Atp 1000

The 19-year-old defeated Djokovic 3-6 6-3 7-5, fending off the six-time champion at the indoor event to earn a place in the top 10 for the first time, becoming the first Danish man to reach such heights.

Rune becomes the first player since the ATP rankings were launched in 1973 to have beaten five top-10 players in the same tournament, other than at the season-ending ATP Finals.

His scalps on the route to his maiden Masters 1000 final included Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz – who retired when trailing in their quarter-final – and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Now Rune can add last year's Paris champion Djokovic to that list, defeating the 21-time grand slam winner who had described his young opponent as the future of tennis on the eve of the final.

Rune becomes the youngest Paris Masters champion since an 18-year-old Boris Becker triumphed in 1986, and he did it the hard way too, coming from behind after Djokovic made the stronger start.

Djokovic broke Rune's serve in the fourth game to lead 3-1 and take an early grip, soon seeing out the opening set.

Yet Rune charged 3-0 ahead in the second and grew in confidence. There was even a Djokovic-like raised fist after getting the better of his illustrious rival in one thrilling rally

Djokovic roared ahead in the decider, but not intimidated by the occasion, Rune struck back to recover the early break. 

Rune then broke to lead 6-5, as his Serbian opponent became erratic.

Nobody beats Djokovic without a fight though, and the 21-time grand slam winner had six chances to break back in the next game.

Rune survived them all and clinched victory on his second match point when Djokovic, who had been chasing a record-extending 39th ATP 1000 title, netted on the half-volley.

Addressing Rune in an on-court interview, Djokovic said: "You absolutely deserve this victory. What an amazing week you had.

"I'm not happy that you beat me, but on the other hand I'm happy for you because I like your personality, I think you're a very dedicated guy that loves tennis and puts a lot of hours into hard work.

"It's paying off for you, and I'm sure the future is bright for you and your team, so congratulations."

Rune, who is working with Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, said: "This must be my favourite tournament now, I really enjoyed my time here."

Ruud's heavy topspin game gave Zverev problems initially, contributing to a 94 per cent success rate from points on his first serve, while Zverev struggled to find rhythm on serve at 58 per cent.

Saving two break points in the opening game of the second seemed to spark Zverev into life, but Ruud was able to regroup and continue dominating from the baseline in the third to comfortably see his way through.

"It was great to get that break early on [in the third set] and I was able to keep it all the way out," Ruud said post-match. "I was serving well. I can thank my serving for the win today."

The Norweigian world number eight lost his first three ATP 1000 quarter-finals on hard court, but played with confidence on the back of a 75 per cent first-serve rate.

He will face Cerundolo, who also advanced into the semi-finals on Wednesday, after Jannik Sinner was forced to retire due to foot blisters. The Argentine was leading 4-1 in the first set after 23 minutes when Sinner called the match.

The world number 103 held a 0-2 record on hard courts prior to this week, but has now made his first ATP 1000 semi-final in as many attempts after progressing past Tallon Griekspoor, Reilly Opelka, Gael Monfils and Frances Tiafoe.

Cerundolo has enjoyed a strong start to 2022, with respective quarter-final and semi-final appearances on clay in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.

The winner of the upcoming semi-final will make their first ATP 1000 final appearance, while Ruud was able to beat Zverev at third time of asking, losing the opening two games head-to-head.

The Russian 14th seed prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 over Tsitsipas in one hour and 34 minutes, powering 25 winners and making only nine unforced errors, compared to the Greek's 14.

Khachanov's triumph ended a winless 0-6 head-to-head record against Tsitsipas, while it also snapped his own 23-match losing streak against top-10 opponents.

The Russian, who also made this year's Australian Open semi-finals, has qualified for four of his six tour-level events this year.

Khachanov will take on 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo in the quarter-finals, with the Argentinian fighting back to get past Lorenzo Sonego 3-6 6-3 6-2 in just over two hours.

Defending champion and top seed Carlos Alcaraz had less trouble against Tommy Paul, cruising into the quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-4 victory.

Alcaraz won the winners' count 24-9, setting up a quarter-final clash with ninth seed Taylor Fritz, as the Spanish 19-year-old chases a rare Sunshine Double, having won last week's Indian Wells Open.

Fritz progressed after getting past seventh seed Holger Rune 6-3 6-4 in 86 minutes, sending down eight aces and 22 winners for the match.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev played late into the evening after a lengthy rain delay in Miami, but made light work of Quinten Halys 6-4 6-2, triumphing just past 1:30am local time.

Medvedev, who is into his third straight Miami quarter-final, will face American qualifier Christopher Eubanks in the last eight after he got past Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5) in another rain-delayed contest.

Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner knocked off sixth seed Andrey Rublev 6-2 6-4, advancing to face Emil Ruusuvuori after he beat Botic van de Zandschulp 4-6 6-4 7-5.

The number 11 seed brushed aside the challenge of Dusan Lajovic on Sunday, winning 6-1 6-3 in the first round.

Shapovalov had suffered disappointment on Thursday when he was knocked out in the second round of the Estoril Open, an event where he was the number one seed.

He has not reached the quarter-finals in his previous two ATP Tour events but won 90 per cent of his first-serve points against Lajovic, hitting 21 winners to his opponent's five.

"Just definitely felt a lot better - I felt very good on the court," Shapovalov said after a 63-minute win in which he did not lose serve. 

"I'm just happy to get the first win.

"Not much can change in the span of a couple of days, but Madrid is a place where I have had a lot of success, from back in juniors to making semis here in the Masters [1000 event] and finals of Davis Cup.

"It's just a place where it kind of feels like home to me and I just feel so comfortable." 

Shapovalov will face Alexander Bublik – who saw off Marton Fucsovics in straight sets – in round two.

Tommy Paul, meanwhile, will play Andrey Rublev after defeating Pedro Martinez.

In the only match of the day to go the distance, Australian Alex de Minaur battled back to triumph 4-6 7-5 6-1 against Jaume Munar.

He will play either Lloyd Harris or Grigor Dimitrov, who are scheduled to do battle on Monday.

Sinner, who dropped only one point on first serve, won 6-3 6-1 over the Finn in one hour and 16 minutes.

The 21-year-old Italian will face either top seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or 2022 Indian Wells winner Taylor Fritz in the last four. Sinner lost to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semi-finals a fortnight ago.

Alcaraz and Fritz's Miami quarter-final was postponed to Thursday with persistent rain forcing the evening session in Miami to be cancelled.

The other quarter-finals between 14th seed Karen Khachanov and 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo along with fourth seed Daniil Medvedev and qualifier Christophr Eubanks were also re-scheduled for Thursday.

The Sinner-Ruusuvuori clash was also impacted by a two-hour rain delay, but the Italian prevailed to maintain his perfect record in Miami, having not dropped a set.

"We both played well today but I won the important points," Sinner said. "It's never easy when you are up and you get interrupted, but I came back and played well."

Sinner's run to the Miami semi-finals has seen him drop the fewest games (23) since Rafael Nadal (21) and Novak Djokovic (23) in 2014.

The Italian became the seventh male to reach the semi-finals at both Indian Wells and Miami in a single year before turning 22, joining an elite list in Andre Agassi (1990), Jim Courier (1991), Djokovic (2007), Andy Murray (2007 and 2009), Nadal (2008) and Alcaraz (2022).

Sinner's 2023 record is now 20-4, bettered only by Medvedev (26-3) and Cameron Norrie (21-5).

World number 12 Sinner, the 11th seed in the French capital this week, suffered a straight-sets loss to Marc-Andrea Huesler, as did 15th favourite Cilic against Lorenzo Musetti.

Ninth seed Fritz downed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5 6-2, with Cameron Norrie and Frances Tiafoe also recording straight-sets victories against Miomir Kecmanovic and Lorenzo Sonego respectively.

Victory for Fritz kept the American in the hunt for qualifying for November's ATP Finals in Turin for the first time, needing to reach the final in Paris to overtake Felix Auger-Aliassime or Andrey Rublev.

"Right now I'm just focused on kind of playing myself into the tournament," said Fritz. "I feel like any time this year that I've won a couple of matches in a tournament, then I've done well.

"So I'll just try to focus on these early rounds. Turin is still in the picture, obviously, but there's not much else I really could have done.

"Felix has played really, really well, so he deserves it, but I am going to try to steal his spot this week for sure."

Home favourite Gilles Simon awaits Fritz in the second round at the ATP 1000 event after defeating Andy Murray 4-6 7-5 6-3.

Alexander Bublik and Mikael Ymer played out another three-set battle, with the former triumphing 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-4.

Richard Gasquet, Yoshihito Nishioka, Karen Khachanov, Maxime Cressy, Nikoloz Basilashvili and John Isner were the other first-round winners on the opening day in France.

World number one Djokovic is returning to action this week, having taken time away from the tour since banking an 18th grand slam title by winning the Australian Open in February.

He received a first-round bye, but waiting for him in the last 32 is Sinner, who on Tuesday saw off 2017 Monte Carlo runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3 6-4, again illustrating the 19-year-old Italian's great potential.

World number 22 Sinner is the only teenager ranked inside the top 80 in the men's game and is coming off his first run to a Masters final, at the Miami Open.

The switch from hard courts to clay is one that Sinner is having to deal with, and seeing off a specialist on the surface in round one represents an impressive start, although facing two-time former champion Djokovic will be a step up.

"It's always good for me to see what I can do on clay," Sinner said, quoted on the ATP website. "Obviously, I am not in the best form on clay now for the first week.

"But I think today was a solid match from my side. It was not easy. He's not giving [away] one point, so you have to stay there the whole match. I think I played a good match from my side."

Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 win over Russian Aslan Karatsev, but there was disappointment at the same stage for Italian eighth seed Matteo Berrettini, beaten 7-5 6-3 by Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Those were the only second-round matches of the day.

Surprise Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz made a winning start, battling to a 6-3 3-6 6-3 first-round success against Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano to reach round two.

Roberto Bautista Agut, Grigor Dimitrov, Pablo Carreno Busta and Fabio Fognini each booked places in round two thanks to straight-sets wins.

Qualifier Federico Delbonis was a 7-5 6-1 victor over France's Adrian Mannarino, meaning the Argentinian faces the ultimate test in clay-court tennis next, a tussle with Rafael Nadal, the 11-time former champion in Monte Carlo.

Nadal has won all four of their previous matches, and their fifth encounter will immediately follow the Djokovic-Sinner match on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Italian hit three huge backhand winners to break serve in the final game as he pulled off a 5-7 6-4 6-4 victory over Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in their last-four clash.

It means Sinner matches Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - players who went on to be ranked number one in the world - in becoming a finalist at the Masters 1000 tournament while still in his teens.

The hotly tipped world number 31 will contest a final at this level for the first time in his career on Sunday, awaiting the winner of the second semi-final between Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz.

Sinner said of his feat: "It sounds incredible. I'm very, very happy about today because obviously being the first semi-final it's not easy to play, especially on a Masters event, and playing against a very, very solid player in Roberto.

"We had a tough battle two weeks ago, and coming out as a winner today it means a lot to me."

Sinner also won that previous match, another tight three-setter, in Dubai.

Speaking on Amazon Prime, he explained how he recovered from a slow start to win the Miami tussle.

"In the beginning I think we were both a little bit tight and then we both played a little bit better," Sinner said.

"Today was not easy, it was a little bit windy, and in the end I tried to serve better and try to move him a little bit more, try to mix it up a little bit, and that was the key today.

"He was serving a few second serves in the last game and I just tried to go for it and even if I lost the game I was 5-5, so I was up in the score and it was the right decision."

Agassi, in 1990, and Djokovic, in 2007, were both teenage champions at the event, beating Stefan Edberg and Guillermo Canas respectively in the title matches.

Nadal lost to Roger Federer in the 2005 final, with the Swiss coming from two sets down to win what was then a five-set finale to the tournament. It has since gone back to being a best-of-three match.

Sinner may have benefited from Nadal, Djokovic and Federer electing to skip this year's tournament, but many believe he has the potential to follow them to the very top of the game.

Former women's world number five Daniela Hantuchova hailed Sinner's "braveness and calmness", adding: "When it really mattered, he stepped it up big time and to be able to do that at such a young age, we are looking at something very, very special here."

Greg Rusedski, runner-up at the 1997 US Open, added on Amazon's broadcast: "Rafa was the youngest to be in the Miami finals. Mentally they have a lot in common. Different styles but just bold and brave."

Sinner fell to a quarter-final defeat to Andrey Rublev in Montreal last time out, appearing to struggle with a hip issue throughout that loss after missing the Paris Olympics due to a bout of tonsillitis. 

However, the Italian played down any concerns over his fitness ahead of his last-32 match in Cincinnati, where he was pushed all the way by Michelsen but held firm to advance.

Sinner had to save eight break points in one hour and 52 minutes on court, committing as many unforced errors (19) as his American opponent.

However, breaks in the very first game of the opener and the penultimate game of the second set proved decisive for the Australian Open winner, who will now face either Sebastian Baez or Jordan Thompson for a quarter-final place.

Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas bounced back from his first-round Canadian Open exit at the hands of Kei Nishikori, fighting from a set and a break down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-4 6-3.

Speaking after his win, Tsitsipas – who will face Jack Draper or Jaume Munar next – said: "I was down a break, and I managed to keep on fighting and get the break back. 

"Suddenly I felt like I was starting to figure out what really worked behind his serve. He made a few double faults, and I took that chance, got myself in the lead, and I think once I started reminding myself of my best qualities as a player, these things really started working."

Data Debrief: Sinner looking to stay perfect

Sinner's victory improved his record on hard courts to 25-2 for the season, and a first quarter-final berth at Cincinnati is now within his sights.

He has reached at least the last eight at all five ATP 1000 Masters tournaments he has played this year, though his only such title came in Miami in March.

After saving three in his opening match against Emil Ruusuvuoiri, the 20-year-old Italian denied Pablo Carreno Busta five times to eventually win 5-7 7-5 7-5.

A Miami finalist in 2021, the Italian was 5-4 down in the second set before winning 11 consecutive points to force a third frame.

Down a break before breaking-to-love in the third, Sinner was fearless with his ground strokes with the game on the line, moving to 5-0 in deciding sets for 2022.

He will face Nick Kyrgios, who continued his strong start to the year with a 6-2 6-4 win over Fabio Fognini.

Taking only 61 minutes to advance after defeating world number seven Andrey Rublev in straight sets in his opening match, Kyrgios hit 24 winners and only lost eight points on serve.

The Australian wildcard and Sinner were supposed to meet at Indian Wells earlier this year, but the latter had to withdraw due to illness.

Fellow unseeded Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis advanced past Denis Kudla, while Francisco Cerundolo upset Gael Monfils.

In the late result on Sunday, Alexander Zverev was a comfortable 6-2 6-2 winner over Mackenzie McDonald.

The German second seed put McDonald under immediate pressure with his return of service, winning 13 of 22 points on the American's second serve.

Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie and Casper Ruud saw their way through in straight sets.

Sinner, 21, has enjoyed a terrific start to 2023. Since the beginning of the Australian Open, the Italian has only lost three matches – to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alcaraz.

He avenged his defeat to Tsitsipas with a straight sets win at the Rotterdam Open, and he has now got one back on Alcaraz after their three-hour war of attrition.

Both players created exactly 12 break point opportunities, and Sinner's 26 unforced errors were only one less than Alcaraz's 27, but the Spanish 19-year-old committed an uncharacteristic nine double faults. The loss snapped Alcaraz's 10-match winning streak.

The victory gives Sinner his second appearance in the Miami Open final after losing the 2021 edition to Hubert Hurkacz, and he now joins Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only players to ever reach the final here twice before turning 22.

Sinner will get a chance to avenge his only other loss this year in the final after Daniil Medvedev booked his spot with a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 victory over Russian compatriot Karen Khachanov.

Incredibly, Khachanov lost despite hitting 53 winners and only 11 unforced errors, and he ended up edging the total point count 93-88, but he could only convert two of his six break point opportunities, while Medvedev converted two out of four.

The win means Medvedev is the first player since Roger Federer in 2019 to reach the final of both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open in the same season, and he is the first since Federer in 2006 to reach five ATP finals before the clay court season begins.

Medvedev's winning streak was halted at 19 matches by the sensational Alcaraz, who claimed his third Masters 1000 title in style on Sunday.

Alcaraz won 6-3 6-2 in just 72 minutes to return to the summit of the ATP rankings, with Novak Djokovic having been unable to feature in the United States due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Medvedev had won three titles in a row – at the Rotterdam Open, Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, where he beat Djokovic – ahead of competing at Indian Wells, yet proved no match for the imperious Alcaraz, who he had beaten in their only previous meeting, at Wimbledon in 2021.

The Russian had to overcome several hurdles to reach the final, having rolled his ankle in his fourth-round win over Alexander Zverev while he also hurt his thumb in a quarter-final defeat of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Yet despite the trials and tribulations, and his humbling loss in the final, Medvedev was in good spirits.

"I had a pretty toxic relationship here with the courts, a love-hate relationship," Medvedev chuckled. "So I'd like to thank the court!

"I only played on this court. I gave it a hard time so it gave me a hard time also. Rolled the ankle, the thumb... but it gave me the chance to finish the tournament.

"Thanks a lot to this court, I'll definitely be back.

"I really love this tournament, I'll be happy to come back many more years to come and hopefully I can start to love this court and Indian Wells together."

Addressing the crowd, Medvedev quipped: "Sorry I didn't make this final entertaining. I tried, I don't like to lose, but today was unfortunately pretty easy. I hope you still enjoyed it."

Alcaraz is one of only three players to hold a 100 per cent record in multiple ATP Masters 1000 finals, having now won in the finals of the Miami Open, Indian Wells Open and Madrid Open without dropping a set.

"I'd like to congratulate Carlos," said Medvedev. "You already have amazing achievements in your career and I'm sure many more to come.

"Today's one more of them, winning Indian Wells. I also dream of it – maybe next time you'll give me the chance!

"Congrats to you and your team. You're probably the most respectful player on Tour, you probably say hi to 300 people a day. I've rarely seen it!"

Alcaraz returned the plaudits, telling Medvedev he serves as an inspiration to be "better on the court and off the court".

"It has been a really amazing run here, such an amazing experience," the 19-year-old added.

When asked if he had played a near perfect match, Alcaraz told Amazon Prime: "Yes, probably. I played really, really well.

"I made no tactical mistakes, which is really important against Daniil. I would say I was perfect in that way.

"I'm really happy with the way I played, the trophy and of course to be world number one."

While Alcaraz will return to the top of the world on Monday, compatriot and idol Rafael Nadal is set to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since April 2005.

Alcaraz defeated Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev to win the Madrid Open last week.

The 19-year-old has a 28-3 record for the 2022 season and has risen to world number six in the ATP rankings, having won four tournaments this year.

His incredible form has drawn plenty of comparisons to Nadal, who was a teenager when he burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s.

Nadal bounced back from his defeat to Alcaraz by defeating John Isner at the Internazionali d'Italia on Wednesday.

The 21-time grand slam champion is going for an 11th title in Rome, but he could not avoid fielding questions about Alcaraz in his post-match news conference.

"I do not know. And I won't be able to talk every day about who will be or who is stronger that day, will I? I forgot what I was like," Nadal replied when asked who he thought was a better player at the age of 19 out of himself and Alcaraz.

"The only thing we can do is enjoy the career of an extraordinary player like Carlos. But stop comparing him to me. 

"If he manages to win 25 grand slams, it will be fantastic for him and for our country. But let him enjoy his personal career. I have enjoyed my personal career.

"Probably in 2005, I wouldn't have said about myself that I was great, but I thought I was good enough. That's all. Different moments. Different careers. A different way of approaching things because times are changing.

"But let's enjoy it. We don't [need to] put further pressure on him. Don't ask me every time, because I'll always tell you the same thing. 

"It's good for our sport. Honestly, in a selfish way, as a viewer, to have someone like Carlos who will enjoy their career for the next few years is fantastic.

"But now I'm still playing. I am focused on trying to do the things I have to do. That's all."

At the Internazionali d'Italia, Tsitsipas scored a 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory over German Zverev to earn a place in Sunday's final.

These two players have now met 12 times in their careers, and Tsitsipas holds an 8-4 head-to-head winning record.

Three of those matches have come at clay-court ATP 1000 tournaments in the past four weeks, with Tsitsipas winning a semi-final on the way to the title in Monte Carlo, then losing to Zverev at the same stage in Madrid.

This latest instalment in Italy was a gripping contest, as the players battled to take on Novak Djokovic or Casper Ruud for the title.

An early break came in the seventh game when, serving at 30-40, Tsitsipas attacked the net but Zverev hit the net cord on his backhand return. The deflection disorientated Tsitsipas slightly and he volleyed wide. One break was enough for the set.

Tsitsipas broke in the second game of the second set, with Zverev serving a double fault at the critical moment, and then got decisively ahead in the fifth game of the decider when Zverev netted on the forehand.

This was a strong win for last year's French Open runner-up, who lost that championship match from two sets up against Djokovic at Roland Garros. It carries Tsitsipas through to his first Internazionali d'Italia final, and a 20th final of his ATP career. He has an 8-11 record in finals to date, and a tour-leading 31 match wins this season.

Alcaraz, featuring in an ATP Masters 1000 event for just the second time, was in impressive form as he saw off France's Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-0.

The teenager, who will face Nadal on his 18th birthday on Wednesday, fired 19 winners as he took the initiative against his more experienced opponent and his reward is significant.

He became the tournament's youngest ever match winner, beating the record set by Nadal.

"For me, [to] play against Rafa is a dream come true," Alcaraz said as he readies himself to go up against the 20-time grand slam winner.

"Since I was a kid, I wished to play a match against Rafa and now I will be able to here [on] the Centre Court of La Caja Magica in Madrid. It is a really special match against Rafa."

He told Tennis Channel: "It's the best present for my birthday."

The biggest casualty of the day was 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who lost 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) to Lloyd Harris early on, the South African now 4-0 against top-20 opponents this year.

Two qualifiers in Pablo Andujar and Marcos Giron played out a remarkable encounter that lasted three hours and 21 minutes.

The first set alone clocked in at just over an hour and a half, but eventually Giron came through the gruelling clash 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 to set up a meeting with third seed Dominic Thiem.

Fabio Fognini defeated Carlos Taberner 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-3 for the right to face eighth seed and Italian countryman Matteo Berrettini.

Diego Schwartzman, the seventh seed, awaits Aslan Karatsev after he beat Ugo Humbert in straight sets in what was the Russian's debut appearance at the tournament.

Dan Evans and John Isner were among the other players to secure progress on Monday.

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.

American Brad Gilbert, a former tour player who has worked with stars including Andre Agassi and Andy Murray, was taken aback by the tantrum from Kyrgios after a three-set defeat to Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells.

Kyrgios went to the net to shake hands with Nadal, who won 7-6 (7-0) 5-7 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.

But moments later he thrashed his racket against the ground. It bounced up high, travelling half the length of the court and causing a ball boy to take evasive action, stepping out of the way to avoid being hit and potentially hurt.

Kyrgios scornfully answered reporters' questions about the incident after the match, describing it as "a complete accident".

However, the 26-year-old unmistakably lost control in front of a full stadium and could face punishment as a result.

Gilbert wrote on Twitter: "Ridiculous to do that after such a good match, the penalty should be severe."

Gilbert questioned whether that would happen, given the ATP, which runs the men's tour, only handed a suspended eight-week ban to Alexander Zverev, plus a fine, after the world number three violently hit his racket against an umpire's chair.

"Unfortunately ATP lost the plot with Zverev situation and not a good look for kids and our sport," Gilbert wrote.

The 60-year-old Gilbert, who also coached Andy Roddick, said there was "absolutely no reason to snap on court after the match".

He added: "The stick could have easily gone anywhere like the stands and hit someone, seriously awful to see that in front of great crowd."

Kyrgios posted an exchange of text messages with the ball boy, and said he would give him a racket as a token of apology.

Saying sorry for the incident, Kyrgios wrote: "Didn't want it going anywhere near you to be honest."

The 22-year-old, born in San Candido, ended a 51-year wait for Italy to boast the ATP's best player in the world rankings after moving to top spot this month.

Sinner overtook Djokovic at the summit of the men's game after his French Open performance, reaching the Roland-Garros final before falling in a five-set thriller to the battling Alcaraz.

Having already secured his first major at the Australian Open earlier this year, Sinner's remarkable rise continued in Paris – but how has the Italian managed to do so?

Here, we unpack the best of the Opta data to delve into Sinner's surge to world number one.

Major champion in Australia

Sinner was crowned a grand slam champion for the first time in his career back in January, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final after overcoming a two-set deficit in Melbourne.

Sweeping aside Djokovic in the last four and Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals, his route to glory was far from straightforward, too.

Aged 22 years and 165 days at the time of his Melbourne Park triumph, Sinner became the youngest-ever player to achieve successive ATP top-five wins in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of a major, surpassing Michael Stich – 22 years and 262 days at Wimbledon in 1991.

That Medvedev victory, at the time, also marked Sinner's fourth top-five scalp of 2024.

Since 1973, Sinner is the only fourth player aged under 23 to claim four such wins in the opening three months of a season, after Bjorn Borg (1978-79), Miloslav Mecir (1987) and Andy Murray (2007 and 2009).

Special 2023 sets tone for this year's success

Sinner enjoyed a remarkable campaign last year, winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open and finishing the season by reaching the showpiece of the ATP Finals.

He finished with a win-loss record of 64-15 in 2023, breaking the Open Era record previously held by Corrado Barazzutti (55, 1978) for most ATP match wins by an Italian in a calendar year.

En route to the Indian Wells semi-final defeat to Alcaraz, Sinner also claimed a 19th consecutive ATP match win after overcoming Jiri Lehecka, breaking Adriano Panatta's record for the longest winning streak at ATP level of any Italian in the Open Era.

It is hard to argue with his position at the top, too.

Sinner became only the fifth player before turning 23 to defeat the men's world number three times in a calendar year, having overcome Alcaraz and Djokovic (twice) in a remarkable 2023 season.

The Italian also helped his country lift the Davis Cup, though major individual honours were always around the corner for the excellent right-hander.

The best in the world

Australian Open successes and a fine 2023 campaign brought Sinner to his crowning moment in June as he became the first Italian to reach world number one since the ATP rankings started in 1973.

Sinner is one of four players in the past two decades to hold the ATP's number-one ranking before the age of 23, along with Roger Federer, Nadal and Alcaraz.

Since 2000, Sinner is also just the third male player taller than 188 centimetres to reach the summit of tennis before turning 23, along with Andy Roddick and Marat Safin.

Dominic Thiem cruised through the first round of the Madrid Open in straight sets on Thursday, while former winner Andy Murray suffered an early exit.

Thiem, who has twice finished as runner-up at this event, made short work of Britain's Kyle Edmund in a 6-4 6-1 win to set up a second-round meeting with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Austrian won 86 per cent of points on his first serve (24 of 28) and saved all four break points against him as Edmund just could not get himself into the contest.

Elsewhere, Murray, who claimed titles in Madrid in 2008 and 2015, could not embark on another such run, with the veteran dispatched by Andrea Vavassori in a 6-2 7-6 (9-7) defeat.

The Italian was particularly dominant at the net against Murray, winning 13 of 17 such points, while the 35-year-old managed just five of 14.

Qualifier Roman Safiullin saw off a fightback from Chile Open winner Nicolas Jarry to progress 6-2 3-6 6-3, setting up a clash with Tommy Paul in the second round, while Dusan Lajovic followed up his win at the Srpska Open by beating Jason Kubler 6-3 6-3. 

US Open champion and two-time Madrid Open runner-up Thiem was playing his first match in nearly two months on Tuesday, having taken a break to recharge.

But it did not take him long to get back into the groove, the third seed easing through his second-round match with American qualifier Marcos Giron 6-1 6-3 at the ATP 1000 event.

"I was uncertain how things will be going. The game worked out very well in the past days of practice, but I was always practising on the outside courts which are faster, which are smaller, so I was just not sure how it was going to be in the match," Thiem said.

"But there were some things which I think made [the match] a little bit easier after such a long time, especially the conditions in Madrid, which are great for me.

"Then [I have] amazing memories on this court, where I already played probably some of the best matches of my career. I think that's why things worked out quite well tonight."

Next for Thiem in the last 16 is Alex de Minaur, who was leading 6-2 3-0 when Lloyd Harris retired from their match.

It was a largely strong day for the seeded players in the Spanish capital, home hope and ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut beating Marco Cecchinato 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 in a first-round clash.

Andrey Rublev – the sixth seed – came from a set down to beat Tommy Paul 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 and eighth-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini joins him in the last 16 after defeating compatriot Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-4.

Jannik Sinner, who is seeded 14th, won in the first round after Guido Pella retired in the second set. However, four seeds did tumble out of the draw.

Felix Auger-Aliassime was thrashed 6-1 6-4 by Casper Ruud in the first round and his Canadian compatriot Denis Shapovalov was beaten 6-4 5-7 6-4 by Alexander Bublik in their second-round encounter.

Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz suffered a second successive second-round exit, the 12th seed defeated 5-7 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 by John Millman in a match that went the distance having lost at the same stage in Monte Carlo.