Frances Tiafoe has not found much success at the Indian Wells Masters, but the young American is off to a strong start this year after defeating Benoit Paire 6-4 6-4 on Thursday. 

Playing in his first match since a fourth-round loss at the US Open, the world number 49 eased past the man ranked one spot below him, reaching the second round at the event for the first time since 2016. 

Tiafoe came up with the big shots when he needed them, converting four of five chances to break Paire's serve, as the veteran suffered 30 unforced errors to just 20 winners. 

"I definitely took a long time off after the Open, the longest time I’ve taken in the middle of the season in a while, so [I was] a little rusty in the beginning and in the days leading up I wasn’t feeling great," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview.

"Happy to just get a first round under my belt. Obviously tonight was up and down, Benoit wasn’t having the best of days, but you take that."

Tiafoe will face his 32nd-seeded countryman Sebastian Korda next. 

NISHIKORI GOOD AS EVER IN DECIDER

Kei Nishikori is among the most reliable players on the ATP Tour in deciding sets, and he prevailed in the third yet again with a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 defeat of qualifier Joao Sousa. 

Only world number one Novak Djokovic has a better winning percentage than Nishikori's 147-55 mark (72.8) in deciders, and the Japanese veteran put away Sousa with relative ease after dropping the first-set tie-breaker. 

Nishikori hit 40 winners with 23 unforced errors in the match, to Sousa's 22 winners and 20 unforced errors. He moves on to face 18th seed Daniel Evans in the second round. 

PAUL SPOILS LOPEZ MILESTONE

Feliciano Lopez achieved a milestone just by stepping on the court as he set a record by appearing in his 139th ATP Masters 1000 event – one more than Roger Federer – but that was the only positive as the 40-year-old Spaniard fell to Tommy Paul 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

The 24-year-old American, ranked 60th in the world, won 70 per cent of his service points to prevail in his Indian Wells debut. 

Another tournament newcomer, Germany's Daniel Altmaier, defeated former quarter-finalist Sam Querrey 6-2 6-4 in just over an hour. 

Another USA veteran, Steve Johnson lost 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-5 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who also is playing the event for the first time. 

Domestic abuse allegations made against Alexander Zverev are being investigated by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the governing body has confirmed.

Zverev's former partner Olga Sharypova alleged in an interview last year that the German physically and emotionally abused her during a tournament in Shanghai in 2019.

World number four Zverev has strenuously denied the allegations.

After commissioning an Independent Safeguarding Report earlier this year, with the aim of ensuring all adults and minors involved in professional tennis are safe and protected from abuse, the ATP is now looking into the claims made by Sharypova.

A statement on Monday read: "The ATP fully condemns any form of violence or abuse and will investigate such allegations related to conduct at an ATP member tournament."

ATP chief executive Massimo Calvelli added: "The allegations raised against Alexander Zverev are serious and we have a responsibility to address them. 

"We hope our investigation will allow us to establish the facts and determine appropriate follow-up action. 

"We understand Zverev welcomes our investigation and acknowledge that he has denied all allegations. 

"We will also be monitoring any further legal developments following the preliminary injunction obtained by Zverev in the German Courts."

Casper Ruud rolled past Cameron Norrie at the San Diego Open for this fifth ATP Tour title of the season.

Ruud – the second seed – was too strong for Brit Norrie, winning 6-0 6-2 in Sunday's ATP 250 final.

Norway's Ruud earned his first hard-court trophy at the expense of Norrie and Tour-leading fifth title of 2021, ahead of world number one Novak Djokovic, US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Olympic Games gold medallist Alexander Zverev (all four).

Ruud broke serve five times to boost his chances of qualifying for next month's ATP Finals in Turin.

"Special thanks to Rod, obviously the legend. I think you need to come to all my matches now because I'm playing really good when you come and watch," Ruud said after receiving the trophy from Rod Laver.

"I hope you will come to Indian Wells next week to watch, so let's see [what happens there]!"

Jannik Sinner eased to another Sofia Open title with a 6-3 6-4 final win over Gael Monfils in a battle of the top two seeds.

Sinner's first ATP Tour final had come at this event in 2020, where he opened his account by beating Vasek Pospisil in three sets – a sterner test than he was given by Monfils.

The Italian had since tasted victory twice more, while Monfils' previous final had been in February 2020, although his success this week extended a run of seasons with final appearances to 17 in a row.

The most recent three of the Frenchman's prior 31 had ended in glory, but he was no match for defending champion Sinner.

The 20-year-old had already passed up a break point before consecutive superb forehand winners brought the breakthrough, the second clipping the net on its way through.

A marathon rally saved the second of two break points Sinner faced in the seventh game, yet that was as close as he came to being stopped.

After Sinner served out the opener, Monfils paid the price for losing his focus at the start of the second, adamant he had landed the first point of the set inside the line as a narrow call went against him.

Monfils' wild backhand then went long to give Sinner the lead in the second, one he never relinquished as he coasted through to serve out the match to love.

"I'm happy to be one more time the winner here in Sofia," Sinner said. "I think it's a very, very nice tournament.

"For sure it was the best match [he played in the tournament], because I had to. It's never easy to play against him. We've had very tough matches, I think everyone knows that.

"Today, in the [key] moments, I was a little bit luckier than him, so that helped a lot."

Cameron Norrie and Casper Ruud will meet in the San Diego Open final after top seed Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov were beaten.

There was an upset at the ATP 250 tournament, where Russian star Rublev fell to Norrie 3-6 6-3 6-4 in San Diego on Saturday.

Norrie clinched his third career top-10 win as the Brit looks to secure his second ATP Tour-level title on Sunday.

"It's nice to get some revenge. He beat me easily last time, so it's good to see I've improved a little bit," said Norrie, who lost to Rublev in St Petersburg last year.

Standing in Norrie's way is second seed Ruud, who saw off former world number three Dimitrov 6-4 4-6 6-4.

Norway's Ruud – ranked 10th in the world – has the chance to win his fifth title of the season, the most of any player on the ATP circuit.

Norrie holds a 41-19 win-loss record in 2021 and the 26-year-old added ahead of Sunday's decider: "I'm just trying to enjoy today and then I'll try to rest up and get ready for [the final].

"I've been watching both of them this week and they've been playing some of their top level. I'm looking forward to that one tomorrow."

Reigning champion Jannik Sinner is through to the Sofia Open final following a straight-sets victory over Filip Krajinovic on Saturday.

The top seed is targeting his third ATP title of the season, having already triumphed in Melbourne and Washington.

And the Italian is yet to drop a set in the Bulgarian capital as he boosted his bid to reach next month’s ATP Finals with a 6-3 7-5 success.

Breaks were exchanged in the opening set before Sinner edged his nose in front, while he recovered from 5-2 down in the second by reeling off five successive games to prevail.

"It was a very tough match against [Krajinovic]," Sinner said. "We practise at times together, so we know each other's games a little.

"There was a chance to go to a tie-break, which I luckily avoided. I am happy to be in the final here again."

His opponent in the final will be second seed Gael Monfils, who also advanced in straight sets after defeating Marcos Giron 7-5 6-0.

Though 4-2 down in the opening set, the world number 20 won 11 of the next 12 games against the American, who was appearing in his first tour-level semi-final having defeated Alex de Minaur along the way.

The Frenchman's progression means he has now reached at least one ATP final in each of the last 17 years; a tally only eclipsed by Rafael Nadal (18).

"I am very happy as I was very solid - it was a very physical match with lots of long rallies," said Monfils, who also reached the semi-finals in Metz last week.

"I felt in his rhythm he was crushing the ball, so I wanted to change the speed a little and come to the net a little and step in. I think that was key for me."

Andrey Rublev needed almost two hours but his punishing forehand helped him to victory over Diego Schwartzman in the San Diego Open quarter-finals on Friday.

Top seed Rublev won 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 52 minutes over the Argentine, who kept on coming throughout the contest.

The Russian world number five's victory books his spot in the last four where he will face Briton Cameron Norrie, who upset fourth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-1.

Rublev is featuring in his eighth semi-final of the calendar year and chasing his first title since winning in Rotterdam in February.

He had been a break up in the second set after dominating the first, but Schwartzman broke back.

The second set appeared destined for a tie-break with Schwartzman up 40-0 on serve at 5-6, before Rublev won the next five points to claim victory.

"The second set was very tough and enjoyable for the spectators to watch," Rublev said. "Every game was really tough with amazing points and the set could have gone either way."

Second seed Casper Ruud defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-4 to book his semi-final spot where he will meet Grigor Dimitrov who beat Aslan Karatsev in three sets.

Ruud's win improved his 2021 record to 45-12, with the 22-year-old Norwegian rising to a ranking of 10.

Andrey Rublev needed almost two hours but his punishing forehand helped him to victory over Diego Schwartzman in the San Diego Open quarter-finals on Friday.

Top seed Rublev won 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 52 minutes over the Argentine, who kept on coming throughout the contest.

The Russian world number five's victory books his spot in the last four where he will face Briton Cameron Norrie, who upset fourth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-1.

Rublev is featuring in his eighth semi-final of the calendar year and chasing his first title since winning in Rotterdam in February.

He had been a break up in the second set after dominating the first, but Schwartzman broke back.

The second set appeared destined for a tie-break with Schwartzman up 40-0 on serve at 5-6, before Rublev won the next five points to claim victory.

"The second set was very tough and enjoyable for the spectators to watch," Rublev said. "Every game was really tough with amazing points and the set could have gone either way."

Second seed Casper Ruud defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-4 to book his semi-final spot where he will meet Grigor Dimitrov who beat Aslan Karatsev in three sets.

Ruud's win improved his 2021 record to 45-12, with the 22-year-old Norwegian rising to a ranking of 10.

Jannik Sinner recovered from a slow start to reach the semi-finals of the Sofia Open with a straight-sets victory over James Duckworth.

The top seed won just two points across the first three games but took a first set that featured four breaks and lasted over an hour.

Duckworth broke in the first game of the second but eventually ceded that advantage and the frustrated Australian could not prevent Sinner from breaking again to claim a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win to set up a last-four clash with Filip Krajinovic, who prevailed in three sets against Kamil Majchrzak.

Gael Monfils will feature in the other semi-final after brushing aside Gianluca Mager 6-2 6-2, booking a meeting with American Marcos Giron.

It is a second semi-final in as many weeks for Monfils, who also reached the last four in Metz.

Giron will contest his first Tour-level semi-final following a 6-4 6-2 defeat of John Millman.

"Nothing is easy," Monfils said. "We have been putting in work for nearly four days here. Working on my serve and my forehand and it worked perfectly today. I will be ready for Marcos. He has been playing very well, so I think it will be a tough semi-final."

Andy Murray's stay in San Diego was short-lived, as the veteran fell to second seed Casper Ruud in straight sets Thursday. 

World number 10 Ruud prevailed 7-5 6-4 over the three-time grand slam winner, rolling to victory after a shaky start. 

Murray broke Ruud in the 22-year-old's second service game of the match, but could not maintain the advantage as Ruud converted five of six break points in the match. 

Ruud will face ninth seed Lorenzo Sonego, who defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4 6-3, saving six of seven break points against his own serve while converting all three of his chances on Korda's. 

Fourth seed Denis Shapovalov defeated Taylor Fritz 7-6 (9-7) 6-2, saving six set points in the process. 

The Canadian moves on to a quarter-final meeting with Cameron Norrie, who downed Daniel Evans 7-6 (7-3) 6-3. 

Grigor Dimitrov dominated August Holmgren 6-1 6-1 in 56 minutes, winning 83 per cent of his service points.

Dimitrov next faces Aslan Karatsev, who rallied to upset fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz 5-7 6-4 6-2. 

Alex de Minaur was again stunned by Marcos Giron as the third seed crashed out of the Sofia Open in the second round. 

Following his success over De Minaur at the Moselle Open last week, Giron beat the world number 26 once more as he battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2) victory in two hours. 

The unseeded American, appearing for the first time in Sofia, rallied from a break down in the second set to reach an ATP Tour quarter-final - where he will meet John Millman - for the fourth time this season. 

Millman, who is seeded eighth, lost the first set against qualifier Illya Marchenko but recovered well to comfortably triumph 5-7 7-6 (7-0) 6-3. 

However, it was far more straightforward for the other favourites, with top seed Jannik Sinner avoiding a second-set blip to defeat Egor Gerasimov 6-2 7-6 (7-3) and Gael Monfils getting a walkover against Ilya Ivashka. 

Number five seed Filip Krajinovic coasted past fellow Serbian Laslo Djere 6-3 6-0 in just over an hour to set up a quarter-final tie with Kamil Majchrzak. 

In Thursday's other match, world number 56 James Duckworth smashed Benoit Paire 6-4 6-4 in just an hour and 15 minutes to collect his 11th win in his past 12 outings. 

Duckworth, who reached his first ATP Tour final in Nur-Sultan last week, will now challenge defending champion Sinner in the next round. 

Top seed Andrey Rublev brushed aside Brandon Nakashima in just over an hour to clinch a spot in the San Diego Open quarter-finals.

Rublev – the world number five – won 6-2 6-1 over local 20-year-old Nakashima at the ATP 250 tournament on Wednesday.

Nakashima claimed only two of 18 second serve points for the match, with Rublev breaking him six times and triumphing in one hour, two minutes midweek.

The result improves 2021 Australian Open quarter-finalist Rublev's record to 45-15 this calendar year.

Rublev will take on sixth seed Diego Schwartzman, who rallied to defeat Lloyd Harris 4-6 6-3 6-2 in San Diego.

Fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz moved into the next round with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 victory over Australian qualifier Alex Bolt.

Hurkacz will face Russian and 2021 Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev in the round of 16.

Daniel Evans – the eighth seed – overcame former Wimbledon and US Open runner-up Kevin Anderson 7-6 (13-11) 7-5 after more than two hours on court.

Evans will meet countryman Cam Norrie next.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Indian Wells Open, the tournament confirmed on Wednesday. 

World number one Djokovic was set to return to action at the rescheduled event after losing the US Open final to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. 

However, the Serbian – one of two five-time winners of the competition alongside Roger Federer – has decided to pull out for an unspecified reason.

"I am sorry I won't get to see my fans in Indian Wells and play in the desert, my favourite place to go. I hope to see you next year!" Djokovic said in a statement. 

Tournament director Tommy Haas added: "We are disappointed that Novak will not be able to joins us at the BNP Paribas Open this fall. 

"We hope to see him back in Tennis Paradise next March to contend for a record-setting sixth title in the desert." 

Djokovic's defeat against Medvedev in Flushing Meadows ended his hopes of claiming a record-breaking 21st major title, the 34-year-old having already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in 2021. 

He fell short in his aim to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors in a single season but has already booked his place at this year's ATP Finals. 

Fifth seed Filip Krajinovic made a comfortable start to his Sofia Open campaign on Wednesday, defeating Alexandar Lazarov 6-0 6-3.

Krajinovic was the only seeded player in action and he was dominant against home hope Lazarov, who is ranked 462 in the world.

The Serbian swept the first set without conceding a break point and finished the job by claiming the last four games in the second despite Lazarov putting up more of a fight.

Elsewhere, Krajinovic's compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic crashed out to Italian Gianluca Mager, who fired down 11 aces and forced 10 break-point opportunities to earn an impressive 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win.

Australian James Duckworth, meanwhile, had to launch a comeback before ultimately prevailing 3-6 6-4 6-4 against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori to book a round two match with Benoit Paire.

The number one seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner will begin his campaign on Thursday with a last-16 contest against Egor Gerasimov.

Second seed Gael Monfils will play Ilya Ivashka, who defeated Pablo Andujar in straight sets, with the winner to face Mager, who is the first man in the quarter-finals.

Alex de Minaur will also be in action against American Marcos Giron.

Former world number one Andy Murray earned a second-round clash with Casper Ruud at the San Diego Open after easing past lucky loser Denis Kudla in straight sets.

Murray – a three-time grand slam champion – defeated Kudla 6-3 6-2 in just over an hour, winning an outstanding 28 of 31 (90 per cent) first-serve points on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old Murray was also on top on return, converting three of four break-point opportunities against Kudla, to complete a comprehensive display.

Murray – currently ranked 116th in the world – will face second seed Ruud next at the ATP 250 tournament.

Elsewhere, Grigor Dimitrov was made to work for his 6-3 1-6 7-5 victory over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

Former world number three Dimitrov triumphed in two hours, seven minutes, confirming a spot in the second round, where he will face US Open semi-finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Diego Schwartzman – the sixth seed – progressed with a 6-2 6-3 win over Italian qualifier Federico Gaio.

Young American Sebastian Korda beat Tommy Paul 6-3 5-7 6-1 in more than two hours, while ninth seed Lorenzo Sonego, Cameron Norrie and Lloyd Harris were also victorious.