Belinda Bencic claimed the inaugural Abu Dhabi Open title after saving three championship points in a gripping comeback win against Liudmila Samsonova.

Second seed Bencic did not drop a single set en route to Sunday's final, but she fell behind to Samsonova and was on the brink of defeat when 6-4 down in a second-set tie-break.

The Swiss dug deep to take the game to a decider, however, and she prevailed 1-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 in a time of two hours and 48 minutes to win the eighth WTA title of her career.

World number nine Bencic, who was also victorious at the Adelaide International 2 in January, made a slow start against an opponent she had failed to beat in three meetings.

Samsonova broke Bencic in the second and sixth games of the opening set in a dominant start as she looked to make it 5-0 in championship matches on the WTA Tour.

Bencic improved in the second set, although a break of serve apiece meant it went the distance.

Eighth seed Samsonova looked good value to wrap up a straight-sets win when 6-4 up, only for Bencic to save both championship points, and likewise at 8-7.

Three points in a row saw the 25-year-old take the tie and level up the contest, which she went on to win with a couple of breaks in the deciding set.

Anastasia Potapova won the second WTA Tour title of her career with a straightforward win over Petra Martic in Sunday's final at the Linz Open.

The 21-year-old, who is set to reach a personal high of 31 in the world rankings on Monday, saw off her Croatian opponent in just an hour and 16 minutes, winning 6-3 6-1.

Potapova dropped as low as 124 in the rankings last year, but this week's success is another reminder of the Russian's promise.

Martic seemingly represents something of a good luck charm for Potapova – she also beat her en route to her first ever WTA title last year in Istanbul.

It did not always look like going in Potapova's favour, though, as she was broken right at the start and then only just held off Martic in her second service game.

Potapova then secured two breaks that helped her seal the first set, and after Martic won the first game of the second, the eventual champion reeled off six on the bounce to emphatically romp to victory.

There is guaranteed to be an Argentine winner of the Cordoba Open on Saturday, while Taylor Fritz was stunned in Dallas.

Federico Coria, seeded sixth, overcame reigning champion and 2021 runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 7-6 (7-2) after over two-and-a-half hours of action.

The world number 67, who is into his second ATP Tour-level final and is set to rise into the top 50 of the rankings, has dropped just a single set in the tournament.

Sebastian Baez, eight years Coria's junior, is aiming for his second title after winning in Estoril last year.

The 22-year-old fourth seed defeated Hugo Dellien 6-4 6-4.

This will be the fourth singles final of Baez's career, though his first on home soil.

"It means a lot, but [it brings] confidence," said Baez.

"I have my people here, my friends, my family, everything, so that is a big motivation for me."

While Coria and Baez have just five previous final appearances between them, John Isner advanced to a 31st Tour-level showdown of his career as he beat fellow American J.J. Wolff at the Dallas Open.

Playing in his home city, 37-year-old Isner came from behind to prevail 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4).

Isner offered up eight break points, but saved seven of them to frustrate Wolff.

"I saved a lot of break points with unreturnable serves," Isner said. "Without that I would have been dusted off the court 6-3, 6-4. I'm of course very fortunate to have that weapon in my pocket, and I needed every bit of it today.

"It was an absolute battle, so I'm pretty tired. But I'm absolutely ecstatic to be in the final tomorrow here in Dallas."

Asked how he was faring up after his long tussle with Wolff, Isner quipped: "Truthfully, it feels terrible right now. I'm 38 in April. It's not getting any easier. I started off a little slow, a little sluggish, but in the third set I actually felt the best I felt the whole match.

"I had a lot of adrenaline there at the end and I was able to hold my nerve and win. Right now the name of the game is recovery."

Isner will be the favourite in the final, after top seed Fritz surrendered a lead in a 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-4 loss to Wu Yibing.

Maxime Cressy sprang a shock by beating top seed Holger Rune to reach the Open Sud de France final, where Jannik Sinner awaits him.

Paris-born American Cressy won 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) in a little over two and a half hours, countering 10 double faults with 15 aces on his way to victory.

Rune, the Danish 19-year-old who sits ninth in the world rankings, had won his three previous matches against Cressy, including a second-round clash at the Australian Open last month, but he could not extend that dominance at the indoor event in Montpellier.

It means Cressy faces second seed Sinner, a player he lost to at a low-level tournament in Lexington in 2019, their only past meeting.

Sinner beat 18-year-old French wildcard Arthur Fils in Saturday's first semi-final, ending the teenager's eye-catching run with a 7-5 6-2 victory.

Fils had beaten Richard Gasquet and Roberto Bautista Agut on his way to the last four but found world number 17 Sinner was more than his match.

Last year saw Sinner reach just one ATP final, taking a title on clay in Umag, after making it through to five title matches in the 2021 season.

He had his best year at the grand slams, however, reaching quarter-finals at three of the four majors.

Cressy recognises the threat posed by the Italian, saying in an on-court interview: "Jannik Sinner is an incredible player, just like Holger Rune and everyone else in the tournament. I believe you've just got to bring your 'A' game every time and I'm really looking forward to it."

Competing well in France has been pleasing for Cressy, who is set to climb from 51st in the rankings and into the top 40 on Monday.

"I lived and grew up here, and I'm extremely happy," Cressy said.

Belinda Bencic breezed through to the Abu Dhabi Open final after a commanding 6-2 6-3 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday.

The world number nine, who is yet to drop a set this week, is into her second WTA final of 2023, having triumphed in Adelaide last month.

Haddad Maia arrived in the clash fresh from winning each of her previous six encounters with top-10 opponents, including her quarter-final victory over Wimbledon champion and Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina.

But the Brazilian had already spent almost eight hours on court in this event prior to this contest, in which Bencic dropped just five games on the way to wracking up her 11th win of the campaign – the joint-most on the WTA Tour alongside Melbourne winner Aryna Sabalenka.

She will play number eight seed Liudmila Samsonova in Sunday's final after the Russian defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-4 1-6 6-4.

After being edged out in the first set, Zheng responded to motor through the second and seemed to have the momentum going into the third, but Samsonova showed impressive resolve to see off three break points against her, before taking her first on match point.

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari is out after going down 3-6 6-3 6-4 to sixth seed Petra Martic in a match that lasted over two and a half hours.

The Croatian will play Anastasia Potapova in the final after the number eight seed claimed yet another three-set victory this week to see off Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 and secure her fifth WTA final appearance.

Russia's sports minister has attacked politicians' demands to block athletes from the country competing at the Olympic Games in Paris next year.

Oleg Matytsin said it was "absolutely unacceptable" for governments to attempt to influence the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

His reaction on Saturday followed Lithuanian sports minister Jurgita Siugzdiniene announcing there was a "unanimous" view from a group of around 35 countries that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be banned from the Paris 2024 Games.

The stance comes amid the invasion of Ukraine, with ministers from countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Australia, reportedly opposing Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to take part, even under a neutral flag.

A virtual meeting of sports ministers, also attended by Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was held on Friday.

Zelenskyy said the presence of competitors from Russia "cannot be covered up with some pretended neutrality or a white flag", saying their presence would be a "manifestation of violence and lawlessness".

Matytsin told reporters, according to Russian news agency TASS, that other nations had no right to put pressure on Olympic chiefs.

He said: "This is a direct intervention of ministers in the activities of independent international sports organisations, an attempt to dictate the conditions for the participation of athletes in international competitions, which is absolutely unacceptable.

"Moreover, more than a month ago, the national Olympic committees of these countries supported the decision of the IOC on the participation of our athletes in competitions.

"These countries are putting pressure on the activities of independent public organisations, which they tried to accuse us of. Now we see an undisguised desire to destroy the unity of international sports and the international Olympic movement, to make sport a means of pressure in order to resolve political issues."

Matytsin said sport should instead be used "to be an ambassador of peace and build bridges between peoples".

Athletes from Ukraine have accused the IOC of "being on the wrong side of history" as Games organisers consider whether athletes from Russia and Belarus, which has supported Russian invasion efforts, should be able to take part in Paris.

IOC president Thomas Bach previously criticised Ukrainian calls for a boycott of the Olympics if Russians and Belarusians are allowed to take part.

In a statement issued in conjunction with union Global Athlete, Ukraine's Olympic committee said allowing Russia to compete would enable the country to "use the athletes to bolster the war effort and distract from the atrocities in Ukraine".

World number eight Taylor Fritz is two wins away from his first title of the season after surviving a tough test against Marcos Giron 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-3 in Friday's quarter-final at the Dallas Open.

Fritz, who at 25-years-old is seeking the fifth ATP singles title of his career, allowed seventh-seed Giron only one break point opportunity for the entire match. Fritz himself only created two such opportunities, and further illustrating the closely-fought nature of the battle, Fritz edged the total point count 86-85.

With the win, Fritz booked his place against China's Yibing Wu in the semi-final after the 23-year-old defeated 34-year-old French veteran Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-4.

The other semi-final will be an all-American showdown after J.J. Wolf upset second seed Frances Tiafoe 4-6 6-3 6-4, and 37-year-old John Isner proved too much for Ecuador's Emilio Gomez in a 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 victory.

Meanwhile, Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas is one match away from a final in his home country after defeating Joao Sousa 6-4 2-6 6-1 in the quarter-final of the Cordoba Open.

Ramos-Vinolas will play Argentina's Federico Coria for a spot in the decider after he emerged victorious 6-3 3-0 (ret) against compatriot Francisco Cerundolo.

Heading into the quarter-finals, Francisco and his brother Juan Manuel Cerundolo were on a collision course to meet in the final, but now both are eliminated after 21-year-old Juan Manuel fell 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-0 to Bolivia's Hugo Dellien.

Dellien will play fourth seed Sebastian Baez in the other semi-final after eliminating Chile's Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1 3-6 6-1.

Open Sud de France top seed Holger Rune stayed on course to make the final in Montpellier after a straight-sets defeat of Gregoire Barrere.

Last year's Paris Masters champion Rune, who is in the hunt for his first title of the season, beat the Frenchman 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5) and is yet to drop a set in the tournament.

The 19-year-old looks sharp, but so too does Jannik Sinner. Two years Rune's senior, the Italian made light work of his good friend and compatriot Lorenzo Sonego on Friday.

Sinner took just over 90 minutes to triumph 6-4 6-2 and tee up a semi-final with history-making 18-year-old Arthur Fils.

Fils, the world number 163, beat Quentin Halys to become the youngest Frenchman to reach a tour-level semi-final since Richard Gasquet in 2004.

"I have seen him [Fils] play here at this tournament," Sinner said of Fils, as quoted by the ATP Tour's official website.

"He is very strong physically already. He understands the game very well. He started off the year very well, so it is going to be an interesting match for sure."

Sinner will be the favourite despite Fils' hot streak, while Rune will go up against Maxime Cressy in a rematch of their Australian Open second-round match.

Cressy went down 7-5 6-4 6-4 in that meeting in Melbourne last month, though has the chance for revenge after seeing off Borna Coric 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.

Top seed Daria Kasatkina succumbed to a surprise quarter-final exit against Zheng Qinwen at the Abu Dhabi Open as Belinda Bencic marched into the final four.

Kasatkina was blown away in just 78 minutes by Zheng, who only dropped three games in her 6-1 6-2 upset of the world number eight.

Zheng, who defeated world number 12 Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday, executed her serve-and-volley approach expertly throughout, with the 20-year-old claiming the third top-10 victory of her career to reach her third tour-level semi-final.

Another Russian player stands between Zheng and a place in the final after eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova dispatched compatriot Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-3.

Bencic found form after edging a tough first set against qualifier Shelby Rodgers, who saw her run ended by a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 defeat.

Second seed Bencic will face Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semi-finals after the Brazilian railed to beat Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-3 6-2 less than 24 hours after beating Yulia Putintseva in a marathon three-hour encounter.

Meanwhile, top seed Maria Sakkari secured her progress to the last four at the Linz Open with a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) straight sets win over Donna Vekic.

The Greek will face off with Petra Martic next, while Anastasia Potapova faces the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in the other semi-final.

Top seed and world number eight Taylor Fritz made a winning start to his Dallas Open campaign on Thursday, eliminating Jack Sock 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

In an all-American showdown, Fritz played a near-flawless match, converting 91 per cent of his accurate first serves into points while not allowing Sock a single break point opportunity.

Fritz will face seventh seed Marcos Giron in the quarter-final after the American defeated Germany's Oscar Otte 6-4 6-3, while the USA's John Isner also advanced past Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-3 7-6 (7-1).

Earlier in the day, Serbian fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic was upset by Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to earn a crack at Isner in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, the top seed fell at the Cordoba Open as red-hot 21-year-old Juan Manuel Cerundolo shocked his Argentinian compatriot Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.

It continues a remarkable run for Cerundolo – the defending champion in Cordoba – who has begun 2023 with 14 wins from his first 15 matches, while his older brother Francisco Cerundolo also advanced with a 6-3 3-6 7-5 win over Federico Delbonis.

If the two brothers both win their next two matches, they will meet in the final.

Elena Rybakina roared through to the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals following a straight-sets victory over Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.

The Australian Open finalist, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne less than a fortnight ago, wrapped up a 6-4 6-2 win after just 69 minutes.

Looking to build on her momentum after reaching a second major final, the third seed broke the former world number one in the opening game of the first set and twice in the second.

Next up for the Kazakh is a showdown with sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who edged out Yulia Putintseva 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4).

Top seed Daria Kasatkina was forced to come from behind before eventually sealing her third victory over Jil Teichmann in as many meetings.

Last season's French Open semi-finalist has endured a mixed start to 2023. A finalist in Adelaide, she suffered a surprise first-round exit at the Australian Open.

It looked like Kasatkina's struggles would continue after losing the opening set 6-1, but she lost just two games thereafter to prevail a commanding 1-6 6-0 6-2 victor.

Elsewhere, Liudmila Samsonova reached her first quarter-final of the year after beating former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-5 7-6 (8-6).

Over in Linz, Melbourne quarter-finalist Donna Vekic enjoyed a commanding 6-3 6-1 victory over Madison Brengle to book a last-eight clash with top seed Maria Sakkari.

There were also wins for sixth seed Petra Martic and Clara Tauson over Alison Van Uytvanck and Camila Giorgi respectively, but fourth seed Anhelina Kalinina was beaten in straight sets by Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Holger Rune made a winning start at Open Sud de France after defeating Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Montpellier.

Appearing as the top seed at an ATP event for the first time, Rune had lost both his previous meetings with Huesler, including last season's Sofia Open.

However, the world number nine made it third time lucky to set up a last-eight clash with Gregoire Barrere, who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets.

Meanwhile, third seed Borna Coric is now just one win away from securing a return to the top 20 in the ATP rankings. The world number 23 – and reigning Cincinnati champion –saw off Arthur Rinderknech 6-3 7-5.

Although, there was no joy for Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The fifth seed was ousted 6-3 6-3 by world number 70 Quentin Halys, who claimed only his second top-50 career win in 20 attempts.

Seventh seed Emil Ruusuvuori was also eliminated in straight sets by Maxime Cressy, but Lorenzo Sonego overcame Filip Krajinovic to book a quarter-final date with Jannik Sinner.

Jamaica will face Lebanon in World Group II of the Davis Cup after the draw at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) office in London on Thursday.

The Jamaicans advanced to World Group II after defeating Estonia 3-2 in a playoff tie at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston from February 4-5.

Lebanon fell into World Group II, where they will ne the seventh seed, after losing 3-1 to Ukraine in the Group I playoffs on February 2-3 in Poland.

The tie will be played in September and is a Lebanon home fixture.

President of Tennis Jamaica John Azar is pleased with the team’s performance in their recently concluded Davis Cup Group Two playoff match against Estonia at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston from February 4-5.

The Jamaicans won the tie 3-2 to advance to group two of the Davis Cup for the first time in over 25 years.

“I think the team played incredibly well. It’s one thing when we as the national association set the big stage for them but it’s another thing when they actually come out and perform,” Azar told SportsMax.TV.

Rowland “Randy” Phillips got the ball rolling for the hosts with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Kristjan Tamm, a win that Azar said set the tone for the rest of the tie.

“Randy Phillips played the first match and set the tone for the players that played after him. He was incredible as he always is,” said Azar.

Match two saw Jamaican number one Blaise Bicknell come from a set down to beat Kenneth Raisma 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 and put the Jamaicans 2-0 up.

The Estonians got on the board in match three when Raisma and Jurgen Zopp got the better of John Chin and Daniel Azar in doubles 6-1, 6-2 before Bicknell secured victory for the Jamaicans after Tamm was defaulted after losing a first set tiebreak in match four. Johannes Seeman got a consolation 6-1, 6-0 victory over Jacob Bicknell in the fifth match.

Azar was also elated with the crowd turnout at the tie, the first time Jamaica has hosted a Davis Cup tie since 2007.

“I think it was what we expected and more,” he said.

“The crowd turned out in their numbers, were loud and very supportive and, as I’ve always said, when you have a home tie in any sport, the crowd can tend to be a bit of a deciding factor so we’re definitely grateful for those who came out and showed their support. There were a lot of Tennis fans in attendance but also a lot of sporting fans in general,” he added.

The team will find out their next opponent at the group two draw at the ITF office in London.

“We’re into group two which is a stage we haven’t been for over 25 years so we’ll see when the draw, which is done at the ITF office in London, comes out who our next opponent is. I think the next tie will be in September and we’ll see if it’s a home or away tie. Obviously, we’re hoping it will be a home tie and, if we’re that fortunate, we’ll look into expanding the capacity at the Tennis centre and hope for an even bigger turnout.”

Denis Shapovalov suffered defeat at the hands of China's fast-rising Wu Yibing at the Dallas Open.

Wu landed a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 win against the Canadian Davis Cup winner and former top-10 player in their second-round contest.

World number 97 Wu, who this week became China's second player to reach the ATP top 100, has surged from 1,869th on the ranking list last April and believes he can crack the top 30 by the end of the year.

Speaking after getting the better of Shapovalov, who stands at 27th in the rankings, Wu said: "I've been playing great tennis the past few months. Hopefully I can keep playing good."

Frances Tiafoe cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-3 win over fellow American Mackenzie McDonald.

Second seed Tiafoe was playing for the first time since his third-round elimination to Karen Khachanov at the Australian Open last month.

He faced just one break point in the entire match and needed just 59 minutes to deal with the world number 59.

J.J. Wolf, seeded sixth, will face Tiafoe in the last eight after he saw off Romania's Radu Albot in a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) win.

At the Cordoba Open, fifth seed Pedro Cachin was the biggest casualty on Wednesday as he was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien.

Seventh seed Pedro Martinez was also ousted in the first round, while Bernabe Zapata Miralles was sent packing by Tomas Barrios Vera in the last 16, losing 5-7 6-4 6-3.

Fourth seed Sebastian Baez had no such issues with Italy's Luciano Darderi, however, reaching the quarter-finals as a 6-3 6-4 winner.