Novak Djokovic is safely into the third round, but there were a couple of big shocks on day three of the US Open.

Seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out in five sets by Dominic Stricker, a qualifier ranked 128 in the world.

Then, in the night session, fifth seed and last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud fell foul of China’s world number 67 Zhang Zhizhen.

British qualifier Lily Miyakazi’s run came to and end in the second round.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day three at Flushing Meadows.

Pic of the dayShock of the day

Chocolate-loving Dominic Stricker caused a major upset at the US Open by knocking out seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The chubby-cheeked 21-year-old qualifier from Switzerland, ranked 128 in the world, stunned two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas with a 7-5 6-7 (2) 6-7 (5) 7-6 (8) 6-3 victory to reach the third round.

The former French Open junior champion recently admitted his coach had told him to cut down on chocolate and cookies.

Yet it was Athens-born Tsitsipas who was left feeling sour after a four-hour slog on the Grandstand Court.

Brit watch

Miyazaki’s US Open adventure was ended in the second round by Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

The 27-year-old came through three matches to qualify at Flushing Meadows for the first time and then picked up a maiden grand slam win against Margarita Betova in round one.

But the world number 198 found 15th seed Bencic, of Switzerland, too tough a nut to crack as she bowed out 6-3 6-3.

Miyazaki still leaves New York with the consolation prize of having virtually doubled her earnings for the year with a £98,000 pay day for winning her first-round match.

There were victories in the doubles for Jamie Murray, with Michael Venus, Joe Salisbury alongside partner Rajeev Ram, Lloyd Glasspool with Harri Heliovaara. and British pair Julian Cash and Henry Patten.

Quote of the dayFallen seeds:

Women: Petra Kvitova (11), Victoria Azarenka (18), Beatriz Haddad Maia (19), Magda Linette (24)
Men: Casper Ruud (5), Stefanos Tsitsipas (7), Francisco Cerundolo (20), Chris Eubanks (28).

Who’s up next?

Andy Murray kicks things off on Arthur Ashe against Bulgarian ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov. Fellow Brits Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter are also in action along with Jodie Burrage, who faces the match of her life against second seed Aryna Sabalenka on Louis Armstrong.

Chocolate-loving Dominic Stricker caused a major upset at the US Open by knocking out seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The 21-year-old qualifier from Switzerland, ranked 128 in the world, stunned two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas with 7-5 6-7 (2) 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6) 6-3 victory to reach the third round.

Stricker is a former French Open junior champion who recently admitted his coach had told him to cut down on chocolate and cookies but it was Tsitsipas who was left feeling sour after a four-hour slog on the Grandstand Court.

“You know, I came out today pretty well today and felt good from the first set,” said Stricker.

“Over four hours it was a tough battle and I’m just super happy right now. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the day and recover tomorrow.

“It’s such a great day for me and such a great win. It gives me a lot of confidence. I believe a lot in me now.”

Remarkably, Stricker could have been on the plane back to Bern last week having faced a match point in the second round of qualifying.

He has now achieved his best result at a grand slam, having bettered his run to the second round at Wimbledon earlier this summer.

Tsitsipas served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set, and the Greek said: “That hasn’t happened to me before. It’s the first time for me.

“Usually I’m much tougher mentally, and I have shown it by coming back. Even though sometimes I get broken serving for the match, let’s say, I still find ways in the tie-break or perhaps in the fifth set. Today was not the case.”

Second seed Novak Djokovic is safely through to round three after demolishing Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

The Serbian, chasing a 24th grand slam title, dropped just six games in a 6-4 6-1 6-1 victory.

Veteran Gael Monfils stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the third round of the National Bank Open in Toronto.

The flamboyant former top-10 star has struggled with injuries over the past year and is ranked down at 276 but showed he still possesses the skills to trouble the very best with a 6-4 6-3 victory over fourth seed Tsitsipas.

The Greek, who won a title in Mexico last weekend, made a lot of mistakes, particularly on his forehand wing, but Monfils, three weeks short of his 37th birthday, was excellent in defence and attack.

Home favourite Milos Raonic continued his resurgence, meanwhile, following up his upset of Frances Tiafoe by seeing off qualifier Taro Daniel 6-4 6-3.

The former Wimbledon finalist did not compete between July 2021 and this June because of injuries and is unsure what the future holds but he has made it back-to-back victories at the Canadian Masters event for the first time in seven years.

He next faces American Mackenzie McDonald, who knocked out sixth seed Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-3, while second seed Daniil Medvedev is safely through after a 6-2 7-5 win over Matteo Arnaldi.

American Chris Eubanks stunned world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon with the biggest knockout of his career.

The towering 27-year-old twice came from a set down to continue his fine run in south-west London with a thrilling 3-6 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory in just over three hours.

His impressive win over two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas follows success over British number one Cameron Norrie and sets up a last-eight meeting with third seed Daniil Medvedev.

“I feel like I’m living a dream right now,” said Eubanks. “This is absolutely insane.

“When you paint all of the context – I’ve tried so much to block everything out and just focus on the next match – it’s surreal, it’s unbelievable.

“This has been a dream come true.”

Eubanks, ranked 43rd in the world, had only won two grand slam matches prior to arriving at SW19.

He made an unconvincing start to the contest on Court Two but battled back and floored Tsitsipas – conqueror of Andy Murray – with 53 winners, including 13 aces.

Eubanks recently said he hated playing on grass but is currently enjoying a nine-match winning streak on the surface.

“Those words will never come out of my mouth (again) for the rest of my career,” he said.

“The grass and I, we’ve had a very strenuous relationship over the years but right now I think it’s my best friend.”

Earlier, world number three Medvedev eased into his maiden Wimbledon quarter-final after Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire injured.

The 27-year-old Russian was in control on Court One and had just gone two sets ahead at 6-4 6-2 when his Czech opponent pulled out.

Lehecka received treatment during a medical timeout at the end of the opening set but initially battled on in some discomfort before opting for a premature departure.

“I honestly did not (realise) until he retired,” he said of Lehecka’s injury.

“I saw that maybe his movement is a little bit restricted but the way he was throwing the ball I thought that it was not causing him enough trouble but then when he retired, I was like, ‘OK, I see it different’.

“I feel sorry for Jiri. Hopefully he can recover fast and he has a lot more grand slams to come ahead of him.”

Lehecka showed some touches of class but his performance was undermined by a series of errors and, ultimately, his fitness issue.

“This is not the way how I wanted to finish the match,” the 21-year-old said.

“Of course all the credit to Daniil, because he played another solid match, but for me still I felt that if I was able to show my maximum level, then it would have been a much more better match than it was today.

“But unfortunately the injury got much, much worse during the match, and I wasn’t able to compete on the highest level.”

Lehecka struggled to deal with the power of Medvedev, with one of his returns of serve flying off court and landing in a spectator’s drink.

Both players were then forced to sit down during the sixth game of the second set due to a medical emergency in the crowd.

The affected spectator eventually walked out of the arena with the aid of medics following a delay of around 10 minutes.

Andy Murray will return to Centre Court trying to finish the job in his second-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The two-time champion was two sets to one up against the Greek fifth seed when play was halted at around 10.40pm on Thursday night.

His addition to the line-up makes it a bumper day of action, with the British number one, men’s and women’s number ones and the player who has won more grand slam titles than anyone else also playing.

Here, the PA news agency looks ahead at Friday’s play.

More Murray mayhem


All eyes will be on how Andy Murray pulls up in the morning after the injury scare he suffered in the penultimate point of Thursday night’s action.

 

On set point, the 36-year-old went down screaming when trying to change direction before picking himself up and delivering an unreturnable serve that put him 2-1 up.

The match referee then decided it was too late to start a fourth set, meaning Murray and Tsitsipas must return on Friday afternoon to finish with the Scot leading 6-7 (3) 7-6 (2) 6-4.

Centre’s golden ticket


People with Centre Court tickets will be wondering how they got so lucky as they could hardly have picked a better line-up.

 

With the bonus of Murray finishing his match with Tsitsipas, those gracing Wimbledon’s main show court on Friday boast a combined 34 grand slam singles titles.

Carlos Alcaraz, who felt sidelined when he could not play on Centre Court in front of Roger Federer on Tuesday, opens against Alexandre Muller before Murray returns to finish his match.

Then women’s top seed Iga Swiatek will play Petra Martic before the headline act between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka closes a thrilling day’s action.

Match of the day

One of the big rivalries of the last 15 years is reignited on Centre Court as defending champion Djokovic faces Wawrinka in the third round.

The pair have fought it out on the biggest stage over the years with two of Wawrinka’s three grand slam titles coming after beating Djokovic in the final, most memorably in a stunning performance at the French Open in 2015.

But injury has taken its toll on the Swiss in recent years and he is no longer competing at the same level as Djokovic, who has almost got better with age.

Wawrinka has given himself “zero” chance of winning Wimbledon but he will have plenty of support on Centre Court as he eyes a huge upset.

Brit watch


Along with Murray’s match to a finish, Cameron Norrie finally returns to action as he looks for a knockout blow in his second-round match with Chris Eubanks.

 

The British number one has not been on court since Tuesday due to rain delays so he will be at least rested for his Court One bout with the American.

And Liam Broady will look to follow up his stunning win over fourth seed Casper Ruud when he faces former semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov on Court Two.

Order of play


Centre Court
Carlos Alcaraz v Alexandre Muller
Andy Murray v Stefanos Tsitsipas
Iga Swiatek v Petra Martic
Novak Djokovic v Stan Wawrinka

 

Court One
Aryna Sabalenka v Varvara Gracheva
Cameron Norrie v Chris Eubanks
Ons Jabeur v Bai Zhuoxuan

Other British singles
Liam Broady v Denis Shapovalov (Court 2)

Weather

Sunny, with highs of 28C.

Andy Murray will take on fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court on Thursday after the fifth seed came through a five-set battle against Dominic Thiem.

A match that started at 11am on Tuesday finally finished just before 8pm on Wednesday with Tsitsipas claiming a 3-6 7-6 (1) 6-2 6-7 (5) 7-6 (8) victory after three hours and 56 minutes of on-court action.

That will certainly have done Murray’s chances no harm given the two-time former champion was able to relax on Wednesday having wrapped up an easy win over Ryan Peniston under the roof 24 hours previously.

Murray and Tsitsipas have met twice previously – a five-set epic at the US Open in 2021 that went the Greek’s way and an encounter on grass in Stuttgart last summer where Murray claimed one of his best wins since his hip surgery.

Tsitsipas said of facing Murray: “I’m not expecting anyone supporting (me). It’s not my first rodeo.”

It is almost exactly 10 years since the Scot first lifted the trophy in SW19, and Tsitsipas said: “I remember witnessing his first Wimbledon title. Thinking about it now gives me goosebumps because I sort of felt what he went through because it was so difficult for him to close that last game.

“Every time I see that again it gives me shivers. He’s someone who’s done so much for the sport and I’ll go into it with a lot of respect for him. He’s such a tough competitor. That (Centre Court) is almost like his living room.”

It has been an up-and-down season for Tsitsipas, who reached his second grand slam final at the Australian Open but was brushed aside by Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the French Open and has won only two of his five matches on grass.

He resumed on Wednesday a set down to former US Open champion Thiem, who has now lost in the first round of grand slams six consecutive times as he continues to try to return to his former glories following a wrist injury.

The Austrian is at least getting closer and this match was right in the balance until the end of the deciding tie-break.

Tsitsipas’ girlfriend Paula Badosa came out to support him after winning her opening match and a final forehand pass proved to be the crucial moment.

Carlos Alcaraz demolished Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up a mouth-watering French Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic on Friday.

The prospective clash was immediately highlighted when the draw was made 12 days ago and had appeared inevitable as both men progressed through the rounds.

Both have dropped only one set but, while Djokovic had to fight back from a set down to beat Karen Khachanov on Tuesday, Alcaraz swatted aside fifth seed Tsitsipas 6-2 6-1 7-6 (5) in the night session.

The world number one said: “Believing in myself all the time, I’d say that’s the most important thing. I always feel I’m going to play this kind of matches at this level.

“I lost my focus a little bit at the end of the third set, I had a couple of match points. He started to play I would say better. I was in trouble but I’m really happy to overcome that problem, still playing a great level, believing that I was going to win the third set.”

Alcaraz and Djokovic have played only once before, with the Spaniard winning in Madrid last year, and he said: “This match everyone wants to watch. I would say it’s going to be a really good match to play and to watch. I really wanted to play this match. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.”

On paper this appeared the toughest test for Alcaraz so far but he had won all four previous meetings against Tsitsipas, including in Barcelona in April, and was in total control from the start.

He was better in every aspect and Tsitsipas, who had won all six of his previous slam quarter-finals, simply had no answer to Alcaraz’s all-round wizardry, with winners flying past him and drop shots catching him out time and again.

The Greek did not play badly in the opening set but still had his serve broken twice and he appeared to grow increasingly demoralised in the second, where he won only 13 points.

The crowd were torn between admiring the flamboyant brilliance of Alcaraz and wanting a contest, and they responded to Tsitsipas’ call for encouragement when he finally won a game at 0-3 in the third set.

Alcaraz threatened to be held up more by a Mexican wave than his opponent but Tsitsipas did at least provide a late challenge, saving two match points at 2-5 and then breaking the 20-year-old for the first time when he served for victory.

A third match point came and went as Tsitsipas forced a tie-break, where he saved a fourth and fifth, but on his sixth chance Alcaraz converted.

Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed to the third round of the Madrid Open but there was no such luck for Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday.

Second seed Medvedev cruised past Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-4 6-3, teeing up a meeting with Alexander Shevchenko, who overcame Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.

Tsitsipas was made to work by Dominic Thiem, but the fourth seed battling from a set down to win 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5).

World number 40 Dusan Lajovic provided the shock of the day by defeating seventh seed Auger-Aliassime 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5).

Denis Shapovalov, the 21st seed, was another surprise second-round loser, falling 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-1) to China's Zhang Zhizhen.

Taylor Fritz avoided adding to the list of notable early eliminations in the Spanish capital, the eighth seed battling to a 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 victory over Christopher O'Connell.

Fritz's fellow American Frances Tiafoe progressed with a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while 14th seed Tommy Paul crashed out after a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) defeat to Roman Safiullin.

Seeds Alex de Minaur and Sebastian Baez also navigated their way through to the third round, defeating Marco Cecchinato and Marcos Giron respectively, as did Cameron Norrie at the expense of Yosuke Watanuki.

Carlos Alcaraz eased to another win over Stefanos Tsitsipas to take the Barcelona Open title again on Sunday.

Alcaraz has never lost to Tsitsipas and maintained that record to defend his crown in Catalonia.

A battle between the top seeds briefly threatened to be a closely contested affair, but Alcaraz soon took control, with his 6-3 6-4 win wrapped up in an hour and 20 minutes.

It made for a successful start to the European clay season a month out from the French Open, while Tsitsipas falls to a miserable 0-10 career record in ATP 500 finals.

Tsitsipas broke first, leading 2-1 early in the opener, yet he did not forge another break point across the rest of the match.

Alcaraz was quickly back on terms and dominated his next two service games, creating the opportunity to apply pressure to the Tsitsipas serve.

That paid off with a decisive break, allowing Alcaraz to take his second set point.

A slightly more measured second set followed, but it again went the way of Alcaraz, breaking at the second attempt for a 3-2 lead to which Tsitsipas could not respond.

Carlos Alcaraz raced through to the Barcelona Open final as the defending champion set up a final showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

With his 20th birthday approaching on May 5, world number two Alcaraz will have the chance on Sunday to land his ninth ATP title as a teenager.

Alcaraz crushed the hopes of first-time Barcelona semi-finalist Dan Evans, racing to a 6-2 6-2 victory over a player who was seeking to become the first British finalist at this tournament.

Earlier, Tsitsipas, who had not dropped serve en route to the semi-finals, had to dig deep for a 6-4 5-7 6-3 victory against Lorenzo Musetti, the Italian who beat Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo last week.

Greek star Tsitsipas bizarrely has a 0-9 record in finals at ATP 500 level, the tier at which this tournament sits, despite having won two of his six title matches in elite ATP 1000 events.

Alcaraz will start as a firm favourite in the final. He holds a 3-0 career head-to-head lead over Tsitsipas from their past meetings, including a three-set win in the Barcelona quarter-finals last year.

That was a stormy encounter, with Alcaraz taking exception to almost being hit by a shot from Tsitsipas at the end of the opening set, so the rematch could be one to savour.

"It's so special to play a final here in Barcelona, a tournament I love playing," Alcaraz said on Prime Video. "I came to watch this tournament when I was very, very young, and I played for this club when I was 12, 11. I love this club, I love this tournament, and it's so special to have the chance to lift the trophy here again.

"Last year [against Tsitsipas] we had a spicy match, but I know he's a really nice guy off the court."

At the BMW Open in Munich, it was much the same story on Saturday.

Defending champion Holger Rune, another 19-year-old with a birthday approaching, in his case on April 29, earned another shot at the title.

Rune set up a Sunday showdown against Botic van de Zandschulp, in what will be a repeat of last year's final.

A resilient Rune lived up to his top seeding by ending Christopher O'Connell's fine run, which included a win against Alexander Zverev at the last-16 stage.

The 6-3 6-2 outcome masked the fact Rune saved eight break points as unseeded world number 82 O'Connell threatened to make it a tighter contest on the scoreboard than it turned out to be.

Van de Zandschulp then scored a fine win in the second semi-final as the Dutch fourth seed got the better of American second seed Taylor Fritz, winning 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 

Last year's trophy match ended in disappointment when Van de Zandschulp retired due to chest pains during the first set, with Rune saying it was "probably the worst way to win a final".

Rune has three ATP titles to his name, with 27-year-old Van de Zandschulp yet to lift a singles trophy.

Carlos Alcaraz kept his Barcelona Open title defence on track following a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory over compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarter-finals.

The world number two is aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the Barcelona crown since Rafael Nadal won three in a row between 2016 and 2018.

And though run close by Davidovich Fokina, the reigning champion has now reeled off six sets without reply, taking his overall record at the ATP 500 event to 8-1.

The Spaniard, who is now 9-1 against his fellow countrymen since the start of 2022, will play Dan Evans in the last four. The Briton came from behind to defeat 15th seed Francisco Cerundolo 2-6 7-5 6-3.

They are joined by Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose quest for a first title of the campaign continues after a commanding 6-4 6-2 victory over eighth seed Alex De Minaur.

The second seed, who was runner-up at this event in 2018 and 2021, sealed the deal in one hour and 21 minutes to claim his ninth successive win against the Australian.

His reward is a showdown with Lorenzo Musetti, who received a walkover into the last four following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal.

Over in Munich, reigning champion Holger Rune booked his semi-final place with a dominant 6-2 6-4 win over Cristian Garin.

The world number seven, who is now 7-0 in this event, will play Christopher O'Connell. After defeating Alexander Zverev earlier in the week, the Australian qualifier built on his momentum by seeing off Flavio Cobolli 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3.

Second seed Taylor Fritz also advanced in straight sets with a 6-3 6-4 victory over former world number three Dominic Thiem, who overcame eighth seed Marc-Andrea Huesler earlier in the day.

Fritz's semi-final opponent will be Botic van de Zandschulp after the fourth seed saw off Marcos Giron 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Carlos Alcaraz moved into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open with a straight-sets defeat of Roberto Bautista Agut, but it was a miserable Thursday for Alexander Zverev on home soil.

Defending champion Alcaraz won an all-Spanish contest with Bautista Agut 6-3 7-5 on Pista Rafa Nadal.

Top seed Alcaraz will face another compatriot in the form of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who saw off Emil Ruusuvuori, for a place in the last four in his homeland.

Eyeing a third title of the year, 19-year-old US Open champion Alcaraz was a break down at 3-2 in the opening set before winning six games in a row to take the opener.

Bautista Agut broke the teenager's serve twice midway through the second set, but the favourite reeled off nine points in a row to seal victory in an hour and 54 minutes.

Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-2, and Jannik Sinner, the fourth seed, battled past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1 4-6 6-3, but Casper Ruud was beaten by Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets.

Lorenzo Musetti and Dan Evans advanced at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 along with Alex de Minaur, who went through with a walkover as Grigor Dimitrov withdrew due to injury.

Meanwhile, there will be no third BMW Open title for Zverev in Munich this week after he suffered a shock loss at the hands of world number 82 Christopher O'Connell.

Australian O'Connell saw off the third seed 7-6 (7-2) 6-4, while defending champion and top seed Holger Rune ousted Yannick Hanfmann 6-3 6-4, and Taylor Fritz got past Marton Fucsovics in three sets.

Lorenzo Sonego was another seed who bowed out, Cristian Garin beating the Italian 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Stefanos Tsitsipas breezed into the third round of the Barcelona Open with a straight-sets win over Pedro Cachin on Wednesday.   Tsitsipas took 79 minutes to see off Argentine Pedro Cachin 6-4 6-2 on Pista Rafa Nadal.   The second seed from Greece did not face a break point and won all three that he fashioned to set up a meeting with Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who got the better of Jozef Kovalik 6-4, 6-3.   Jannik Sinner, the fourth seed from Italy, eased to a 6-2 6-4 win over Diego Schwartzman at the Real Club de Tennis Barcelona-1899.   Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Musetti will do battle in round three after defeating Pavel Kotov and Jason Kubler respectively in straight sets.   Karen Khachanov beat Nicolas Jarry 6-4 6-4, while Grigor Dimitrov, Dan Evans, Alex de Minaur, Yoshihito Nishioka and Francisco Cerundolo also celebrated midweek wins.   Rain hit the schedule hard at the BMW Open, where Aslan Karatsev was leading Daniel Altmaie 3-0 in the third set when play was suspended in the only singles action of the day.  

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev were both dumped out at the quarter-final stage of the Monte Carlo Masters, with Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune advancing.

Seeded second and third respectively, Tsitsipas and Medvedev began Friday as the tournament's highest-ranked players following Novak Djokovic's shock exit, but both found themselves on the receiving end of comprehensive defeats.

World number three Tsitsipas was the victim as Fritz claimed his first victory over a top-10 ranked player on clay, ending the Greek's 12-match winning run at the competition with a 6-2 6-4 success.

Tsitsipas – who won the event in both 2021 and 2022 – was unable to contain Fritz as the American hit a series of huge winners en route to his third Masters 1000 semi-final.

Fritz will face Andrey Rublev in the final four after the fifth seed saw off the challenge of German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff, posting a 6-1 7-6 (7-5) win.

Meanwhile, Medvedev came up short in his tussle with Rune, as the 19-year-old waltzed into his second Masters 1000 semi-final with a 6-3 6-4 triumph.

"It wasn't easy for sure, it's always tough to play Daniil," Rune said after his win. "It was actually my first time playing against him in a real match, but we've practised tonnes of times. 

"I have huge respect for everything he's done. In the last week it was not easy to stop him, but I'm happy I managed to do it."

Rune now has a 10-8 record in meetings with his fellow top-10 players, and he will have to win another such duel to make the final, with Jannik Sinner his semi-final opponent.

Sinner needed 76 minutes to beat fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-2, and the 21-year-old now has the chance to reach his third Masters 1000 final, having previously finished as runner-up at two editions of the Miami Open.

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.

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