Bianca Andreescu survived a wobble near the finish line to reach the Thailand Open semi-finals and edge a step closer to a long-awaited title.
The Canadian had a stellar campaign on hard courts in 2019, winning tournaments at Indian Wells and Toronto before topping those with a US Open triumph, denying Serena Williams a 24th singles grand slam in what would be the American's last major final.
Injuries and inconsistency have blighted progress since then, and there have been no more trophy celebrations, but Andreescu is still only 22 and believes she has a lot of winning still to do.
She was cruising at 6-0 5-1 against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in Friday's quarter-final, before her opponent found inspiration and took the second set to a tie-break.
Andreescu was not to be denied, though, closing out a 6-0 7-6 (7-3) victory, and it will be another player from Ukraine next, with Lesia Tsurenko earning a shot at the top seed after a 6-1 6-1 drubbing of German sixth seed Tatjana Maria.
Addressing the fightback from Kostyuk, Andreescu said: "I don't think I started playing bad in the second set, I think she just raised her level a little bit. She's always a tough opponent. I definitely wasn't expecting anything easy."
On her own ambitions, Andreescu said: "I'm hoping to win the tournament, I really believe in myself."
The other semi-final in Hua Hin will be an all-Chinese battle between Zhu Lin and Wang Xinyu after they saw off Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek and Britain's Heather Watson respectively.
At the Lyon Open, French top seed and home favourite Caroline Garcia fended off Italian Jasmine Paolini 7-5 7-5 and faces a semi-final against Colombian Camila Osorio, who had a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory against 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova.
American Alycia Parks, who won two WTA 125 tournaments in December while many players were enjoying an off-season, has brought that form to this week's event. The 22-year-old, ranked 79th in the world, scored a 7-5 6-2 win against seventh seed Danka Kovinic and will face Maryna Zanevska next after the Belgian had a 3-6 6-1 6-2 win against Russian fifth seed Anastasia Potapova.
Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win
Novak Djokovic marked his return to action with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Greece's Ioannis Xilas to put Serbia in control of the Davis Cup tie.
The 24-time major winner was playing his first match since his US Open third-round defeat by Alexei Popyrin at Flushing Meadows a fortnight ago.
And Djokovic, who helped his nation win the Davis Cup in 2010, looked close to his best as he dropped just a single game, while converting five of the seven break points he forced.
Wrapping up a dominant victory in just 45 minutes, he put Serbia 2-0 to the good in the World Group I tie.
Elsewhere in that group, Casper Ruud helped Norway wrap up a 3-1 win over Portugal.
The three-time major finalist, who put his nation 2-1 to the good alongside Viktor Durasovic in the doubles rubber, was a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor over Jaime Faria in their singles clash.
Later in the day, Argentina booked their place in the final eight after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni saw off Finland in the doubles decider.
Nadal unsure of future involvements after Laver Cup withdrawal
Rafael Nadal says he cannot commit himself to future tournaments after his withdrawal from the Laver Cup.
Nadal shared news on Thursday that he would not make an appearance at the annual event in Berlin, stating that it would not be in the best interests of Team Europe if he were to participate.
The Spaniard was last in action playing doubles at the Paris Olympics with Carlos Alcaraz, and while he says he is in a good space mentally, he was not able to confirm when he would next make a professional appearance on a tennis court.
He said: "Mentally, I’m good, no problems. I'm at home enjoying other things, training as much as I can every day.
"No drama, obviously these are decisions [the Laver Cup withdrawal] that are being made, and this was a possibility - it's been a while without competing. There will be someone else who can do better.
"Right now I’m not in a position to put myself down for anything.
"I said [I would play] until the Olympics and then we would see, and I'm in that period of rest."
Nadal has endured a difficult 2024 so far, playing just 21 competitive singles matches with a record of 13-8.
He has only one grand slam victory to his name this year, beating Jack Draper in the Australian Open, but he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz sends Spain into Davis Cup last eight
Carlos Alcaraz has led Spain to the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup Finals after a straight-sets win over Ugo Humbert.
The 21-year-old needed just one hour and 21 minutes to cruise through with a 6-3 6-3 victory, hitting 21 winners to his opponent's 14 as he backed up Roberto Bautista's win earlier on.
Bautista had to come from behind to edge past Arthur Fils, beating him 2-6 7-5 6-3, and converting 40% of his break points, bettering the Frenchman's 27%.
Spain are through in Group B, but elsewhere in Group D, US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper's return was unable to inspire Great Britain to victory.
Dan Evans was beaten by Tomas Martin Etcheverry earlier on Friday before Draper's first match since New York ended in a straight-sets 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 defeat to Francisco Cerundolo.
Despite making fewer unforced errors than the Argentinian (23 to 39), the British number one struggled to find an edge, though Evans and Neal Skupski claimed a consolation win in the doubles to make it 2-1.
They sit second in the group, missing the chance to qualify for the last eight, and now needing a win against Canada, who have been in fine form so far.
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