Novak Djokovic returned to action with an "ugly" win over Ivan Gakhov in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.

The world number one was competing for the first time in five weeks after missing the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open due to being unable to enter the United States.

Djokovic, who has since been cleared to compete in the US Open later this year, faced a spirited challenge from world number 198 Ivan Gakhov but advanced 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

Gakhov broke his somewhat rusty opponent in the seventh game, but Djokovic hit back instantly as the opening set went to a tie-break.

The Serbian appeared rattled at various points, but an unforced error from Gakhov paved the way for Djokovic to open up some day light and take the opener.

The second set went the way of serve until the fifth game, when a double fault from Gakhov gave his opponent the chance to capitalise and see out the win.

"It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "I haven't played my best, particularly in the first set. 

"And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions.

"It's different practising and then playing an official match on clay, where I guess no two bounces are the same. It's always quite unpredictable what's going to happen. 

"But all in all, I'm just pleased with the way I held my nerves I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win."

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced to the last 16 with a walkover win over Benjamin Bonzi, who retired with a wrist injury when 4-1 down in the opening set.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev had a tougher time of things against Jaume Munar as he recovered from a set down to progress 4-6 6-2 6-2

Hubert Hurkacz was the other seeded player in action on Tuesday and defeated Jack Draper 6-3 6-7 (7-3) 7-5.

Dominic Thiem continued to impress at the Estoril Open as he reached the quarter-finals, but second seed Hubert Hurkacz is out in Portugal.

The Austrian backed up his first round win against compatriot Sebastian Ofner with a 6-2 6-2 straight sets triumph against American Ben Shelton.

It takes the 2020 US Open winner into the last-eight where he will face Quentin Halys after the Frenchman beat fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in a 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph.

There will be no Hurkacz however, after the Pole fell to 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2 loss against the unseeded Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Elsewhere, top seeds Lorenzo Musetti and Dan Evans are both through to the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II.

The pair saw straight sets victories see them through the last-16, with the Italian winning 6-2 6-3 against France's Hugo Gaston and the Briton pulling out a 6-1 6-3 victory against Australia's Alexei Popyrin.

Three of the top seeds in the Miami Open field were eliminated on Monday as Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hubert Hurkacz and Frances Tiafoe were all sent packing.

Fifth seed Auger-Aliassime was taken out 6-2 7-5 in one of the biggest wins of Francisco Cerundolo's career, with the Argentine avenging recent losses to the Canadian at both the Australian Open and the Indian Wells Open.

Adrian Mannarino's 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-0) victory over eighth seed Hurkacz was arguably an even bigger upset, as it snapped his streak of nine consecutive losses against top-10 opponents at Masters 1000 events.

The 34-year-old Frenchman absorbed 20 aces from Hurkacz and still came out on top, limiting his own unforced errors to 13 for the match.

A third upset of the day saw unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego play a near faultless match to eliminate 12th seed Tiafoe, finishing the contest with 22 winners and only two unforced errors, while not facing a single break point in the brief 68-minute battle.

There was no drama for Daniil Medvedev as the fourth seed received a walkover against Alex Molcan, and he will face France's Quentin Halys in the fourth round after his 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 triumph over Mackenzie McDonald.

Two seed Stefanos Tsitsipas almost joined the long list of seeded victims, but he prevailed 6-3 4-6 6-4 against Christian Garin in the day's only three-setter.

The Greek star will meet Russian 14th seed Karen Khachanov in the fourth round after his comfortable 6-2 6-4 result over Jiri Lehecka, while unseeded American Christopher Eubanks finished the day's play with a 6-3 7-6 (9-7) defeat of Gregoire Barrere.

Hubert Hurkacz prevailed 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6) in a thrilling three-and-a-half hour battle against Thanasi Kokkinakis during Saturday's second round of the Miami Open.

It was Hurkacz's first match of the tournament after the eighth seed received a bye through the first round, and he came up against a match-fit Kokkinakis after the Australian went three sets in his opening victory.

The world number nine had to save five Kokkinakis match points before sealing the win with his first chance, three hours and 34 minutes after the contest began.

Kokkinakis was not the only Australian on the day to go down in a gruelling three-setter as 15th seed Alex De Minaur fell 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-8) to Quentin Halys in three hours and 20 minutes.

It was far smoother sailing for fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in his 6-1 6-2 triumph over Roberto Carballes Baena, giving the Russian his first win since his 19-match unbeaten streak was ended at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells Open final.

The biggest upset of the day came from France's Gregoire Barrere as he eliminated 11th seed Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-2, before Adrian Mannarino ensured a great day for the French contingent with a 6-4 3-6 6-1 result against Ben Shelton in the late window.

Fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime needed a pair of tiebreakers to dispatch Brazil's Thiago Monteiro 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8), while big-serving 19th seed Matteo Berrettini came out on the wrong side of some tiebreakers in his 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-5) loss to Mackenzie McDonald.

The skid from 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti continued as the 21-year-old went down 6-4 6-4 to Jiri Lehecka, giving the Italian seven losses from his past eight matches.

Karen Khachanov fought off the challenge of recent Chile Open finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1 3-6 6-3, and second seed Stefanos Tsisipas received a walkover as Richard Gasquet withdrew.

Richard Gasquet will get a showcase match against second-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Miami Open after prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-1 against Christopher O'Connell on Thursday.

The biggest names in the field learned their opponents after the 32 seeded entrant received byes into the second round of the Masters 1000 event, and Tsitsipas will be desperate to avoid a third consecutive loss after quick exits at the Rotterdam Open and Indian Wells Open in recent weeks.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev is waiting for Roberto Carbellas Baena after he blew away Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-0 3-0 (retired) in an all-Spanish showdown, while fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will meet Brazil's Thiago Monteiro in the second round after his 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Australia's Jason Kubler.

After O'Connell and Kubler both fell, Thanasi Kokkinakis flew the flag for Australia with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) comeback against Belgian wildcard Zizou Bergs, and his reward will be a battle against Polish eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

France's Gregoire Barrere earned a big matchup against 11th seed Cameron Norrie after eliminating Roman Safiullin 6-4 3-6 6-3, and Safiullin's Russian compatriot Pavel Kotov will join him on an early flight home after going down 6-2 6-2 against recent Chile Open finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Rafael Nadal has dropped out of the world's top 10 men's tennis rankings for the first time in almost 18 years.

Nadal has been in the top 10 ever since April 2005, but on Monday fell to 13th in the ATP rankings after injury forced him to miss Indian Wells.

The 36-year-old's run came to an end on the same day that teenage compatriot Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed his number one spot from Novak Djokovic after beating Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's Indian Wells final.

Nadal is yet to recover from the hip injury that has hampered him since his Australian Open exit to Mackenzie McDonald in January.

Though the 22-time grand slam winner could return to the top 10 once he is back in action, it will not be in the next month as he has also withdrawn from the Miami Masters.

The latest ATP rankings saw Djokovic drop to second place, while Medvedev moved from sixth to fifth, Felix Auger-Aliassime leapt from 10th to sixth, Hubert Hurkacz nudged into the top 10 as he moved up two places to ninth, while Taylor Fritz dropped from fifth to 10th.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz and reigning champion Taylor Fritz both overcame challenges to progress into the third round of the Indian Wells Open on Saturday.

Alcaraz won 6-3 6-3 over Thanasi Kokkinakis in one hour and 18 minutes in his opening match of the event, which also marked his return from a fortnight out with a hamstring injury.

The Spaniard, who reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells last year, could return to the number one ranking with victory at this year's event in the absence of Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz hit 21 winners against the 94th-ranked Australian, dropping only one point on serve in the opening frame.

Fritz went a set down against 2023 Australian Open quarter-finalist Ben Shelton but eventually prevailed 4-6 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes.

Both players were excellent on serve throughout the contest, with Fritz earning a break in the 10th game of the second set to tie up the match, before swooping again in the sixth game of the decisive frame.

Veteran Andy Murray moved into the third round with a 6-4 6-3 win over Radu Albot, with the Briton to take on countryman Jack Draper next. Draper won 6-4 6-2 over 24th seed Daniel Evans.

Murray had been set to face 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round, but he withdrew due to a muscle injury, allowing Albot into the draw as a lucky loser. Murray's win was his first in straight sets since October.

Seventh seed Holger Rune won 7-5 6-3 over American Mackenzie McDonald, progressing to face Stanislas Wawrinka after he toppled 26th seed Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.

Ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz got past Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3 6-3, setting up a third-round clash with 17th seed Tommy Paul who won 6-3 6-3 over Jan-Lennard Struff.

Eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime won 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 over Pedro Martinez, while 11th seed Jannik Sinner got past veteran Richard Gasquet 6-3 7-6 (7-2).

Last week's Mexican Open champion and 16th seed Alex de Minaur was the highest seed to be knocked out on Saturday after a 6-4 6-2 loss to Martin Fucsovics.

Hubert Hurkacz fought off Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi to land the Open 13 Provence title in Marseille on Sunday.

Poland's former Wimbledon semi-finalist scored a 6-3 7-6 (7-4), serving 19 aces as he justified his status as the tournament's top seed.

Hurkacz broke serve in the fourth game of the opening set to seize command of the match, before resisting a determined effort from Bonzi in the second set to force a decider.

A sixth win in seven ATP finals for the 26-year-old Hurkacz came when Bonzi sent a forehand just wide.

The result means Bonzi, playing his second ATP final, has again been kept waiting for a first trophy success at this level, having also lost in the Pune title match to Tallon Griekspoor at the start of the year.

Bonzi, born in nearby Nimes, was hoping to become the first French champion at this event since 2017, when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated compatriot Lucas Pouille in the final.

Hurkacz praised Bonzi in an on-court interview, telling the crowd: "He played really, really well. He deserved to win the second set. I just tried to compete as hard as I can.

"I think my game's getting better, and I'm super happy with the way I competed today. I know you guys wanted Benjamin to win."

Top seed Hubert Hurkacz saw off a spirited Alexander Bublik in straight sets to seal his place in the final of the Open 13 Provence with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win.

The world number 11 wrapped up victory in his semi-final in Marseille without being taken to a deciding third set for the first time during his tournament run.

But he was still forced to fight for the result, after unseeded Kazakhstani Bublik pushed him hard in their encounter.

Hurkacz only broke serve once during the first set and had to hold his nerve in a second-set tie-break to finish the job.

He will face a homegrown opponent in Benjamin Bonzi in the final, after the latter won an all-French last-four encounter with wild card Arthur Fils.

The former saw off his fellow countryman 6-4 6-4 in a straight-sets triumph of his own.

Andy Murray will play Daniil Medvedev in the Qatar Open final after the 35-year-old came through yet another lengthy contest in his semi-final against Jiri Lehecka.

Murray appeared to be on course for a routine win after taking the first set 6-0, but was broken early in the second, eventually losing 6-3 to take him to a fourth three-set contest in four matches this week in Doha.

Lehecka should have won a hard-fought decider when 5-4 and 40-0 up on his own serve, but Murray's trademark resilience saw him break back despite facing five match points against, before ultimately winning the tie-break 8-6.

"I don't know how I managed to turn that match around," Murray said after the win. "In the 5-4 game, I think I played most of the match points really well. He missed one bad shot on the deuce point in that game at 5-4, but I played the match points pretty well.

"It's been an amazing start to the year. I have never experienced this in my whole career, like this many matches... It was sort of looking [like it might be a quicker match] for 30 minutes and then it turned into something completely different. Yeah, just amazing that I managed to turn that around."

Murray equalled Jimmy Connors for the fifth-most ATP hard court wins in the Open Era (489), and will play Medvedev in the final after the Russian's 6-4 7-6 (9-7) win against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Canadian had three set points in the second set tie-break to try and force a decider, but Medvedev showed determination to turn it around and seal his place against Murray in the final.

At the Open 13 Provence, number one seed Hubert Hurkacz is through to face Alexander Bublik in the semi-finals, with both also having to come through three-set matches in a deciding tie-break.

Hurkacz was finally able to overcome Mikael Ymer 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) before Bublik defeated Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 3-6 7-6 (8-6).

Third seed Alex de Minaur was shocked by Benjamin Bonzi, who broke the world number 23 four times on his way to a 6-2 6-4 victory to avenge his third-round defeat at the Australian Open.

Bonzi will meet qualifier Arthur Fils in the final four after the French 18-year-old beat former world number three Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-3 to reach a second straight tour-level semi-final.

Andrey Rublev suffered a first-round defeat to Alex de Minaur on a bad day for the big names at the Rotterdam Open.

Second seed Rublev won this event two years ago but there will be no such run this time around after his 6-4 6-4 loss on Wednesday.

De Minaur broke the world number five early in each set and sealed the win at the first time of asking, moving to a 3-0 head-to-head record against Rublev on hard courts.

The Australian will face Maxime Cressy in the next round, who bounced back from his Open Sud de France final defeat by beating Tim van Rijthoven.

Jannik Sinner saw off Cressy in that Montpellier showdown and the Italian carried that form into this tournament, though he needed three sets to overcome Benjamin Bonzi.

Frenchman Bonzi forced a decider but Sinner regained his composure in the final set to prevail 6-2 3-6 6-1 and set up a heavyweight clash with top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

There was no such progress for Alexander Zverev, who joined Rublev in suffering an early exit.

The German came unstuck 4-6 6-3 6-4 to home favourite Tallon Griekspoor, whose four wins over top-20 opponents have all come in Rotterdam.

Stan Wawrinka, the champion in 2015 and runner-up four years later, will face the winner of that tie, after he beat Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

Holger Rune reached the semi-finals in Montpellier, and like Sinner the fourth seed progressed into round two, claiming a routine straight-sets victory over qualifier Constant Lestienne.

"It was tricky. It's a lot about finding the rhythm here in the beginning of the tournament and first match you have to really be on your toes, especially I played a qualifier today who already has two matches in his bag," Rune said.

"It made it more difficult, but I'm happy how I handled every situation today."

Hubert Hurkacz was another seed to fall out, with the world number 10 going down 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) to Grigor Dimitrov.

Iga Swiatek dragged Poland into the semi-finals of the United Cup with inspired performances in her singles and doubles matches against Italy.

Poland trailed after Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Berrettini secured wins against Daniel Michalski and Hubert Hurkacz respectively, only for Swiatek and Magda Linette to level things with respective singles victories over Martina Trevisan and Lucia Bronzetti.

That sent the Brisbane city final to a decider in the mixed doubles, which Swiatek and Hurkacz won with ease 6-1 6-2 against Musetti and Camilla Rosatello, though there was a pause in the second set to dry rainfall on the court.

Despite defeat, Italy also advanced to the final four as the city finals loser with the best record.

It was more routine in Sydney as the United States eased to a 4-1 win against Great Britain.

Madison Keys came from a set down to beat Katie Swan, while Jessica Pegula eased past Harriet Dart 6-2 6-0 after Cameron Norrie had defeated Taylor Fritz in three sets.

Despite going a set behind, Frances Tiafoe came back to beat Dan Evans 3-6 7-5 6-3 to clinch the win for his country, before Pegula and Fritz added some gloss after beating Dart and Evans in the mixed doubles.

The third city final in Perth included a thriller as Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Borna Coric 6-0 6-7 (4-7) 7-5. Donna Vekic had no trouble getting Croatia on the board as she eased past Despina Papamichail 6-2 6-0.

Maria Sakkari put Greece 2-1 ahead when she beat Petra Martic 6-3 6-3, but Borna Gojo defeated Stefanos Sakellaridis in straight sets to make it 2-2.

However, Greece secured the win and their place in the last four after the pairing of Sakkari and Tsitsipas saw off Martic and Gojo 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

Greece will take on Italy in the semi-finals, while Poland face the USA, with both taking place in Sydney on Friday.

Wins for Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette saw Poland advance to the City Finals of the United Cup in Australia on Tuesday.

Hurkacz made it through a tough encounter against Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to give Poland a 2-1 lead in their Group B tie with Switzerland in Brisbane, before Linette came from behind to beat Jil Teichmann 5-7 6-4 6-1 to clinch it.

Poland will face Italy in the Brisbane final, whose 5-0 whitewash of Norway included Matteo Berrettini sealing victory with a 6-4 6-4 win over Casper Ruud.

In Perth, Croatia advanced to the City Finals after a dramatic day that saw Caroline Garcia get France on the board with a straight sets win against Petra Martic, before Adrian Mannarino came from a set down against Borna Gojo to serve for the match as he looked to bring his country level at 2-2.

However, Gojo broke back in a tense encounter before winning a deciding tie-break to send Croatia through to face Greece, who sealed a 4-1 win against Belgium.

Stefanos Sakellaridis recovered from going a set behind to beat Zizou Bergs, before Maria Sakkari overcame Elise Mertens 6-1 7-5, with Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas adding some gloss to the score with a mixed doubles success against Kirsten Flipkens and Michael Geerts. 

Spain and Australia were unable to progress but the hosts at least had the consolation of securing a victory thanks to wins for Jason Kubler against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and the mixed doubles duo of John Peers and Sam Stosur against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and David Vega Hernandez.

The USA had already secured their Finals berth against Great Britain in Sydney, but were ruthless as they finished off their tie against Germany to win 5-0.

After Jessica Pegula beat Laura Siegemund 6-3 6-2, Frances Tiafoe also defeated Oscar Otte in straight sets, before the American duo combined to beat Siegemund and Daniel Altmaier 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 10-7 to complete a clean sweep.

Dan Evans helped Great Britain reach the last eight of the inaugural United Cup as his 6-3 1-6 6-3 win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas decided the team's Group D tie against Spain.

Rafael Nadal's shock defeat to Cameron Norrie – coupled with Katie Swan's win against Nuria Parrizas-Diaz – put Spain 2-0 down in the best-of-five tie ahead of Sunday's action.

World number 13 Paula Badosa put them back into contention with a hard-fought 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win against Harriet Dart, but Evans gave Britain an unassailable lead by battling past Ramos-Vinolas, recovering from a dismal second set.

Having topped Group D, Britain will face the Croup C winners – the United States, Germany or the Czech Republic – for a semi-final place on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz doubled up to help Poland past Kazakhstan, teaming up with Iga Swiatek in the mixed doubles after beating Alexander Bublik.

Hurkacz beat Bublik 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-3 in just over two hours before Magda Linette overcame Zhibek Kulambayeva 6-2 6-1.

With Poland's first win in the competition secure, world number one Swiatek helped Hurkacz put the icing on the cake with a 6-3 6-4 victory against Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin.

The Czech Republic also enjoyed a fruitful day as two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova downed Laura Siegemund in straight sets to seal the team's win against Germany, but Casper Ruud was less fortunate, with Norway losing their tie against Brazil despite his success against Thiago Monteiro.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz is through to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel after easing past Pablo Carreno-Busta in straight sets.

Alcaraz took just under an hour and 40 minutes to overcome his fellow Spaniard and friend 6-3 6-4, getting 67 per cent of his first serves in and winning 77 per cent of those.

Carreno-Busta struggled to keep the US Open champion at bay, facing 12 break points in all, and although he saved nine of them, his defiance was ultimately in vain.

"It is difficult to play against a friend like Pablo," Alcaraz said on-court after his win on Friday. "Every day we go and have dinner, lunch, together. Every week and we train together, so it is difficult to play against him.

"I also support him and want him to win every match. On court, there are no friends. You have to be focused and go for the match and that is what I did."

Alcaraz will face third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final four after the Canadian defeated Alexander Bublik 6-2 6-3.

The other semi-final will see Roberto Bautista Agut play Holger Rune after the Spaniard beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5 7-6 (7-5) and the Danish teenager defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.

In Austria, top seed at the Vienna Open Daniil Medvedev beat Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 to advance to the last four, where he will play Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian overcame Marcos Giron 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The winner of that contest will face either Denis Shapovalov, who beat Dan Evans 6-3 6-3, or Borna Coric after the Croatian came through against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5).

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