Novak Djokovic was forced to come from a set down to beat Luca Van Assche 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2 in the Srpska Open second round on Wednesday.

Teenager Van Assche took a big step towards a stunning victory after going a set ahead, but the world number one rallied to seal his progression against the stubborn Frenchman.

Djokovic, who admitted his right elbow "was not in an ideal condition" earlier this week after a shock exit at the Monte Carlo Masters, was not at his brilliant self as Van Assche took the first set by finding two crucial breaks in the tie-break.

The Serbian improved, though, and he dominated the second set by holding all five of his service games and breaking twice to take the match to a decider.

With the first two games of the final set going against serve, Djokovic took over to win four of the next six and secure a comeback triumph.

Just over a month ahead of the French Open, Djokovic will be glad to have battled to victory in Banja Luka as he prepares for an attempt to win a record 23rd grand slam title at Roland Garros having already claimed the Australian Open crown earlier this year.

Paula Badosa believes she can break back into the world's top three after cruising past Daria Kasatkina at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where Emma Raducanu crashed out on Tuesday.

Seventh seed Kasatkina had no answers in Stuttgart as she fell to a 6-1 6-1 defeat against Badosa, who recorded the ninth top-10 victory of her career and first in exactly 12 months.

Badosa has won 29 clay-court matches in the last three seasons – only Ons Jabeur (35) and Iga Swiatek (30) have won more – but the Spaniard had to enter this tournament as a wildcard.

The 25-year-old was as high as second in the world last year but has fallen to 31st, and she outlined her goal to reach the top once more after her first-round win set up an all-Spanish meeting with Cristina Bucsa.

When asked about her ambitions to return to the world's top three, Badosa said: "That's what I'm working on every day. That's one of my goals – I want to be back on the top.

"I like to play big matches, I like to be in the last rounds of the tournaments. I still know I have that level. I still know I was that player. I still believe in myself, and I hope I'm back there very soon."

Jelena Ostapenko eased into the second round with similar dominance after downing Raducanu 6-2 6-1 in just 58 minutes, teeing up a meeting with world number four Ons Jabeur on Wednesday.

Latvian Ostapenko powered 19 forehand winners and went unbroken, acknowledging in her on-court interview that familiar aggression was key to her success in the battle of two one-time grand slam winners.

"I knew against her the main thing was to step in the court," said former French Open winner Ostapenko. "I missed some balls, but I tried to be aggressive all the time when it was possible.

"Just try to take the ball early, don't give her many chances. And finally, I'm back on clay, my favourite surface."

Barbora Krejcikova was another straight-sets winner, scoring a 6-2 6-0 triumph over Liudmila Samsonova, with the reward for the 2021 Roland Garros champion being a tricky clash against second seed and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka.

There was no such ease for Anastasia Potapova in a battling 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-4) victory over Petra Martic, the Russian's ninth third-set win in 2023 – no WTA Tour player has managed more.

Tatjana Maria overcame Ylena In-Albon 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) in another enticing clash, while Beatriz Haddad Maia advanced after Martina Trevisan was forced to retire when trailing 7-5 1-1 due to a right thigh injury.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the third round of the Barcelona Open with a 6-3 6-1 straight sets rout of Nuno Borges.

The world number two thrilled his home crowd with a ruthless performance against his Portuguese opponent to reach the last 16, converting five break points along the way.

Alcaraz will be joined in the next round by third seed Casper Ruud, after the Norweigian overcame American Ben Shelton in a 6-2 7-6 (7-1) victory.

Roberto Bautista Agut will not join them, however, after he suffered a 6-2 6-2 loss to Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

At the BMW Open, Dominic Thiem set up a second-round clash with Marc-Andrea Husler after receiving a walkover against Constant Lestienne.

The 2020 US Open winner had been leading 6-3 when the match was abandoned at 0-0 in the second set, as fifth seed Sebastian Baez slipped to a 6-3 7-5 loss against home favourite Oscar Otte in Munich.

Novak Djokovic's right elbow is "not in an ideal condition" just over a month before the French Open gets under way.

The world number one wore strapping at the Monte Carlo Masters last week and suffered a shock 6-4 5-7 4-6 defeat to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.

Djokovic, who had an elbow operation in 2018, will be back in action at the Srpska Open this week, facing Frenchman Luca Van Assche in the first round of the tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As he steps up his preparations to try and win a record 23rd grand slam title at Roland Garros, the 35-year-old revealed he is being hampered by his elbow.

"The elbow is not in an ideal condition, but let's say it’s good enough. I hope it will be fully ready for the first match," he said.

Djokovic expressed his gratitude for the way he has been received in Banja Luka this week.

"The people welcome me wholeheartedly with a great reception and so much love and support," he said.

"So I'm super excited to be here because I think it's one of the best places for us Serbian tennis players and athletes in general to be able to perform where we have so much love and support from local people."

Djokovic has a 16-2 record this year, winning a title in Adelaide before matching Rafael Nadal's haul of major triumphs at the Australian Open.

Iga Swiatek will open the defence of her Stuttgart Open title against Qinwen Zheng after the world number 25's 6-4 6-4 win over Alycia Parks on Monday.

Lucky loser Parks hit eight aces but also 11 double-faults and was undone once in each set as Zheng took a straight-sets victory to tee up a second-round clash with the world number one.

Cristina Bucsa came up with a third-set bagel to join Zheng in round two, having initially made hard work of fellow qualifier Tamara Korpatsch in her 3-6 6-4 6-0 win.

Bucsa will meet the winner of the clash between seventh seed Daria Kasatkina and last year's semi-finalist Paula Badosa.

Meanwhile, Donna Vekic will take on either Karolina Pliskova or Maria Sakkari after she battled to a 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The star-studded line-up sees grand slam winners including Emma Raducanu, Barbora Krejcikova and Jelena Ostapenko get their campaigns underway on Tuesday.

Ons Jabeur, who claimed victory at the Charleston Open earlier this month, kicks off her tournament on Wednesday.

Nuno Borges will face reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Barcelona Open after a 6-2 6-3 triumph over Ilya Avashka on Monday.

Borges created a remarkable 20 break points, converting only five but still comfortable against his 61st-ranked opponent.

That sets up a clash with number one seed Alcaraz, who beat Pablo Carreno Busta in the 2022 final.

Ben Shelton's 7-5 6-4 success over countryman Mackenzie McDonald means he will take on Casper Ruud, while Bernabe Zapata Miralles will play Roberto Bautista Agut in an all-Spanish second-round affair after earning a routine 6-2 6-2 win over unfancied Attila Balazs.

Meanwhile, Emil Ruusuvuori beat Alexander Bublik in Barcelona for a second straight year to set up a second-round meeting with fifth seed Frances Tiafoe.

At the BMW Open in Munich, 2022 winner Holger Rune will open his defence against Yannick Hanfmann after the German battled from a set down to beat Thiago Monteiro 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

Marcos Giron reached the second round with a 6-1 5-7 6-2 victory over Roberto Carballes Baene.

Andrey Rublev came from a set down against Holger Rune to win the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday, his first Masters 1000 title.

Having done the same in his semi-final against Taylor Fritz, Rublev showed grit and determination to do so again in the final, eventually winning 5-7 6-2 7-5.

Rublev become only the third player in the Open Era to have comeback wins in both the semi-final and final at Monte Carlo after Ivan Lendl (1988) and Ilie Nastase (1971).

Rune started the stronger of the two and forced a break in the sixth game of the first set with two delightful drop-shot winners, only for Rublev to break straight back in the next game.

After throwing away seven of eight break point chances in the first set, it was somewhat inevitable Rublev was unable to save a crucial one on his own serve with Rune at set point, sending a return long to hand the Dane the first frame.

This was Rune's sixth ATP Tour-level final, making him the fifth teenager to pass five since 2000.

Rublev seemed determined not to make the same mistake again as he immediately broke Rune's serve in the opening game of the second set, although he did pass up two chances for a double break before Rune levelled the set at 2-2.

The heat appeared to be affecting both players' service games in a high-octane encounter, but Rublev steadied himself before breaking again and then racing to another as he comfortably secured the second set.

As Rublev had done after dropping the opener, however, Rune responded defiantly and raced out to a 3-0 lead in the decider, but after missing a chance to go 5-1 up, he was broken back as Rublev came back to 4-4.

At 5-5, a tiring Rune twice hit the net with overhead smashes and then had a double fault at break point, leading to a crucial break for the Russian, who then served out the match to clinch the title.

"I know it's tough to lose a final, but you are too freaking young, man, and already have a Masters 1000 title, so give me one time to win it," Rublev joked with a smiling Rune at the trophy presentation.

Andrey Rublev is hoping it will be third time lucky in a Masters 1000 final after setting up a title showdown with Holger Rune in Monte Carlo.

The 25-year-old Russian has 12 tournament wins to his name, but all have come at ATP 500 or ATP 250 level, respectable but lower rungs than this tier.

Rublev lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo in 2021 and to Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati in the same year, as he failed to capitalise on two chances to break his Masters 1000 duck.

Now comes another opportunity on the clay against teenager Rune on Sunday, after both men ground out tough semi-final comeback wins.

Rublev beat Taylor Fritz 5-7 6-1 6-3, while Rune fought back gallantly to overcome Jannik Sinner 1-6 7-5 7-5, with rain delays affected both matches on Saturday.

Rublev is full of appreciation for Rune's game. They met at the last-16 stage of the Australian Open in January, with Rublev winning a marathon clash in a dizzying final-set tie-break.

Their only other previous clash came indoors at the Paris Masters last November, with Rune taking that third-round match in straight sets and going on to win the title as an unseeded player, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

Rublev said of Rune: "Holger is the guy who runs a lot, and he runs really well. He read the game really well. He's very talented.

"He has a good touch. He doesn't give you any rhythm, because as soon as he has a chance he tries to do drop shots, he tries to hit full power, goes to the net, returns and goes to the net, then serves to the net.

"He doesn't give you rhythm to put pressure on him to play your style."

Rune sees Rublev as a major threat to his prospects of a second title at this level, but the 19-year-old Dane is not short of self-belief.

"I expect for myself to push full. It's the last push, it's the last match of the tournament," Rune said. "Obviously he had three sets as well, so he must be feeling the legs a little bit, I hope.

"It's going to be great. We've played each other twice. It's one-all head to head, so it's going to be interesting, for sure.

"I've just got to stay in the moment, go for it against the best players in the world, and Andrey has been showing that for many years now, he's been top five, six for many years, so I've got to play my best. I've got to take it, because he's not going to give it to me."

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.

Rafael Nadal will not play at next week's Barcelona Open as he waits to return from a hip injury.

The 22-time grand slam winner has not played since going out to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open in January.

Nadal did not feature at tournaments in Indian Wells or Monte Carlo, and his latest withdrawal casts further doubt on his participation at the French Open, which begins at the end of May.

He wrote on Instagram on Friday: "Barcelona is a special tournament for me, because it's my adopted club and because playing at home is always a unique feeling.

"I'm still not prepared and therefore I'm still in my preparation process for the return to competition.

"Good luck to my friend [tournament director] David Ferrer and his whole team for this edition of the Godo that will surely be a success as always on all levels."

Nadal is a 12-time winner of the Barcelona Open, which he last won in 2021.

The 36-year-old recently dropped out of the world's top 10 men's rankings for the first time since 2005 due to his injury absence, and he currently sits in 15th place.

Novak Djokovic was "not really in the mood to speak" after suffering a jarring early defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters, but insisted he would bounce back.

The 35-year-old world number one was playing his 50th main-draw match at the tournament, but it did not go to plan as he lost 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Italian Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.

Djokovic's post-match reaction exposed huge frustration, with his first competitive outing in over a month ending at the last-16 stage.

He was forced to miss the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments last month, being denied permission to enter the United States due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.

Hopes he had of a long run on the Monte Carlo clay have been scuppered, but the Serbian has plenty of time to find form in time for the French Open, which begins on May 28.

Defeat marked the first time Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals in a tournament since last year's Monte Carlo event, when he lost his opening match to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The loss to Musetti included an argument with the umpire over a line call, while Djokovic also smashed a racket in frustration at one point.

"The feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly," Djokovic said. "But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that's it.

"You always hope for the good day in the office, but I know I'm not playing so great and he's playing very well, so I knew it was going to be a tough match.

"I don't think it's catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because I lost the match. It's not a great day for me, so I'm not really in the mood to speak."

Djokovic is a two-time former winner of the ATP 1000 event but has not reached the semi-final stage since 2015, the year he was last champion.

He continues his clay campaign at a low level tournament next week in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Musetti moved on to face fellow Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Victory over Djokovic made Musetti the first Italian man to beat the world number one in Monte Carlo since 1973, when the ATP rankings began.

Lorenzo Musetti stunned Novak Djokovic to seal a "dream" victory and a quarter-final spot in the Monte Carlo Masters.

Falling to a 4-6 defeat in the first set, Musetti responded to win 7-5 in the second and 6-4 in the third following a rain delay.

The 21-year-old overcame the world number one in a mammoth two-hour, 54 minute encounter and capitalised on weak serves from the Serbian – breaking his opponent eight times en route to a career high victory.

Emotions were high for Musetti, who said afterwards: "I am struggling not to cry. It is an emotional win because it was a really long match. Three-hour match and suspended by rain.

"It was not easy conditions because it was a little bit windy and cold. Not like we used to play in the recent days. I am really proud of myself and I can see on the screen. I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me."

Musetti's reward is a clash with Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, who trailed Hubert Hurkacz by a set and a break before rallying to a 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 triumph – sending him into the last-eight in six of the seven events he has played this season.

Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev earned a 50th tour-level win on clay with a 7-6 (6-4) 6-2 victory over Karen Khachanov, who was his doubles partner earlier this week before the pair suffered elimination against Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.

Rublev will meet German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff in the next round, who secured a major upset earlier in the day by eliminating world number four Casper Ruud.

A 6-1 7-6 (10-8) victory earned Struff his first top 10 win since June 2021, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in Halle, and advances to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since Cincinnati in 2020.

WTA tournaments will return to China later this year after being suspended since late 2021 due to concerns around the safety of player Peng Shuai.

Peng posted claims on Chinese social media site Weibo in November 2021 that she had been sexually assaulted by the former Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, before disappearing from public view and later denying making the allegations in a video interview posted by a Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper.

The situation led to widespread concern for Peng's wellbeing, initiating the #WhereIsPengShuai campaign, with the WTA going as far as suspending Chinese tennis tournaments.

The organisation called on the Chinese authorities to investigate the matter, but has now accepted that those requests "will not be met".

"We've been in this for 16 months and we are convinced that at this point our requests will not be met," chief executive Steve Simon said to BBC Sport.

"To continue with the same strategy doesn't make sense and a different approach is needed. Hopefully, by returning, more progress can be made."

He added: "We've achieved some assurances from people that are close to Peng that she's safe and living with her family in Beijing.

"We do also have some assurances that there won't be any issues with our players and staff while they are competing in China. And hopefully we have received some respect for the stance we took.

"We haven't seen anyone else take a stance such as we did. There hasn't been any other sporting leagues or any business that have. We took that strong stance, we stand behind it."

The final two months of the season will be "very similar" to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to Simon, when eight tournaments were played in China from the start of September.

The 10-year deal for the season-ending WTA Finals to be held in Shenzhen will also resume.

Daniil Medvedev marched past Lorenzo Sonego at the Monte Carlo Masters to secure a tour-leading 30th win of the 2023 season.

The third seed overcame the Italian 6-3 6-2 to clinch a spot in the round of 16 alongside compatriots Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov – marking just the third time in the Open Era that three Russians have reached that stage at Monte Carlo.

Medvedev will face Alexander Zverev, who clinched his spot with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut earlier in the day, in the next round.

"We've had some tough matches. We played for the first time maybe seven years ago on the ATP Tour, and in juniors maybe 12 years ago," Medvedev said of Zverev.

"I remember I beat him once in a final on clay in juniors, but it’s going to be a different story.

"I saw him in the first two matches, he seemed to be in good shape. I'm just going to have to be at my best."

Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner claimed a 6-0 3-1 victory over Diego Schwartzman, who retired in the second set, to take his total of wins in 2023 to 22, with only Medvedev having more.

There was also a win for Taylor Fritz, who overcame Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (12-10) 6-2, while qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff registered an upset with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Alex de Minaur.

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.