Sorana Cirstea beat world number 12 Beatriz Haddad Maia in the longest WTA Tour match of the year so far at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Liudmila Samsonova ousted Paula Badosa on Sunday in a three-set victory that lasted three hours and 22 minutes.

That record was exceeded by eight minutes a day later – Cirstea prevailing 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 in her first-round encounter with 11th seed Haddad Maia.

Cirstea, ranked 70th in the world, fended off two match points in the second-set tie-break and took that momentum into the decider.

Haddad Maia has lost four of her five meetings with Cirstea, though had defeated the Romanian in Adelaide in January.

"I fought really hard today. I really think I gave it all," Cirstea said.

"I have nothing left. Sometimes you just have to stay in there. Bia played amazing. You know, tennis is not fair sometimes. You play for three hours and a half, and it's a difference of a point.

"I wasn't planning to break the record! But Bia's been in great form, and I knew coming in she's a great fighter.

"I think this is what tennis is about, where all the work pays off. Sometimes it doesn't matter if it's a first round or a final, the joy is the same."

Another marathon encounter was played out between Veronika Kudermetova and Anhelina Kalinina, with the latter winning 6-3 5-7 7-5 in three hours and three minutes.

Karolina Muchova will face Cirstea in the next round after she saw off Bernarda Pera 6-1 6-4, with her victory including an early contender for shot of the tournament.

Muchova was scampering back towards the baseline as she looked set to lose a thrilling rally, only for the Czech to execute a perfect tweener lob.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka received a bye to round two, where she will face Lauren Davis after the American's victory over Jil Teichmann.

Jelena Ostapenko dispatched Katarina Zavatska 6-1 6-4 with the minimum of fuss, while Victoria Azarenka overcame Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets.

Azarenka has won 135 WTA-1000 main-draw matches in straights sets, at least three more than any other player.

Karolina Pliskova defeated Marketa Vondrousova to set up a meeting with Yulia Putintseva, with Ana Bodgan, Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Shelby Rogers also victorious.

Cameron Norrie was not the only opponent Carlos Alcaraz had to overcome in the Argentina Open final, as he battled feelings of guilt after not doing "the right things" to recover from injury.

Alcaraz made it one title from one tournament in 2023 as he overcame Norrie 6-3 7-5 in Buenos Aires on Sunday.

Last year's US Open champion dropped just one set through the tournament as he marked his return to action in style, with the 19-year-old having missed the Australian Open due to a hamstring issue.

Alcaraz had not featured since November, and the world number two admitted he did not feel his application during his extended break was always as good as it should have been.

"This trophy is special. During those four months I had a hard time and I didn't do the right things off the court, and I felt a bit guilty after the injury," Alcaraz said.

"Fighting against this is not easy. Coming here, my first tournament after four months, and winning the first tournament since the US Open is very special for me."

Alcaraz won seven games on the bounce to swing the final in his favour, and believes he hit peak performance during the match.

"I felt very comfortable playing the final," Alcaraz added.

"I knew that it was going to be really difficult. I started really focussed on what I had to do at the beginning, my game, my level. 

"This is the level that I have to play in finals."

Alcaraz has already collected seven titles in his young career, with five of those coming on clay.

His idol and compatriot Rafael Nadal won 13 clay-court tournaments prior to turning 20.

Combined with Alcaraz's haul, that total of 18 betters the 13 managed by all other players combined on the ATP Tour in the 21st century before turning 20.

Alcaraz is now set to play in the Rio Open, where he is the reigning champion, this week.

Novak Djokovic claimed a share of yet more history on Monday as he started his 377th week as world number one.

Djokovic has won 22 major titles, the joint-most among men, and has long since held the record for the most weeks at the top of the ATP rankings.

His nearest rival on the men's tour – since the rankings were introduced in 1973 – is the now retired Roger Federer, who spent 310 weeks in top spot.

But Djokovic has also matched Steffi Graf, the WTA leader, in making it to 377 weeks.

Graf was the women's number one 45 weeks longer than second-placed Martina Navratilova (332), with Serena Williams in third (319).

The WTA rankings began in 1975.

Taylor Fritz showed why he is ranked top-10 in the world and rising after beating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0 5-7 6-2 in Sunday's final of the Delray Beach Open.

Fritz, 25, came into the tournament sitting at a career-best rank of seventh, and he did not lose his first set in Delray Beach until the final.

The top seed, Fritz was nearly perfect in the opening set, hitting 15 winners with only one unforced error and taking 72 per cent (28-of-39) of the total points. Kecmanovic did not hit a single winner in the set.

The 23-year-old Serbian showed far more fight in the second, and after saving all three of Fritz's break-point opportunities – including one match point – Kecmanovic capitalised on his one and only break-point chance of the match to force a third set.

But the mistakes crept back into the underdog's game, shooting himself in the foot with a pair of double faults and more unforced errors than winners.

Fritz took full advantage, securing two breaks down the stretch to run away with the victory and his first title of 2023.

After winning just one of his first six finals on the ATP Tour, Fritz has now won the past four finals he has reached.

In his first tournament since a four-month injury layoff Carlos Alcaraz went all the way and defeated Cameron Norrie 6-3 7-5 in the Argentina Open final.

Alcaraz, 19, became the youngest player to ever reach the world number one ranking in September, and with his victory in Buenos Aires he now has seven ATP Tour singles titles to his name.

After knocking off some rust in a close three-set opening match against Laslo Djere, Alcaraz advanced to the final following straight sets victories over Dusan Lajovic and Spanish compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Against Norrie, Alcaraz played an exceptionally tight first set, winning 73 per cent (16-of-22) of his service points while not allowing his opponent a single break point opportunity.

He broke twice in the opening set and secured another quick break to begin the second, jumping ahead 3-0 as he threatened to run away with the match.

Norrie did not lay down, recovering from 5-2 down to tie things up at 5-5, but Alcaraz would not allow it to reach a tie-breaker as he finished the match with another break of serve.

The 250 ranking points on offer to the winner pulls Alcaraz to within striking distance of Novak Djokovic as he looks to reclaim his spot as world number one.

Daniil Medvedev came from a set behind to beat Jannik Sinner in the Rotterdam Open final and land his 16th ATP Tour title. 

A 5-7 6-2 6-2 win for Medvedev gave the 27-year-old Russian his first trophy of the year, extending his career head-to-head record to 5-0 against Sinner.

The run from Medvedev this week has secured his return to the top 10 in the rankings, with the former number one set to go up three places to number eight on Monday.

Victory came in sharp contrast to Medvedev's last two appearances at the tournament, when he suffered first-round losses in 2020 to Vasek Pospisil and in 2021 to Dusan Lajovic.

Medvedev said after his win: "Thanks to all members of my team who are with me no matter what: some tough moments, some good moments, and we continue growing.

"The last two times I played here were terrible, and I'm happy to make it better this year."

Medvedev and Sinner's past meetings had curiously all come on indoor hard courts, as this also did.

Sinner won a title last week at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, so the 21-year-old was not wanting for confidence as he looked to finally register a win over Medvedev.

The Italian out-rallied Medvedev at the end of the first set to snatch the vital break, but he could not ride that momentum into the early stages of the second.

An early break went the way of 2021 US Open winner Medvedev, whose remarkable defence was a key factor as the comeback gathered steam.

A double fault from Sinner handed Medvedev a 4-1 lead and a double break, nudging the match towards the decider.

When it came, first blood went to Medvedev as Sinner netted a backhand to give up a break in the third game.

The Moscow man saved a break point in the next game to stay ahead, and that setback left Sinner sapped, his challenge fading as Medvedev maintained an impressively high level.

Liudmila Samsonova progressed after a marathon battle at the Dubai Tennis Championships, while Petra Kvitova breezed through as the seeds escaped unscathed on Sunday.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 12th favourite in the United Arab Emirates, eased past Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-1 to make a dominant start.

World number 15 Samsonova was made to work to beat Paula Badosa, winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to tee up a clash with Qinwen Zheng, who overcame compatriot Zhang Shuai in straight sets.

Samsonova's triumph took three hours and 22 minutes, the longest match of the WTA Tour season thus far, in a thrilling first-round encounter between two top-20 players.

"Playing against Paula is always tough," 14th seed Samsonova said in her on-court interview. "She's doing unbelievable, so I'm really proud that I stayed on the court until the end.

"I think I'm growing match after match, day by day. I know it's a long journey, and I hope to continue like that."

Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, cruised into the last 32 with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu as she aims to go one better than her runners-up finish two years ago in Dubai.

Another routine victory saw American Madison Keys ease past Jasmine Paolini 6-1 6-1, but there was no such luck for 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

She was dispatched 6-1 6-1 by world number 26 Marie Bouzkova, while Amanda Anisimova claimed a 6-3 6-2 win over veteran two-time grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva.

Viktoriya Tomova had too much for Kaia Kanepi in a 6-3 6-1 success, with her reward a second-round clash against third seed Jessica Pegula.

World number four Pegula lost to the in-form Iga Swiatek in the Qatar Ladies Open final on Saturday, and Leylah Fernandez will face the Pole next after beating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2.

Carlos Alcaraz clinched a berth in the Argentina Open in his first tournament back from injury with a straight-sets victory over Spanish compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles on Saturday.

Alcaraz, who had not played since the Paris Masters in early November due to abdominal and right leg injuries, triumphed 6-2 6-2 in one hour and 17 minutes.

The 19-year-old Spaniard will face second seed Cameron Norrie in Sunday's decider, with the Briton needing almost two hours to overcome Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

"It’s a really special moment for me," Alcaraz said. "I was a little bit down after the injury, so I had to recover in those four months the confidence and the rhythm.

"Coming back for my first tournament of 2023 and making the final is so special for me."

Alcaraz has won all three matches at the Argentina Open, dropping only one set against Laslo Djere in his return match in the second round.

Taylor Fritz beat countryman Mackenzie McDonald for a spot in the Delray Beach Open final in Florida, fighting back from a break down in the second set to win 6-3 7-6 (8-6) and a secure a berth in his 10th career final.

Fritz, the top seed at Delray Beach, will take on Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in the decider after he won 7-6 (10-8) 3-6 6-2 over Moldova's Radu Albot.

Daniil Medvedev had no problems against Grigor Dimitrov as he eased into Sunday's Rotterdam Open final.

The former world number one took just 82 minutes to win 6-1 6-2, converting six of 13 break points against his Bulgarian opponent.

Medvedev rises back up to 10th in the world rankings after the win, and will go ninth if he can claim the title.

"It was an amazing match," Medvedev said after his victory. "The score [looks] easy, but the match was not. I felt physically like I was playing five sets.

"It would be amazing [to win the tournament]. Every time I come here, and I think it is my fifth time here, everywhere there are photos of the winners and their names.

"I don't remember who won it first time, but then Arthur Ashe won it [twice]. Then [John] McEnroe, [Bjorn] Borg, [Stefan] Edberg, and I'm like, 'Well, that tournament has a history for sure'. To add my name there would be amazing, but for this I need to play well in the final."

That final will be against Jannik Sinner after the Italian overcame spirited home wildcard Tallon Griekspoor.

It was Sinner's impressive serve that saw him through 7-5 7-6 (7-5), not facing a single break point, and ruthlessly taking the only one he carved out all match to take the first set.

He kept his nerve to see out a second set tie-break, and now has the chance to follow up last week's Open Sud de France title with another in Rotterdam.

Iga Swiatek avenged an early-season loss to Jessica Pegula as she stormed to the Qatar Open title on Saturday, completing a stunning trophy defence.

In three matches, Swiatek surrendered only five games, sealing the title with a 6-3 6-0 victory over American Pegula.

A heavy defeat to Pegula in Sydney at the beginning of the year saw Swiatek reduced to tears, and she then lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, albeit to eventual finalist Elena Rybakina.

Now Swiatek is back, with brutal wins over Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova – allowing both players just one game each – preceding her dismissal of Pegula in the final.

The 21-year-old has 12 career titles and is off the mark in 2023, extending her head-to-head dominance to 5-2 over world number four Pegula.

Swiatek said: "I don't care how many games are won or lost. I just feel like I really found my rhythm here, and after a tough beginning of the season I could stay focused from the beginning to the end of the matches, and I'm pretty happy with my performance.

"I hope playing well here is going to be a routine."

The world number one sent a message of support during her on-court speech to the people of war-torn Ukraine, for whom she has helped to raise funds over the last 12 months.

Swiatek, from Poland, said she felt "a real throwback to last year", when this event was taking place as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

"This was the first tournament where I had a chance to make a speech when the war started in Ukraine," she said. "I feel like we all have pretty short memories, but we should all support Ukrainians with everything they're coping with every day.

"It's pretty disappointing the situation is not changing, but hopefully they will stay strong."

World number two Carlos Alcaraz was too good in his Argentina Open quarter-final on Friday, defeating Dusan Lajovic 6-4 6-2.

The 19-year-old is playing in his first tournament of the year, and after dropping a set in his opener against Serbia's Laslo Djere, he had fewer problems against Djere's compatriot.

Alcaraz will play Bernabe Zapata Miralles in an all-Spanish semi-final after he eliminated Buenos Aires' own Francisco Cerundolo 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3.

England's Cameron Norrie had to come from a set behind for the second match in a row to knock out Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry 5-7 6-0 6-3, and he will meet Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas in the other semi-final.

Varillas collected arguably the biggest win of his career against world number 20 Lorenzo Musetti, and he is now two wins away from his first ATP Tour title.

Meanwhile, top seed and world number seven Taylor Fritz is through to the semi-final of the Delray Beach Open after fending off the challenge of veteran Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.

Fritz has lost his past two meetings with Mackenzie McDonald, and he will get a chance at redemption after McDonald joined him in the semi-final with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 triumph over Michael Mmoh.

Fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic joins Fritz as the only seeded players to reach the semi-finals after he saw off Marcos Giron 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, while second seed Tommy Paul was upset as a heavy favourite against Romania's Radu Albot 6-2 6-2.

Daniil Medvedev was at his brilliant best as he ended Felix Auger-Aliassime's title defence at the Rotterdam Open.

Former world number one Medvedev committed just five unforced errors in a 6-2 6-4 win on Friday that saw him progress to the semi-finals.

"Today was my best match of the week, but I have to build on this," Medvedev said afterwards.

"Usually, the best weeks you play, many times you're going to play your best tennis in the last match, so that's definitely a goal.

"But I'm happy with my level today, beating someone like Felix in straight sets."

He will next face Grigor Dimitrov, who needed three sets to see off Alex de Minaur.

Dimitrov saved two match points in claiming a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) victory but seemingly has an uphill challenge having lost four of his six matches against Medvedev.

"I kind of know the plan for the game,” Medvedev added of his clash with Dimitrov. "The thing is, he is going to try to do the same, to make up a good plan. If we take the last two matches, it's 1-1. So I always say a new match is a new match, no matter the head to head. 

"I'm preparing for a tough one tomorrow, he's such a great player and today was a great match from him, a great comeback actually. So I'm ready for the tough fight tomorrow."

Jannik Sinner was just as impressive as Medvedev, cruising to a 6-1 6-3 victory over three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka.

Sinner, who won the Open Sud de France last week and has already dumped out top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, will face Tallon Griekspoor after the Dutchman's win over fellow home hope Gijs Brouwer.

Lorenzo Musetti won his opening match at the Argentina Open in comfortable fashion, defeating hometown hero Pedro Cachin 6-2 6-3 on Thursday.

World number 20 Musetti is still just 20 years old, making him the third-youngest player inside the top-40. The only younger players are 19-year-olds Carlos Alcaraz (world number two) and Holger Rune (world number nine).

The talented Italian has two ATP Tour titles to his name, but none outside of Europe, and he will hope to change that after he advanced to the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires.

Musetti will play Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas next after he prevailed 6-4 6-4 against former world number three Dominic Thiem.

Fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo did his part to set up an all-Argentine quarter-final clash after dominating Jaume Munar 6-2 6-1, but compatriot Diego Schwartzman could not hold up his end of the deal, falling 6-1 6-3 to Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Meanwhile, world number seven Taylor Fritz made a winning start to his Delray Beach Open campaign, defeating Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 6-4 6-3.

Fritz will play France's Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-final after the 34-year-old veteran eliminated 24-year-old American J.J. Wolf 7-5 6-2.

Second seed Tommy Paul was too strong for Denis Kudla in a 6-3 6-4 triumph, and he will play Radu Albot for a place in the semi-final after the Romanian emerged the 6-4 6-4 victor against Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.

Defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime must overcome a dismal record against Daniil Medvedev to go any further at the Rotterdam Open after both won on Thursday to set up a heavyweight quarter-final, while Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out.

Third seed Auger-Aliassime beat French qualifier Gregoire Barrere 6-4 6-3, while Medvedev earned a 6-2 6-2 victory against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

Despite being the higher-ranked of the two at present, Canadian Auger-Aliassime has a 0-4 career record against Russian Medvedev.

Those losses include a painful defeat from two sets up in the 2022 Australian Open quarter-finals, and a US Open semi-final knockout blow in the previous season.

It is a record that is all the more surprising considering Auger-Aliassime has wins over Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Carlos Alcaraz to his name.

Auger-Aliassime sits eighth on the ATP ranking list, three places clear of former number one Medvedev, who is relishing their clash on Friday.

Medvedev said on Amazon Prime: "Felix is a top player. He won here last year and played amazing at the end of last season. I'm looking forward to a tough match, and hopefully I can be at my best.

"He's going to take his opportunities. He's going to go for it when he has the chance. So I will need to be at my best and everything has to be better."

Top seed and Australian Open runner-up Tsitsipas was beaten 6-4 6-3 by Jannik Sinner, with last week's Open Sud de France champion winning in an hour and 21 minutes to set up a quarter-final against Stan Wawrinka.

It was Sinner's first career win over a top-three opponent. The Italian held a 0-8 record against such opponents coming into this match.

Fourth seed Holger Rune is also out after retiring hurt while 6-4 4-0 down to Dutch wildcard Gijs Brouwer, who advances to play compatriot Tallon Griekspoor.

Australian Alex de Minaur advanced to the final eight with a 7-5 3-6 6-3 win over American Maxime Cressy, earning a shot at Grigor Dimitrov next.

Carlos Alcaraz overcame a second-set hiccup to win on his return to the ATP Tour over Laslo Djere in the second round at the Argentina Open on Wednesday.

Alcaraz, who rose to the world number one ranking after last year's US Open triumph, won 6-2 4-6 6-2 in two hours and one minute over the Serbian in Buenos Aires.

The match marked top seed Alcaraz's first since losing to Holger Rune in the Paris Masters quarter-finals, having missed last month's Australian Open following abdominal and hamstring injuries.

The Spanish 19-year-old displayed his trademark forehand on occasion, while he was at his tenacious best, saving six of seven break points generated by Djere.

"It's a great feeling to win again," Alcaraz said post-match. "It's been a long time for me with no competition, with no matches, just recovering. Finally, I got my first win of 2023."

Alcaraz will face Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic next after he won 6-3 6-1 over local Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

Second seed Cameron Norrie was pushed for three hours by Argentinian wild card Facundo Diaz Acosta before prevailing 4-6 7-5 7-6 (8-6). Diaz Acosta got within two points of victory on three occasions but could not capitalise.

Norrie will face another Argentinian in the third round, with Tomas Martin Etcheverry progressing with a 4-6 6-1 6-2 win over Roberto Carballes Baena.

Third seed Denis Shapovalov was a shock second-round casualty at the Delray Beach Open after going down in here sets to Michael Mmoh on Wednesday.

The American, who is ranked 87th in the world, triumphed 7-5 3-6 6-3 in two hours and 20 minutes at the event in Florida.

The Canadian committed 30 unforced errors across the match compared to Mmoh's 16. Shapovalov also generated 10 break points but only capitalized on two, while Mmoh converted three of five.

Mmoh will take on countryman Mackenzie McDonald who won 6-3 3-6 6-2 over fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka.

Fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic cruised past qualifier Nuno Borges 6-3 7-5, while Marcos Giron also progressed in straight sets over Matija Pecotic.