work on his," Haas told Stats Perform. 

"He's already done a great job on movement, on defence. Maybe he doesn't actually need to learn to get to the net and finish more, but I'm sure he's going to try because of his powerful groundstrokes.

"If he keeps playing like he does, it's just so powerful. You're going to be reacting pretty much all the time against him.

"He's going to try to improve his serve, he's going to try to improve physically. If he stays healthy, if Alcaraz stays healthy, these two are going to be the ones playing for a lot of the big titles."

However, Haas also thinks there are other contenders capable of pushing for major honours, adding: "Then you have Holger Rune, you have these other young players coming up.

"He now has to step it up a little bit. I think there's been lots going on with his team, with lots of chefs in the kitchen, but he's got the right mindset, he's got the will, he's got the potential.

"You have [Alexander] Zverev, who obviously still believes he can and should win a slam, so there's a lot of nice contrast there. 

"Medvedev, on hardcourts you can never count him out, and he's only 27. I think there is still potential for those guys to keep doing well.

"[Andrey] Rublev, I feel like he's getting better on defence as well. He pounds the ball like no other. So if he gets a little bit tougher mentally, don't count him out. There's a lot of good storylines there."

Emma Raducanu has been given a wild card into the Qatar Open and will face Anhelina Kalinina in the opening round.

The former US Open champion revealed after losing to Ons Jabeur in the second round of the WTA Tour event in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday that she was hoping to play in Doha.

Her wish has been granted and the 21-year-old, who has won three of her six matches following her return from eight months on the sidelines, will open her campaign against 32nd-ranked Ukrainian Kalinina early next week.

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They have played once before, on the clay courts of Madrid in 2022, with Kalinina winning a close contest in three sets.

The winner of the match will take on big-hitting eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko, who has already won two titles this season.

Raducanu has shown early promise after returning to the tour at the beginning of January following her recovery from three operations last spring, on both wrists and one ankle.

A comprehensive first-round win over Marie Bouzkova in Abu Dhabi saw Raducanu produce some of her best form since her 2021 victory in New York, but she was disappointed by a 6-4 6-1 defeat against Jabeur.

“It was a tough match,” said Raducanu. “Ons is a difficult opponent so credit to her, she played really well and it’s just a match that personally I need to forget about.”

The Qatar tournament, the first WTA 1000 event of the season – the highest level of the tour – sees both Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff playing for the first time since the Australian Open, but Melbourne champion Aryna Sabalenka is not in the field.

Emma Raducanu’s bid to reach the last eight of the Abu Dhabi Open was ended in straight sets by world number six Ons Jabeur.

Britain’s Raducanu has been making encouraging strides on her comeback after eight months out following surgery on her wrists and ankle.

The 21-year-old briefly pushed three-time grand slam finalist Jabeur in a close opening set.

But Tunisian Jabeur, the runner-up at Wimbledon in the previous two years, was ultimately too strong in a 6-4 6-1 victory.

Raducanu dropped serve in the first game of the match and was soon a double break down at 5-1.

But the 2021 US Open champion gradually began to remind everyone of just how cleanly she strikes a ball at her best.

She saved three set points before breaking Jabeur’s serve to trail 5-3, and then a gritty hold brought her to within one game.

However, Jabeur comprehensively held serve in the next to take the first set in 50 minutes.

The second seed converted a third break point to take the initiative at the start of second set.

This time Raducanu, who last reached a quarter-final in September 2022, had no answer to the flurry of winners – Jabeur hit 35 in all – as she bowed out.

“She didn’t make it easy for me, obviously,” Jabeur, 29, said in her on-court interview.

“Emma is such an amazing player, I wish her all the best because I know she can play much better. I am a big fan of hers.

“Emma had an amazing experience at the US Open and everybody followed her. She’s had an amazing career.

“Everyone has a different story, we struggle a lot, we go through a lot of things. But a lot of amazing women play on the tour.”

Andy Murray’s miserable run continued with a first-round loss to Tomas Machac at the Open 13 Provence.

The 36-year-old’s 7-5 6-4 defeat by Czech Machac in Marseille was his sixth in a row dating back to October and means he has won only one of his last 10 matches.

Murray has admitted he is weighing up when to retire, but he railed against a suggestion he could be tarnishing his legacy by playing on, writing on X, formerly Twitter last week: “Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit.”

This was not a bad performance against a player on the rise in 23-year-old Machac, ranked 66, but again there were costly lapses.

Murray recovered from an early break and appeared to have the momentum late in the opening set, only for Machac to break serve at 5-5.

The Czech then moved ahead early in the second set and Murray was unable to recover the deficit.

It was a significantly better day, though, for Heather Watson, who claimed her best victory by ranking since 2017 to upset ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 7-5 at the Abu Dhabi Open.

Watson struggled in 2023, but she played confident, aggressive tennis to defeat 16th-ranked Russian Kudermetova and the win could see her break back into the world’s top 130.

“I know she’s such a great player so I knew I had to play really well today,” said Watson, who defeated former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round of qualifying.

“I just focused on what was in my control, my serve and just trying to be as aggressive as I can. I played really well and had a lot of fun out here today.”

Watson joins compatriot Emma Raducanu in the second round and will next face Spaniard Cristina Bucsa.

Harriet Dart, meanwhile, is on the verge of moving back into the top 100 after a 6-4 7-6 (0) victory over Anna Bondar in the opening round of the Transylvania Open in Romania.

Naomi Osaka fell to defeat against Danielle Collins in her opening match at the Abu Dhabi Open.

The four-time grand slam champion made her comeback last month following the birth of her first child, reaching the second round of the Brisbane International before losing a close contest to Caroline Garcia in her opening match at the Australian Open.

Those performances gave plenty of cause for encouragement but Osaka faded badly against American Collins, losing 7-5 6-0.

Rallies were few and far between in a first set dominated by serve until Collins claimed the crucial break at 5-5.

From there, the former Australian Open finalist ran away with the contest, with Osaka committing 20 unforced errors and looking dispirited as she dropped serve four times in a row.

Osaka plans to play a fuller schedule than she did prior to her 15-month break but it is clear the 26-year-old has plenty of work to do if she is to get back to the top of the game.

Collins, who is planning to retire at the end of the season, moves on to a second-round clash with top seed Elena Rybakina.

Emma Raducanu breezed into the last 16 of the Abu Dhabi Open with a 6-4 6-1 win over world number 26 Marie Bouzkova.

Raducanu recovered from a slow start to win 10 of the last 11 games and seal a meeting with second seed Ons Jabeur in the next round.

It was another promising display from the 21-year-old, who had impressed in her first-round win over Shelby Rogers at last month’s Australian Open.

Her aggressive tactics stunned her opponent, a 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, as she hit back from an early break to reel off four games in a row and take the first set.

There was no looking back for Raducanu in the second as she pressed home her advantage to seal another win that suggests her injury problems may be a thing of the past.

Raducanu had returned from eight months out due to multiple wrist and ankle surgeries at the Auckland Open, where she pushed Elina Svitolina to three sets.

And her run in Australia was ended in round two where she defied a stomach bug to push Wang Yafan all the way in a match lasting just five minutes short of three hours.

Raducanu said: “I think in the beginning I was just adjusting to the speed of the court. I hadn’t played on this court this year yet, so I was kind of just adjusting.

“It was pretty quick and also a lot more still than it had been for the week, because it’s been very windy, so it was a different tempo. Marie is a really tough opponent.

“I knew that going in I was going to have to play so many balls and I think in the beginning I was missing a few of the finishing shots, but I cleaned that up so I’m very happy about.”