Benoit Paire

Djokovic started the defence of his title with a battling 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 2-6 6-1 victory over Jan-Lennard Struff at Melbourne Park on Monday.

Losing his serve three times while dropping the third set and having to edge a close tie-break in the opener meant Djokovic spent longer than he would have hoped on court, but he relished the two-hour-and-16-minute encounter.

Asked about winning his 900th Tour-level match, the second seed said: "I'm obviously very proud of all the achievements, but at the same time I try to remind myself how grateful I am to be playing this sport at a high level at this stage of my career. 

"I can't take things for granted, I'm trying to enjoy every moment. It's a New Year resolution, to enjoy more. It's easier said than done when you're on the court.

"Especially in my position, I'm expected to win all my matches, there's a lot of pressure and emotions involved. But I try to really enjoy it, the two and half hours spent on court were a lot of fun."

SHAPOVALOV AND CORIC FALL AT FIRST HURDLE

The biggest shock of the day saw number 13 seed Shapovalov fall to a four-set defeat against Hungarian world number 67 Marton Fucsovics.

Fucsovics won 7-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 7-6 (7-3) in three hours and 13 minutes as the highly-rated Canadian crashed out.

Shapovalov lost his temper with the umpire when he was giving a code violation for racket abuse despite it not being damaged.

"I think that's a terrible call from the [umpire]," Shapovalov said. "The rule [according to] what I know is that if I break my racket, yeah you can code me, but you can't code me for slamming it.

"I'm not doing anything and it didn't impact anyone and the racket was still intact. He gave me a warning because I did it two or three times and I think that's not the way it works."

Number 25 seed Coric was eliminated in straight sets by Sam Querrey. 

The American won 6-3 6-4 6-4 as a dreadful run for Coric, which has seen him win only one of his last 10 matches, went on.
 

FEDERER AND TSITSIPAS COAST THROUGH

Roger Federer progressed in comfortable fashion, the third seed seeing off Steve Johnson 6-3 6-2 6-2 in only 81 minutes.

Johnson only forced one break-point opportunity in the match against the 20-time grand slam and did not convert it.

Sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the ATP Finals champion and a semi-finalist in Melbourne last year, got off to a smooth start, defeating Salvatore Caruso 6-0 6-2 6-3.

RAIN LEAVES MATCHES UNFINISHED

Inclement weather left a host of Monday's other first-round matches incomplete, with Reilly Opelka closing in on an upset against Fabio Fognini when play was suspended at 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 1-0.

Rising star Jannik Sinner has a 2-0 lead over Max Purcell with the third set level at 4-4, while Roberto Bautista Agut was a set up against Feliciano Lopez.

Milos Raonic is one game away from a first-round win, his match against Lorenzo Giustino all-but over with the Canadian 6-2 6-1 5-2 to the good.

Federer produced an excellent performance in a straight-sets thrashing of Filip Krajinovic on Rod Laver Arena.

The Swiss great had received good news before even going on court after three seeds fell in his quarter of the draw, with Fabio Fognini only narrowly avoiding that fate.

Earlier, Djokovic dropped just seven games on his way to a thrashing of Tatsuma Ito in Melbourne.

FEDERER, DJOKOVIC EASE THROUGH

Having lost a set in the opening-round victory over Jan-Lennard Struff, Djokovic suffered no such setback against Ito, winning 6-1 6-4 6-2.

A record seven-time champion in Melbourne and 16-time grand slam winner, Djokovic brushed past Ito on the back of 31 winners.

Federer was even more impressive later in the day, crushing Djokovic's Serbian compatriot Krajinovic 6-1 6-4 6-1.

The 20-time grand slam champion looked in fabulous form with 42 winners and just 14 unforced errors, reaching the third round in Melbourne for the 21st straight year.

Federer will next face John Millman, who upset 31st seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 7-5 6-3. The Australian stunned Federer at the US Open in 2018.

DIMITROV AMONG SEEDS TO CRASH OUT

Dimitrov, a semi-finalist in 2017, bowed out in a surprise 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (10-3) loss to Tommy Paul.

The Bulgarian 18th seed went up by a break twice in the final set, but lost seven consecutive points from 3-3 in the match tie-break.

Matteo Berrettini, the eighth seed who reached the US Open semi-finals, was edged out by Tennys Sandgren 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 4-6 2-6 7-5.

Sandgren reached the quarter-finals in 2018 and will face Sam Querrey in an all-American third-round clash.

British 30th seed Dan Evans also made a second-round exit, losing to Djokovic's next opponent, Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-4 6-3 6-4.

CILIC, RAONIC ADVANCE AS TSITSIPAS GETS FREE PASS

Marin Cilic, runner-up in 2018, eliminated 21st seed Benoit Paire in a thriller.

The Croatian needed three hours, 33 minutes to overcome Paire 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-3).

Next up for Cilic is a man he has lost to twice at the Australian Open in Roberto Bautista Agut, the Spanish ninth seed too good for Michael Mmoh 5-7 6-2 6-4 6-1.

Milos Raonic has reached at least the Australian Open quarter-finals four times and the Canadian has shown impressive form early on this year.

The 29-year-old served 19 aces in a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Cristian Garin on Wednesday and next faces 2019 semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas advanced without hitting a ball after Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew due to a muscle strain.

FOGNINI TAKEN THE DISTANCE BY THOMPSON

It is proving to be an arduous campaign for Fognini, who surrendered a two-set lead before holding his nerve in a decisive tie-break with home hope Jordan Thompson.

The Italian was taken the distance in his first-round meeting with Reilly Opelka after losing the first two sets, and this time it was the 12th seed who almost choked on a healthy lead.

Fognini hurt himself when punching his racket in frustration and was called for a foot-fault in the fifth-set breaker, but he got the job done in a memorable 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 3-6 4-6 7-6 (10-4) triumph that took more than four hours to complete. 

Nadal made his return after a five-month absence due to injury when he and fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar beat Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 3-6 10-4 in a doubles match in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The 20-time grand slam champion will be back in singles action against Berankis at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday after the Lithuanian qualifier dispatched American Giron 7-5 6-4.

Fifth seed Benoit Paire was trailing 4-6 6-3 5-2 to Henri Laaksonen when the Frenchman retired from the contest.

Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson advanced on home soil, beating Stefano Travaglia 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 and Christopher O'Connell 1-6 7-5 6-4 respectively.

Munar beat towering South African Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4, while Emil Ruusuvuori, Alex Molcan and Maxime Cressy also made it through.

Marin Cilic racked up the 550th victory of his career at the Adelaide International 1, defeating Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

Third seed Cilic will now come up against Laslo Djere, who was level at one set apiece with Corentin Moutet when the Frenchman was disqualified after reportedly swearing at the umpire.

Thanasi Kokkinakis fought back to oust Frances Tiafoe in the final match of the day, the Australian wild card winning 3-6 7-5 6-1.

There looked set to be a British wipe-out for the second time in four editions in Paris when Norrie trailed 4-2 in the deciding set on Suzanne Lenglen after Jack Draper was forced to retire injured.

But 14th seed Norrie showed his battling qualities again to pull off a 7-5 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory after three hours and 33 minutes.

And he can expect more of the same in the second round when he takes on a resurgent Lucas Pouille, who has been the toast of Roland Garros this week after coming through qualifying following injury and personal problems.

“It was an amazing match,” said Norrie. “All credit to Benoit. He played really well. He made it really difficult. Great atmosphere, thank you to everyone for the support both ways, it was amazing. I’m pleased to be through after a really tough one.”

Paire, possessor of one of the best beards in sport but not one of the best temperaments, has toyed with retirement at the age of 34 and came into the event as a wild card ranked 134.

When they met in the same round at the US Open last summer, Norrie won two lightning quick sets 6-0 either side of a competitive second, with Paire packing up his bag before the match had finished.

The Frenchman said afterwards it could have been his final match but he decided to continue and his attitude was much better here.

He probably should have won a scrappy first set that lasted almost an hour, breaking for 4-3 and then having seven more break points after Norrie had levelled.

The 27-year-old has struggled for wins over the last two months after a brilliant start to the season and there was not the same certainty on his groundstrokes that British tennis fans have been accustomed to.

Norrie’s biggest weapon is his consistency but here he was caught between dropping shots too short and pushing them long and it was his fighting spirit and a dependable wide serve to Paire’s backhand that helped him through the opener.

Norrie looked a little more relaxed at the start of the second set and immediately had a break point but it was he who was broken to trail 2-1 after a contentious moment when umpire Nico Helwerth docked him a point for what appeared a very harsh hindrance call at 30-30, the official claiming Norrie had shouted out during play.

The crowd were in full voice when Paire managed to hold to level the match, and the French national anthem boomed around Suzanne Lenglen when their man broke again to lead 2-1 in the third set.

With Paire feeding off the support, Norrie was kept on the back foot and this corner of Paris was in party mood as the Frenchman moved two sets to one in front.

The fourth set went by in a flash, with Paire broken early and then appearing to save himself for a decider, where Norrie handed his opponent the initiative again right at the start with a game full of errors.

But the British number one did not allow his head to drop and his probing earned dividends with a break back for 4-4 before Paire finally cracked.

Following his success over De Minaur at the Moselle Open last week, Giron beat the world number 26 once more as he battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2) victory in two hours. 

The unseeded American, appearing for the first time in Sofia, rallied from a break down in the second set to reach an ATP Tour quarter-final - where he will meet John Millman - for the fourth time this season. 

Millman, who is seeded eighth, lost the first set against qualifier Illya Marchenko but recovered well to comfortably triumph 5-7 7-6 (7-0) 6-3. 

However, it was far more straightforward for the other favourites, with top seed Jannik Sinner avoiding a second-set blip to defeat Egor Gerasimov 6-2 7-6 (7-3) and Gael Monfils getting a walkover against Ilya Ivashka. 

Number five seed Filip Krajinovic coasted past fellow Serbian Laslo Djere 6-3 6-0 in just over an hour to set up a quarter-final tie with Kamil Majchrzak. 

In Thursday's other match, world number 56 James Duckworth smashed Benoit Paire 6-4 6-4 in just an hour and 15 minutes to collect his 11th win in his past 12 outings. 

Duckworth, who reached his first ATP Tour final in Nur-Sultan last week, will now challenge defending champion Sinner in the next round. 

At the first edition of the ATP tournament in Adelaide, sixth seed Cristian Garin fell to Lloyd Harris, the South African qualifier winning 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4.

Jeremy Chardy defeated fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon in straight sets, with Dan Evans, Sam Querrey and home hope James Duckworth the other players to progress.

The action came as top seed De Minaur pulled out of the event after aggravating an abdominal injury while representing Australia at the ATP Cup.

"I have seen the physios, I have seen the doctors and I will be continuing to do that for the whole of the week and hopefully I will be ready to play in Melbourne," De Minaur said ahead of the Australian Open.

In Auckland, Italian Sinner – winner of the Next Generation ATP Finals in November – took number five seed Paire to a final set but the Frenchman eventually prevailed 6-4 2-6 6-4 in one hour and 55 minutes.

Defending champion Tennys Sandgren started his campaign with a routine 6-4 6-3 triumph over wildcard Michael Venus.

But last year's beaten finalist Cameron Norrie was knocked out in straight sets by qualifier Thiago Monteiro, with American Frances Tiafoe also being eliminated at the hands of qualifier Mikael Ymer.

Hubert Hurkacz and Ugo Humbert saw off Lorenzo Sonego and Casper Ruud respectively in Monday's other matches.

Tsitsipas has made a disappointing start to the season, but took just 71 minutes to dispatch Ymer 6-1 6-3 on Wednesday.

The ATP Finals champion lost just three points on his first serve and did not face a solitary break point in an emphatic win.

Second seed Tsitsipas will face Vasek Pospisil in the last eight following the Canadian's 6-3 6-4 defeat of eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Sixth seed Benoit Paire made a surprise exit in his homeland, going down 3-6 6-4 6-4 to Alexander Bublik in the second round.

It was anything but plain sailing for Felix Auger-Aliassime, who saved two match points before getting past Stefano Travaglia 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-3.

Auger-Aliassime's second-round opponent will be Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victor in his match against Mikhail Kukushkin. 

Egor Gerasimov also reached round two by knocking out fellow qualifier Dennis Novak.

Emerging star Musetti defeated American qualifier Mmoh 6-4 6-4 to set up a second-round meeting with 23rd seed Benoit Paire.

Former US Open champion Marin Cilic also progressed in a three-set victory over Federico Coria, while Thanasi Kokkinakis, Sebastian Korda, Tennys Sandgren and Jordan Thompson were other winners.

Former top-five player Kevin Anderson was among those to bow out in the first round of the ATP 1000 event.

STAR ON THE RISE

Italian teenager Musetti continued his rapid rise with a hard-fought victory over Mmoh.

The 19-year-old Musetti reached the semi-finals of last week's Mexican Open, where he beat both Diego Schwartzman and Grigor Dimitrov en route to the semi-finals.

This week, Musetti battled past wildcard Mmoh in one hour, 38 minutes.

"Last week was a fantastic run in Acapulco," Musetti said in his on-court interview. " I played a really good match, it was a tough match.

"I think my lethal weapon is the backhand down the line."

CILIC SLICE OF FORTUNE

Former world number three Cilic secured his place in the second round with a 6-3 2-6 6-4 victory against Federico Coria.

However, Cilic – the 2014 US Open winner – had a huge slice of luck to claim a break back in the first.

The Croatian got lucky down a break at 2-1 but up 30-40 in the first when he mishit his overhead attempt, striking his frame and bobbling over for a drop shot winner to level.

"It was important for me to keep my head down, keep the focus and just try to get the best level I could today," Cilic said.

FOND MEMORIES FOR THANASI

Australian qualifier Kokkinakis' fond memories in Miami returned with a 6-3 6-3 win over Shintaro Mochizuki as he continues his positive return from a shoulder injury.

Kokkinakis beat then-world number one Roger Federer in Miami in 2018.

Korda won his Miami Open debut match, triumphing 6-3 6-0 over Radu Albot to set up a meeting with 10th seed Fabio Fognini.

Jordan Thompson will face Milos Raonic after accounting for Federico Delbonis 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in two hours, 12 minutes.

Sandgren – a two-time Australian Open quarter-finalist – got past Pedro Martinez 6-4 2-0, with the Spaniard retiring.

Wimbledon and US Open runner-up Anderson was a surprise casualty, going down 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 to lucky loser Damir Dzumhur.

"I know that my game can be much better than what I'm showing right now and my position in the ATP Rankings can be much better," Dzumhur said.

Garin, the fourth seed, responded impressively to going a set down and then got to match point four times in their third-set tie-break, but he could not hold his nerve and Gaston got the job done 6-4 1-6 7-6 (13-11).

The Chilean was on the back foot right from the start Gaston broke him in the first game, and although Garin did hit back to make it 3-3, his opponent quickly had the advantage again and went on to seal the first set.

Garin's response was emphatic and clinical, dropping just three points on his serve and taking both of the break points that came his way to level the match.

The pair could not be separated in a back-and-forth third set, but Garin was the first to get match point at 6-5 in the tie-break – they would trade another six equally between them before Gaston finally prevailed at 13-11, leaving the 20-year-old satisfied.

"I am very happy to be in my first [ATP Tour] semi-final," Gaston said after.

"It was a great fight. It was a really long match. I always tried to play my game, and it is a good win for me. I hope I can continue like that."

Up next for Gaston will be Laslo Djere after he saw off Arthur Rinderknech 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4, while Casper Ruud – the highest seed remaining – is also into the final four.

The Norwegian was victorious at the Swedish Open last week, his second title of the year, and dispatched Benoit Paire on Friday to reach another semi.

Ruud won 6-2 5-7 6-3 in just under two hours and will face Vit Kopriva, a qualifier, who secured his first semi-final appearance thanks to a stunning 6-1 6-0 win over Mikael Ymer.

At the Croatia Open in Umag, top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas cruised into the last four with a straightforward 6-2 6-1 defeat of Stefano Travaglia, setting up a meeting with either Filip Krajinovic or Carlos Alcaraz.

The other semi will be contested between Richard Gasquet and Daniel Altmaier, who produced something of a shock by ousting second seed Dusan Lajovic 6-2 6-4.

The veteran Frenchman came through against Damir Dzumhur 6-3 7-6 (9-7), clinching the second set at the fourth opportunity.

World number 14 Goffin had lost his previous three matches heading to Monaco, but the Belgian delivered a sharp performance on Sunday, winning 6-4 3-6 6-0.

Open Sud de France champion Goffin did not start well, and had to come from 3-0 down in the first set, but Cilic made 52 unforced errors to help his opponent progress.

"It’s a good win. [This is my] first tournament on clay [in 2021]. Starting with a victory is good," said 2017 Monte Carlo semi-finalist Goffin, quoted on the ATP website.

"I did what I needed to do to win that match. I was playing better and better. In the first and second set, I had problems with the returns. In the third set, I was more consistent. It was a good match."

Goffin will face Marco Cecchinato or Dominik Koepfer in the second round, where he has been joined by Australian Jordan Thompson.

Thompson, the world number 62, needed three hours and two tie-breaks to beat Paire 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5), as the Frenchman's dismal string of results in 2021 continued.

Paire has now won just one of 10 matches this calendar year, while Thompson registered a fifth win of the season.

World number 10 Goffin has started the season in impressive form and remains on course for a first ATP Tour title since Tokyo in 2017.

The second seed bested Bublik's varied strokeplay over the course of one hour and 47 minutes, with the 22-year-old even serving underarm in a bid to deceive Goffin as a gripping second-set tie break slipped away.

Goffin will face Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the quarter-finals after the home favourite claimed an impressive 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 triumph against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Herbert was a finalist in Montpellier last year, while countryman Richard Gasquet remained in contention for his fourth win at the event by beating Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-2.

Vasek Pospisil, a winner in the all-Canadian clash with Denis Shapovalov on Wednesday, is up next for Gasquet, who retained his place in a draw stacked with French hopes.

Gael Monfils came from a set down to beat compatriot Adrian Mannarino 4-6 6-1 6-4, joining Gregoire Barrere – a shock winner over Grigor Dimitrov a day ago - in the last eight.

Filip Krajinovic will be Barrere's next opponent after demolishing qualifier Mikael Ymer 6-1 6-1, with Norbert Gombos also seeing off Emil Ruusuvuori in straight sets.

At the Pune Open, top seed Benoit Paire was dumped out in straight sets by Roberto Marcora – the Italian qualifier prevailing 6-4 6-4.

Elsewhere, seeds Ricardas Berankis, Kwon Soon-woo, Yuichi Sugita, James Duckworth and Egor Gerasimov emerged unscathed to reach the quarter-finals.

World number 35 Isner was dominant on his first serve, winning 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 to claim a spot in the second round where he will face Jack Sock who beat Ricardas Berankis in three.

Isner's 36 aces equaled the previous Atlanta Open record set by Sam Querrey on Monday in his three-set win over Peter Gojowczyk.

American fifth seed Taylor Fritz also progressed on Tuesday with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Russian Evgeny Donskoy.

French seventh seed Benoit Paire got past Japan's Yasutaka Uchiyama 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 6-4, while enigmatic Australian Nick Kyrgios beat South African Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

Teenage American talent Brandon Nakashima knocked out Trent Bryde, while Australian Chris O'Connell beat Denis Kudla and Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori got past Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

Nakashima, who got a special exemption entry into the Atlanta Open, next takes on top seed Milos Raonic.

Kyrgios' replacement in Adrian Mannarino eventually defeated Gojowczyk 6-3 7-6 (9-7), but the Wimbledon finalist's withdrawal due to injury overshadowed the match.

After receiving a wild card for the Cincinnati Masters, the 2016 champion in Atlanta was expected to make a deep run to kick off his hard-court season.

Coming out to apologise to the crowd before Gojowczyk and Mannarino took to the court, Kyrgios expressed his sadness at the withdrawal, in the hope he could still play in the doubles draw with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

"I'm extremely shattered that I'm not able to compete tonight," he said pre-match. "I've won this tournament once, and you know, I'm playing some of the best tennis of my career.

"All I wanted to do was come out here and give you guys a show, to see what I was capable of. I'm unable to give out my best performance today, and I'm just extremely sorry.

"I'm going to keep my hopes up and maybe be able to continue doubles with Thanasi this week. I hope you'll all not be too hard on me."

Kokkinakis just has the doubles to attend to now after Andres Martin's 6-3 6-2 win, while Ilya Ivashka progressed with a 6-0 3-6 6-3 win over Quentin Halys.

James Duckworth was the lone Australian to advance on Tuesday, beating Dominik Koepfer 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3. 

Jenson Brooksby made an encouraging Atlanta Open debut earlier in the day, eliminating Benoit Paire 6-3 6-1 to reach the second round.

Countryman and fifth seed Tommy Paul breezed past wild card Jack Sock 6-1 6-1, while Ben Shelton and Mackenzie McDonald also advanced.

Top seed Medvedev, who won just three games against Nadal in the final in 2019, the last time the tournament was played, prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-4 in his opener against Alexander Bublik.

The man Nadal beat to win the title the previous year, Tsitsipas, failed to convert on five match points in an epic second-set tiebreak but recovered to down Ugo Humbert 6-3 6-7 (13-15) 6-1.

Nadal pulled out ahead of a scheduled match against Lloyd Harris, who beat him last week in Washington as the 20-time grand slam winner struggled with a foot injury. 

Countryman Feliciano Lopez replaces Nadal in the draw and will face Harris on Wednesday. 

Elsewhere Tuesday, sixth seed Casper Ruud needed more than two hours to put away Marin Cilic 6-3 3-6 6-3, while 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov suffered a quick 6-3 6-4 exit against big-serving American Reilly Opelka.

A pair of unseeded veterans advanced, with 2016 finalist Kei Nishikori a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 winner over Miomir Kecmanovic and John Isner defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokini 6-4 6-1 in just over an hour.

Two days after appearing in his first ATP Tour final at the Citi Open, Mackenzie McDonald fell 6-3 6-4 to Benoit Paire in his Toronto opener. 

In other first-round matches, Karen Khachanov beat Cameron Norrie 6-4 5-7 6-4, Frances Tiafoe downed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4 6-3, Dusan Lajovic handled Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-3 6-3 and Nikoloz Basilashvili defeated Jenson Brooksby 2-6 6-0 6-4.

Murray chose to play in the event as a wildcard to improve his world ranking and avoid tougher first-round encounters, such as facing Stefanos Tsitsipas at the U.S. Open, and he recovered from going behind in the opening set to ease through his first-round tie.

Humbert, who is ranked 26th in the world, came into the clash 87 places ahead of the two-time Wimbledon winner but failed to make home advantage count as the Scot dispatched of him in just over two hours.

Karen Khachanov, who is the seventh seed in Metz, avoided a similar first-set scare to overcome Alexandre Muller 4-6 6-1 6-3, while Marcos Giron edged past Arthur Rinderknech 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

That win sets up a second-round tie with fourth seed Alex de Minaur, with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina sneaking past Gilles Simon 4-6 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in Tuesday's other match.

Frenchman Benoit Paire crashed out of the Astana Open to world number 97 Egor Gerasimov as he lost 7-5 6-4.

John Millman, the fifth seed, did not endure similar struggles as he recovered from losing the first set to ease past Dmitry Popko 3-6 6-1 6-4.

Meanwhile, Ilya Ivashka coasted past Elias Ymer 6-2 6-4 in just over 90 minutes to secure his second-round berth in the Czech Republic.

The three-time Grand Slam winner failed to convert four set points in the first set before the Swede triumphed in two hours and 50 minutes.

The match was full of momentum swings, with the 35-year-old capitalising on Ymer's own physical issues, appearing to cramp in the second set, to level it up after winning five of the final six games of the set.

But 23-year-old Ymer regained his composure and physical state to race away with the third set for victory, rounding out 37 winners for the match, leaving Murray frustrated.

"It was disappointing obviously," Murray told reporters. "I thought there was some good tennis in the first set. After that, both of us were struggling a bit physically. The level of the tennis was not great.

 "Obviously [I] had chances in the first set to close that out. I had set point at 6-5, then... three in the tie-break and didn't get it.

"I think he seemed like maybe he was cramping a little bit in the second set, but recovered absolutely fine after the break at the end of the [second] set.

"Went off to change and cool off a little bit, and he recovered well for the third, whereas I didn't really. Yeah, just frustrating."

The first-round exit comes after Murray lost in the Hall of Fame Open quarter-finals in Newport to Alexander Bublik when he cramped up in hot and humid conditions.

"Struggled a little bit the past two tournaments with that," he said. "I need to have a little look at that with my team and maybe see why that is, make a few changes."

French veteran Adrian Mannarino took care of Bradley Klahn 6-2 6-4, while Jack Draper beat Stefan Kozlov 7-5 6-2 to set up a second-round date with top seed Andrey Rublev.

World number 112 Benoit Paire also triumphed in the first round on Tuesday, getting past Peter Gojowczyk 7-5 6-4.

Kyle Edmund, Jack Draper, Borna Gojo, Dominik Koepfer, J.J Wolf and Denis Kudla also were victorious, with Alexei Popyrin progressing after a walkover against Wu Tung-lin.

The three-time grand slam champion was largely in control against his Austrian opponent, hitting nine aces and saving all three break points against his serve, while Thiem could only save one of the three he faced as Murray won 6-3 6-4.

He will now play 14th seed Denis Shapovalov after the Canadian beat Ugo Humbert 7-6 (7-1) 6-3.

The winner of that contest will have a last-16 meeting against the victor of Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils after the latter eased into the round of 32 to set up a clash with the Serbian.

Monfils defeated wildcard Carlos Gimeno Valero 6-3 6-0 in less than an hour, while Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also advanced with a 7-5 6-3 win against Lloyd Harris.

Dusan Lajovic set up a second-round match against fifth seed Casper Ruud, who defeated Borna Coric 6-3 4-6 6-4, and ninth seed Cameron Norrie will go up against John Isner, the Briton having overcome Soonwoo Kwon 7-5 7-5.

An interesting tie awaits the much-talked about Carlos Alcaraz after Nikoloz Basilashvili beat Fabio Fognini 7-5 6-4, with the Georgian to face the number seven seeded teenager next.

Jannik Sinner, the 10th seed, scraped through a hard-fought encounter against American Tommy Paul 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, and will play Alex de Minaur next after the Australian beat Pedro Martinez 7-6 (7-2) 1-6 6-3.

Diego Schwartzman will take on Grigor Dimitrov in the second round. The Argentine 13th seed beat Benoit Paire 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-1, while Dimitrov overcame Maxime Cressy 6-2 7-6 (7-4).

All four Frenchmen in action on Monday were knocked out in Lyon, including 2018 finalist Gilles Simon.

Aljaz Bedene knocked out the world number 68 in straight sets, two breaks of serve in each enough to secure a 6-2 6-3 triumph after one hour and 13 minutes on court.

Sebastian Korda overcame both Pierre-Hugues Herbert and the rain to progress to the second round, a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph wrapped up quickly following a delay.

Having been 5-4 ahead in the second set when play was halted, Korda clinched victory on his first match point upon the resumption, in the process snapping a run of four successive defeats on the ATP Tour.

Cameron Norrie will take on top seed Dominic Thiem next after his 7-5 6-3 win against Corentin Moutet, while Ugo Humbert let slip a one-set lead as he was beaten by Yoshihito Nishioka.

Meanwhile, at the Geneva Open, there was a maiden victory for French teenager Arthur Cazaux as he came out on top against compatriot Adrian Mannarino.

The 18-year-old held his nerve in a decider despite this being his first tour-level contest; Reilly Opelka or Pablo Cuevas will be next up in the event.

As for Federer, he will begin his campaign on Tuesday, the 39-year-old having played just two matches so far this year after undergoing two knee operations in 2020.

The Swiss superstar now knows he will be up against Pablo Andujar, who overcame Australia's Jordan Thompson in straight sets.

Tennys Sandgren saw off Salvatore Caruso 6-3 6-4, while Dominik Koepfer came through a tight tussle with Benoit Paire that spanned two hours and 39 minutes.

The third-seeded Norrie defeated Kyrgios 6-1 6-4 in less than an hour as he tries for a second consecutive title after collecting his first ATP Tour championship at Los Cabos last week. 

The former University of Georgia star Isner, a five-time champion in Atlanta, beat Sock 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 despite serving only 13 aces after hitting 36 in his previous match. 

Second-seeded Jannik Sinner fell 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 to Australian qualifier Christopher O'Connell, leaving the tournament without its top two seeds after Milos Raonic was upset by Brandon Nakashima on Wednesday. 

O'Connell, ranked 132 in the world to Sinner's 23, had not won a main-draw match this year before defeating Denis Kudla in the opening round and will now face Isner in the quarters.

Norrie will meet Emil Ruusuvuori, who advanced when Benoit Paire retired down 3-0 in the third set after the pair had split the first two sets 4-6 6-4. 

Ruusuvuori is into his second career ATP quarter-final after making it to the semis at Nur-Sultan last year. 

The world number 25 retired from his opening round match with Casper Ruud on Wednesday when a set and break down.

He was competing in his second tournament since withdrawing from the US Open with a positive COVID-19 test in August, having also fallen at the first hurdle at last week's Internazionali d'Italia.

Speaking after his exit in Germany, Paire revealed he had been self-isolating in his hotel room in the lead up to the match and was only allowed to practice for one hour but was still given the green light to compete.

"I spent 10 days in a hotel room during the US Open and again now," he said. "I am tired. I practiced for one hour and then went to the hotel room - it is impossible to do. I was tired and had to stop.

Asked to clarify if he tested positive again during his time in Hamburg, Paire replied: "Yes, I was positive here in Hamburg since I arrived. The only negative test I got was yesterday. 

"Before that, there was two in a row where I was positive. But the rules seem different here. The ATP has to explain what the rules are. In Paris right now, players are testing negative, but because the coach is positive, they cannot play. 

"Here in Germany, you test positive and can play. So again thank you to the tournament and the doctor here in Hamburg for letting me play. There are some rules I obviously don't understand too much.

"I was negative after the US Open, negative in France, negative in Rome and then positive in Hamburg. That's all I know. 

"It's tough for me to understand when I arrive here in Hamburg and they tell me to stay in my room again. I really don't understand. Honestly, it is not easy for me."

Paire is due to take part in the French Open, his home grand slam, which begins on Sunday.