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.

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 started the defence of her Qatar Open title by taking less than an hour to beat Danielle Collins on Wednesday.

Playing for the first time since she was knocked out of the Australian Open by Elena Rybakina in the fourth round last month, normal service was resumed by the domineering world number one in Doha.

The top seed brushed Collins aside in only 53 minutes, racing to a 6-0 6-1 victory to march into the third round.

Collins only won four points as she suffered the misery of a first-set bagel, an inspired Swiatek taking the opener in only 21 minutes.

Swiatek's run of games won was ended at nine when Collins got on the board at 3-1, but the Pole broke for a fifth time before serving it out for an emphatic victory.

The 21-year-old three-time grand slam champion, who made only six unforced errors, will do battle with Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals.

Bencic beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to take her place in the last 16, storming back from 4-1 down in the second set when she appeared to be on her way out.

Second seed Jessica Pegula saved two match puts as she dug deep to beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 2-6 7-5 to set up a meeting with Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.

Fourth seed Coco Gauff got the better of Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-6 (8-6), while Veronika Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari also made it through.

Carlos Alcaraz has described Novak Djokovic as "like a god", but fully intends to take his world number one spot back from the Serbian.

Alcaraz has been out of action for four months through injury, but will return at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires on Wednesday when he faces another Serbian, Laslo Djere.

The 19-year-old had been top of the men's world rankings when he suffered a leg muscle injury, causing him to miss the Australian Open.

Djokovic leapfrogged Alcaraz into top spot after he won in Melbourne, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in last month's final.

"It has been a long time [I spent] at No. 1," Alcaraz said. "Now it's a goal for me to recover No. 1 and try to do my best in these tournaments to be back on that number. I'm looking for that."

The young star acknowledged that he has a big job on his hands though, recognising that Djokovic is one of the greatest of all time.

"He has no weaknesses. Every shot, it's amazing," he said. "His physical condition is amazing, his mental condition is amazing.

"He's like a god and I admire him over the years staying at the same level, staying at the top. It's really, really difficult and I admire that."

Despite his ultimate lofty goals, Alcaraz does not want to push himself too fast after his injury, and suggested his main aim at the Argentina Open is just to regain fitness and confidence.

"It's tough to play my first tournament after a long time for me, after four months," he said. "So it's going to be really, really tough to win the tournament or be close to winning.

"My hope is to feel that I am okay with the injury, with my body and try to play well."

Part-timer Matija Pecotic had to put a request in for another day off work to play in the second round of the Delray Beach Open after pulling off a shock win over Jack Sock.

The Croatian came through qualifying to make his ATP Tour main-draw debut in Florida and the 33-year-old is through to the last 16 after a 4-6 6-2 6-2 victory against former world number eight Sock on Tuesday.

World number 784 Pecotic has a full-time job in finance and he will be in the money after setting up a meeting with Marcos Giron in the last 16 of the ATP 250 event.

The Princeton and Harvard graduate's boss was in his box to watch him see off Sock and Pecotic hopes he will get a chance to book a quarter-final spot on Wednesday rather than return to balancing the books.

He quipped: "I had to leave work early today. I had to send an email to the whole team. [My boss] let me off. I'm going to have to ask for another day off tomorrow."

Pecotic, who served 10 aces and struck 30 winners, added: "I certainly didn't expect to win, but certainly didn't come into the match thinking that I'm definitely going to lose.

"You've got to be realistic. This is a former top 10 guy with an incredible amount of tennis experience, with a huge serve.

"He came out serving 134 [mph] on the first serve. It would be arrogant to think that I'm going to come out and expect to win.

"But I certainly figured if I could sink my teeth into the match and work on the two or three patterns that I prepared before, that I'm going to have a chance. And then let's see... if I was going to fall under pressure or not be able to serve it out at some point. But I didn't and I got the win."

Playing in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Francisco Cerundolo avenged his younger brother's defeat at the Argentina Open by defeating Yannick Hanfmann 6-2 4-6 7-5 on Tuesday.

Francisco's younger brother Juan Martin had been eliminated by Hanfmann in the qualifying stage, but the fifth seed got one back on the German after leading the break point opportunities 17 to six.

Fifth-seed Cerundolo was the highest seed in action Tuesday, while sixth seed Sebastian Baez fell 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to Serbia's Dusan Lajovic.

In the only all-Argentine clash it was Facundo Diaz Acosta prevailing 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 against Federico Coria – who sits over 100 places higher in the rankings – while Roberto Carballes Baena collected a seeded scalp with a 7-5 6-4 win over Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Meanwhile, Australian Open quarter-finalist Ben Shelton was eliminated from his own hometown tournament as the Florida resident was bounced out of the Delray Beach Open 6-4 6-4 by Marcos Giron.

Shelton beat J.J. Wolf to reach that grand slam quarter-final, but Wolf will be moving on after he emerged with a 7-5 6-3 win against Ilya Ivashka. 

Wolf will play France's Adrian Mannarino following his 4-6 6-3 6-4 triumph over Germany's Daniel Altmaier, and Mackenzie McDonald will get a shot at redemption against fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka after a comfortable 6-2 6-2 success against Taro Daniel.

McDonald and Nishioka have played twice this year – once at the Adelaide Invitational and once at the Australian Open – and Nishioka has won all five sets.

It was also a day 33-year-old Matija Pecotic will never forget, with the world number 784 winning his first ever ATP Tour match by defeating Jack Sock 4-6 6-2 6-2.

Rotterdam Open top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime were joined by Daniil Medvedev in progressing through their first-round ties.

Auger-Aliassime won his first Tour-level title at the event last year and went from strength to strength in 2022, winning another three singles trophies.

The world number eight, seeded third, started his title defence with a convincing 6-2 6-3 defeat of Italy's Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday.

"Of course, I was hoping to win and get through, but 6-2, 6-3 is a great performance against a player that is tricky like he is... it's a great way to start the week," said Auger-Aliassime, who needed just 82 minutes to clinch victory and set up a last-16 meeting with qualifier Gregoire Barrere.

The Canadian is relishing his title defence, and feels he is a stronger competitor than this time last year in a warning shot to his rivals.

He added: "Last year was an amazing year, but this year is a different one. I think I'm a better player overall.

"Of course, the best thing I can do compared to last year is win again, so hopefully I can do that. The draw is really strong, but I'm confident if I can keep playing the way I did today I'll get my chances and then we'll see."

Auger-Aliassime might be the reigning champion, but world number three Tsitsipas is the favourite.

Emil Ruusuvuori was no match for Australian Open runner-up, who prevailed 7-5 6-1 and has a 13-1 record for the season.

"The process that you get to repeat these things over and over again, it gives you tremendous understanding of how things actually work," Tsitsipas said. 

"I think being able to get in these moments more and more often on the Tour helps you understand, makes you wiser when you're trying to deal with all these problems."

Tsitsipas, who could face Open Sud de France champion Jannik Sinner in the next round, ensured there would be no curse of the top seed in Rotterdam, where the favourite had lost their first match in two of the last three editions.

On both occasions (2020 and 2021), that was Medvedev, but the former world number one fought from a set down to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6 6-2 6-2.

World number 10 Hubert Hurkacz also had to battle against a Spaniard in the form of Roberto Bautista Agut. The fifth seed needed three hours to win 7-5 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-4) and tee up an encounter with Grigor Dimitrov. 

Alexander Zverev defeated Soonwoo Kwon in straight sets to book his progress, while Gijs Brouwer got the better of Marc-Andrea Huesler.

Belinda Bencic continued her impressive run of form this season with a straight-sets win over Viktoriya Tomova in the opening round of the Qatar Open.

The seventh seed triumphed at the Abu Dhabi Open last week to add to her Adelaide International 2 success from January and is now seeking another title in Doha.

Bencic eased to a 6-0 6-1 win against Bulgarian qualifier Tomova and will face two-time tournament winner Victoria Azarenka for a place in the quarter-finals.

Maria Sakkari also advanced on Tuesday, overcoming Zheng Qinwen 6-2 3-6 6-3, as did fellow seeded player Daria Kasatkina with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win against Rebecca Marino.

Zheng may have suffered an early exit, but last season's WTA Newcomer of the Year produced the shot of the tournament with a winning tweener en route to taking the second set.

Petra Kvitova, another two-time winner in Qatar, defeated Zhang Shuai 7-5 6-2, while Danielle Collins beat Elise Mertens 6-4 7-6 (8-6) and will now face top seed Iga Swiatek.

Second seed Jessica Pegula will take on Jelena Ostapenko, meanwhile, after the Latvian proved too strong for Madison Keys in a 7-5 6-2 victory.

Yoshihito Nishioka made it eight wins from his first 10 matches this year after defeating Oscar Otte 6-3 0-6 6-4 in Monday's opening round at the Delray Beach Open.

Nishioka was the highest seed in action on the first day of the tournament, and he had his back up against the wall after failing to win a game in a troubling second set, but produced three breaks of serve in the back-and-forth decider.

Meanwhile, Ecuador's Emilio Gomez earned a shot at top seed and world number seven Taylor Fritz after advancing 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 against Taiwan's Tung-lin Wu.

Portugal's Nuno Borges continued his winning run after earning his spot through the qualifiers, eliminating America's Steve Johnson 6-4 3-6 6-4, but the crowd got something to cheer for when the USA's Denis Kudla got the better of Australia's Jordan Thompson 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

Further south at Argentina's Buenos Aires Open, Serbia's Laslo Djere booked a blockbuster showdown against world number two Carlos Alcaraz after repelling the challenge of Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-4.

Argentinian Pedro Cachin put on a show for his hometown fans with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory over Brazil's Thiago Monteiro, but Cachin's compatriot Guido Pella had less success with a 6-4 7-5 defeat at the hand of Spain's Jaume Munar.

Serena Williams feels "more at peace" with her decision to step away from tennis but remains "torn" as a comeback crosses her mind.

The 23-time grand slam winner appeared to call quits on her career at last year's US Open after defeat at the third round stage to Ajla Tomljanovic, repeatedly referencing "evolving" away from tennis.

In October, Williams declared she had not retired and labelled the chances of a return as "very high".

With the 41-year-old still confident she can compete at the highest level, Williams struggles with the repeated questions in her head of choosing between her sporting career and enjoyment of motherhood.

"I for sure feel more at peace now," Williams told E! "It's interesting. I think I feel torn because I'm still able to play at a very, very, very high level.

"With that being said, I always wanted to leave the game playing at a very high level. I also wanted to walk away when I'm healthy and have a quality of life.

"But I'm inch by inch leaning away, inch by inch embracing it. I was playing earlier when I first retired because it was hard to do it cold turkey.

"But lately, I haven't played so much. And I miss it. I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. I have got to get out there'. But it's hard for me to get out there.

"I did play the other day, and it's just like, 'There's no way I shouldn't be playing professional tennis'. Like, there's literally no excuse.

"But I mean, I guess there is an excuse, right? It's hard because when I'm playing I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm pretty good at this. I can continue to do this,' which not a lot of people can say."

Balance in life remains the key aspect Williams is trying to achieve, whether she returns to her beloved sport for one last dance or not.

"I've been playing tennis for literally my entire life," she said. "My entire being and knowing is just what I've done.

"So now, I'm inch by inch finding my way. Obviously, I love other businesses that I've done. But just inch by inch leaning into that and leaning into my family and leaning into just having fun.

"I think it's so important to do all those and still create that balance."

Pablo Carreno Busta was a surprise first-round casualty at the Rotterdam Open after falling to Richard Gasquet on Monday.

World number 16 Carreno Busta, the seventh seed at the ATP 500 event in the Netherlands, took the first set with ease but fell to a 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 defeat against Frenchman Gasquet.

Veteran Gasquet, ranked 45th in the world, will next meet Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss overcame Alexander Bublik in dominant fashion with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph.

Grigor Dimitrov recorded a 6-1 6-3 victory over Aslan Karatsev in just 59 minutes to set up a potential second-round tie with fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who must first get past Roberto Bautista Agut.

Qualifier Gregoire Barrere was another straight-sets winner, defeating David Goffin 6-0 7-6 (7-3).

The Frenchman, who is ranked 71st in the world, could meet third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the next round if the Canadian overcomes Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.

Victoria Azarenka breezed into the second round of the Qatar Open with an emphatic straight-sets defeat of Ipek Oz on Monday.

Playing her first match since losing to Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Azarenka dispatched outsider Oz 6-1 6-1.

Azarenka, a two-time champion in Doha, only needed an hour and seven minutes to book a meeting with Belinda Bencic or Viktoriya Tomova.

The Belarusian broke twice in the first set and four times in the second, failing to hold just the once in a commanding display.

Eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova battled her way past Barbora Krejcikova, winning 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5).

Karolina Muchov secured an impressive 6-2 6-2 win over Martina Trevisan in the opening first-round match of the day.

Argentina's Sebastian Baez tasted success in his home country on Sunday as he defeated Federico Coria 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the Cordoba Open final.

In the fourth ATP Tour final of his career, Baez secured his second title, showing a slight edge both in his service game and with his returns.

He rattled through the first set in just 31 minutes, winning 17 of his 20 total service points (85 per cent), while Coria could only convert at a 48 per cent rate (11 of 23).

Coria tightened things up in the second set and turned the tide, winning 81 per cent of points on his serve while Baez plummeted to 61 per cent, not allowing a single break point opportunity.

Each player created two break point chances in the deciding set, and while Coria failed to convert either, Baez got the job done at the first attempt, jumping out to an early lead and serving it out the rest of the way.

Coria shot himself in the foot with five of the six total double faults, while Baez served the only ace of the match.

The 22-year-old Baez, who entered the contest ranked 47th in the world, will now climb into the top 40 as he edges closer to his career-best ranking of 31st.

Wu Yibing triumphed in an extraordinary final against local hero John Isner at the Dallas Open to become China's first winner of a singles title at ATP tour level in the Open Era.

Isner served 44 aces but still lost, with the 37-year-old going down 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (14-12) in a match that saw neither player break serve at any point, climaxing in a marathon tie-break.

Former world number eight Isner was chasing a 17th singles title, and a first at an indoor tournament, and he saw a match point slide by at 6-5 in the second set.

Wu resisted one of the best serves in tennis history and took the match all the way. The first 22 points of the third-set tie-break went with serve, before Wu hit a super backhand winner to interrupt the sequence. Incredibly, Isner won the next rally to bring it back on serve, but the match then got away from him, and a stray forehand from the American gave Wu the title.

Dallas resident Isner, famed for his 11 hours and five minutes win over Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010, featuring a 70-68 final set, said of this loss: "That kind of stunk for me."

Wu said: "It's a very tough match today. I'm not even moving when he serves. I made history here for my country. I'm very proud of myself."

Jannik Sinner claimed his first title of the season with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory over Maxime Cressy at the Open Sud de France.

Cressy defeated top seed Holger Rune in the semi-finals but could not repeat that level of performance against Sinner, who is set to rise to 14th in the ATP rankings.

Sinner is the first Italian champion in the history of the tournament, having failed to win a match in his previous two appearances in Montpellier.

He has now collected seven Tour-level titles, with six of those coming on hard courts.

"To be honest, the first key was to hold the serve. In the tie-break I knew he may miss something," said Sinner, who saved all three break points he offered to his American opponent.

"I tried to keep my serve, which I have done, so I am very happy about the first set.

"The second set was a little bit different. I had a couple of good chances but he then served very well.

"I am very happy I broke him here and then I served very well at the end of match."

Sinner claimed two early mini breaks in the first-set tie-break to nose into a 4-0 lead, holding his nerve to win the set at the first time of asking.

A crucial break in the second came in the eighth game, with Sinner clinching victory when Cressy sent a weak volley into the net.