Dusan Lajovic

Alcaraz, who triumphed at last week's Indian Wells Open, beat the 76th-ranked Serbian 6-0 7-6 (7-5) in one hour and 32 minutes.

The 19-year-old Spaniard hit 26 winners compared to Lajovic's eight, while Alcaraz also sent down three aces on a 75 per cent first serve percentage.

Alcaraz won the first frame to love in 32 minutes, registering his fourth career bagel at ATP Masters 1000 level, equaling the most by a teenager alongside Rafael Nadal.

The world number one will face 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul in the fourth round after the American got past 20th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 7-5.

Third seed and 2022 Miami Open finalist Casper Ruud blew a first-set lead to lose 3-6 6-4 6-4 to Botic Van De Zandschulp.

The Dutchman improved his head-to-head record against Ruud to 3-1 with his first-ever top five win, with the Norwegian left to lament converting only two of 15 break points.

Ninth seed Taylor Fritz progressed into the fourth round with a 6-4 6-4 win over Denis Shapovalov, improving his head-to-head record against the Canadian to 4-5. Fritz committed only eight unforced errors and did not face one break point.

Jannik Sinner maintained his excellent hard-court form with his 18th win this season on the surface, as he defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 28 minutes. The Italian 10th seed will be Andrey Rublev in the next round.

Sixth seed Rublev needed less than an hour to get past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1 6-2, while compatriot Daniil Medvedev advanced via a walkover against Alex Molcan due to a right hip injury.

Seventh seed Holger Rune cruised past Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-2, while Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori got past Taro Daniel 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Reigning US Open champion Alcaraz eased past Bagnis 6-0 6-2, firing 12 winners and three aces for the match, committing only 11 unforced errors.

The Spaniard won the first set in 24 minutes, marking the first time he has won an opening frame 6-0 at an ATP Masters 100 event. It was also the first bagel he has dished out since beating Bagnis in Umag last year.

"I knew that I needed to be focused for my first match," Alcaraz said after his win, having triumphed in Indian Wells last week. "To start a new tournament is never easy, different conditions.

"I have to be ready to get used to these new conditions, but I was really focused on the match from the beginning, and I'm happy with the way that I played. I try to improve every day."

Alcaraz will face Dusan Lajovic after he beat 30th seed Maxime Cressy 6-4 7-6 (7-2), having knocked off Andy Murray in the first round.

Zverev was the highest seed to bow out on Friday, going down 6-0 6-4 to Japan's Taro Daniel, who beat world number four Casper Ruud last month in Acapulco.

Daniel triumphed in 73 minutes against the German, hitting 17 winners and committing only two unforced errors for the match, while Zverev gave up 18.

The Japanese wild card will meet Emil Ruusuvuori in the third round after the Finn beat 22nd seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to open up that section of the draw.

Third seed Ruud also had few problems getting past Ilya Ivashka 6-2 6-3 to set up a clash with Botic van de Zandschulp after his three-set win over Alexei Popyrin.

Sixth seed Andrey Rublev overcame J.J. Wolf 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, having been broken in the opening game of what was a tight contest.

Jannik Sinner beat Laslo Djere 6-4 6-2, marking his 16th win out of 20 appearances at the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami), with only three other players – Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz – having as many wins within their first 20 matches.

Ninth seed Taylor Fritz defeated fellow American Emilio Nava 6-4 6-1, and will face Denis Shapovalov in round three after he beat Guido Pella 6-3 3-6 6-3.

American 16th seed Tommy Paul came from a set down to beat Marc-Andrea Huesler 5-7 6-3 6-4, while seventh seed Holger Rune beat Martin Fucsovics 6-3 7-5.

The 19-year-old phenom has now won all five of his matches in 2023 after winning last week's Argentina Open, and the 2022 Rio champion is now three wins away from defending his title at South America's only ATP 500 event.

Against Fognini, Alcaraz lost the first set despite creating 11 break point opportunities, as his Italian opponent converted all four of his own chances in a back-and-forth battle. 

The Spaniard tightened up his service game down the stretch, only allowing Fognini one break point opportunity from the second and third frames combined, and he will now play Dusan Lajovic following his 6-2 6-4 win against Serbian compatriot Laslo Djere.

Chile's Nicolas Jarry is still yet to lose a set in the tournament, following up his impressive upset of third seed Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-2 6-2 triumph over Pedro Martinez.

Jarry will get a crack at another seeded opponent next when he takes on Argentina's sixth seed Sebastian Baez, who emerged victorious 7-5 7-6 (8-6) after two gruelling sets against Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas.

Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo was eliminated 6-1 4-6 6-1 by Bernabe Zapata Miralles, who will meet Albert Ramos-Vinolas in an all-Spanish quarter-final after he fought off Daniel Elahi Galan 6-2 6-4.

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. 

Lajovic bested the 22-time grand slam winner 6-4 7-6 (8-6) on Friday in the quarter-finals, dumping Djokovic out against the odds.

The key for Lajovic was saving break points, managing to rescue an incredible 15 of 16 that Djokovic earned.

Speaking after his loss, the number one seed said: "Dusan is a fantastic person, great guy. Someone I've known for a very long time, since he started playing professional tennis. So many times on the Davis Cup team together, trained together. I'm happy for him, to be honest.

"I know this is an important win for him considering the last 12 months that he's been through, it's not been easy for him. He's playing well and he deserved to win today."

It was the first time Djokovic had lost to a compatriot since Janko Tipsarevic beat him at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid in May 2012.

Lajovic declared it his biggest ever victory, and reciprocated the words of kindness from Djokovic.

"I'm overwhelmed, it is the biggest win of my career," Lajovic said on-court. "The emotions are very mixed because I'm playing here in front of the home town and I'm also playing against Nole, who is a good friend and he's a hero of our country.

"Beating him, it's something that I didn't even think is going to be possible, but it happened."

Lajovic will face another Serbian in the semi-finals in Miomir Kecmanovic, who beat Jiri Lehecka 7-5 6-0.

Fritz, the third seed, faced sixth seed and world number 15 Frances Tiafoe, and did not allow a single break of serve en route to the 96-minute victory.

He will now face compatriot Tommy Paul in an all-American semi-final after the world number 23 prevailed 6-2 6-2 against Mackenzie McDonald.

The win was Paul's 10th from his past 12 matches, with one of those two losses coming against Novak Djokovic.

Australia's Alex De Minaur is through to the other semi-final after making light work of Japan's Taro Daniel 6-2 6-2 in a surprisingly one-sided contest, considering Daniel was coming off a victory over world number four Casper Ruud.

De Minaur will face Holger Rune after the 19-year-old capitalised on Matteo Berrettini not being at 100 per cent, jumping out to a perfect 6-0 1-0 start before the Italian retired hurt.

Meanwhile, Chile Open second seed Francisco Cerundolo missed out on a potential chance to face his younger brother after going down 6-3 3-6 6-3 against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

He was one win away from doing his part to set up a quarter-final showdown with Juan Manuel Cerundolo, but the 21-year-old Argentine also did not hold up his end of the bargain, falling 6-2 2-6 7-6 (7-2) to Serbia's Dusan Lajovic.

Laslo Djere ensured it would be a good day for the Serbians with a 7-5 7-5 handling of Italy's Riccardo Bonadio, and he will face third seed Sebastian Baez in the quarter-final after he eliminated hometown hero Cristian Garin 6-4 6-3.

The Belarusian saw off Aljaz Bedene, with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win carrying him through to the quarter-finals of the Open Sud de France.

Bedene was British number two to Murray heading into Wimbledon in 2016, when the Scot won his third grand slam title, but has since reverted to representing his native Slovenia.

He put up a fight against Gerasimov, who sank Murray in straight sets on Tuesday, but the 28-year-old from Minsk took three of his five break-point opportunities and held his nerve in the tie-break to advance.

The success for Gerasimov sets up a last-eight clash with Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who scored a fine 7-5 6-2 win over Polish fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Top seed and world number 13 Roberto Bautista Agut raced to a 6-0 6-3 victory over French qualifier Gregoire Barrere, but Croatian third seed Dusan Lajovic tumbled out, losing to Dennis Novak in straight sets.

At the Singapore Open, second seed John Millman fell by the wayside, the Australian slumping 6-4 6-1 to compatriot Matthew Ebden.

French top seed Adrian Mannarino encountered no such problems, ending the hopes of Roberto Marcora with a 6-3 7-5 win to join Ebden in the quarter-finals.

Belarus' Ivashka is ranked over 50 spots higher than Sock, but he is in some torrid form, with Monday's loss his sixth in a row.

Sock snapped his own three-match losing streak, and he did so despite committing 10 double faults, coming up clutch in break point situations by saving 15 of Ivashka's 18 opportunities.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo booked a meeting with compatriot and top seed Diego Schwartzman after beating Pablo Andujar 6-4 1-0 (retired) in the first round of the Cordoba Open.

The rising Cerundolo now boasts a 13-1 record since the beginning of the new year, while it was Andujar's fifth loss in a row.

In an all-Spanish showdown it was Bernabe Zapata Miralles emerging victorious 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 against Roberto Carballes Baena, while Serbia's Dusan Lajovic defeated Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

The last match of the night saw Italy's Luciano Darderi handle France's Hugo Gaston 6-4 6-3, with Darderi now set to face fourth seed Sebastian Baez.

Raonic advanced to the Australian Open quarters before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic last month, however, the Canadian was stunned in New York on Wednesday.

Kwon weathered 33 aces from Raonic as the South Korean prevailed after two hours, 25 minutes at the ATP 250 tournament midweek.

"I'm really happy to win a tough match against Raonic," Kwon during his on-court interview. "He played well. It was a great match."

Next up for Kwon is either eighth seed Kyle Edmund or Dominik Koepfer.

While Raonic bowed out, fellow seeds Ugo Humbert and Miomir Kecmanovic progressed from the last 16.

French fourth seed Humbert eased past Marcos Giron 6-1 6-0, sixth-seeded Serb Kecmanovic defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3 6-3, while Andreas Seppi saw off Steve Johnson 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

At the Argentina Open, fourth seed Coric was sent packing by Thiago Monteiro – who won 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in Buenos Aires.

Despite letting a match point slip at 6-5 in the second-set tie-break, Monteiro moved through to his first ATP Tour-level quarter-final since 2018.

Pedro Sousa awaits after the lucky loser accounted for Jozef Kovalik 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) on the clay courts.

Dusan Lajovic – the third seed – outlasted qualifier Pedro Martinez 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (8-6) to set up a quarter-final with eighth seed Casper Ruud, who dismantled Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1 6-0.

Djokovic, who has won the tournament seven times, underwent knee surgery earlier this month having withdrawn from the French Open. 

As a result, the Serbian was forced to relinquish his number one spot in the world rankings to Jannik Sinner. 

However, the Serbian was pictured training at Wimbledon 18 days after his successful operation, but remains unsure over his participation in the competition. 

Lajovic, who beat Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Srpska Open last year, says his compatriot will make the right decision on his fitness.

"It just shows his grit," Lajovic said. "He's always been such a fighter, even if he gives himself a one per cent chance to compete, he's going to do everything to maximise that,"

"He's going to wait until probably the last minute to see if he's ready and if his body can support the stress of playing in a grand slam.

"So, in the end, he normally makes good decisions about his body, and about his tennis as well. If he thinks he can make it, then he probably can make it."

World number 15 Monfils would have been expected to breeze through against Carballes Baena, whose lone ATP title came back in February 2018.

But Monfils was trounced in the first set and, despite coming back from a break down to win the second, he could not avoid a shock loss as Carballes Baena reversed a 4-1 deficit in the decisive tie-break on Wednesday.

Carballes Baena's triumph sets up a last-eight clash with eighth seed Federico Delbonis, who beat Thiago Monteiro 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-4 at the ATP 250 event in Serbia.

Dusan Lajovic also moved through to the quarters after easing past Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-4, with Andrej Martin the fifth seed's opponent after upsetting third seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-4).

Elsewhere, top seed Lorenzo Sonego suffered a second-round exit at the Emilia-Romagna Open as Sebastian Korda claimed a surprise win.

Korda entered the tournament with just one clay-court win to his name in 2021 but followed up a first-round success over Andreas Seppi with a 6-1 7-5 defeat of Sonego.

Yoshihito Nishioka is his next opponent after the Japanese saw off Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-2.

Jaume Munar and Richard Gasquet also progressed, as did Jan-Lennard Struff, Norbert Gombos, Marco Cecchinato and Tommy Paul.

Moraing, who is ranked 252 places below Djokovic, beat Egor Gerasimov 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 in a gruelling encounter on Monday.

Djokovic is seeking his 83rd Tour-level title as he warms up for the French Open, the main draw of which begins on May 30.

Fellow home favourite Dusan Lajovic, the highest seed to compete on day one, will meet Jeremy Chardy next after beating Ricardas Berankis in straight sets.

Eighth seed Federico Delbonis required three sets to see off Lukas Klein, while seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic – another Serbian in the draw – was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Pablo Cuevas.

Veteran Fernando Verdasco set up a contest with Adrian Mannarino after an impressive 7-5 6-2 win over Lucas Pouille.

At the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, all of Monday's play had to be cancelled due to persistent rain.

Fifth seed Richard Gasquet is in action on Tuesday.

Murray, ranked 53rd in the world, could not find his usual return with Lajovic winning 72 per cent of second-serve points, prevailing in one hour and 38 minutes.

The Serbian claimed only his fourth win out of 16 matches on hard courts since the start of last year, holding his nerve after failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, converting his third match point in the 12th game.

Lajovic hit 21-14 winners, with Murray committing more unforced errors (15-13). The Serbian converted all three break points he generated.

Former world number six Gael Monfils was forced to retire due to a right wrist injury in his clash with French compatriot Ugo Humbert at 3-3.

Monfils, 36, was playing at only his third event since returning to the ATP Tour following seven months out due to injury.

Argentina's Facundo Bagnis defeated Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3 1-6 6-4, with his reward a second-round clash with last week's Indian Wells Open winner and top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

World number 50 J.J. Wolf beat world number 48 Alexander Bublik 7-5 6-3 in 79 minutes, earning a second-round clash with sixth seed Andrey Rublev.

World number 74 Martin Fucsovics sent down nine aces as he beat Argentina's Pedro Cachin 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in 107 minutes. Fucsovics will next face seventh seed Holger Rune.

Ilya Ivashka beat Daniel Altmaier 6-2 6-1 to book a second-round clash with third seed Casper Ruud, while Fabio Fognini bowed out, losing 6-4 5-7 6-4 to Jan-Lennard Struff. USA's Brandon Nakashima powered to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory over Germany's Oscar Otte.

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).

Spain took a 1-0 lead after Roberto Bautista Agut overcame Steve Darcis' replacement Kimmer Coppejans 6-1 6-4, but Nadal was unable to seal the deal against Goffin.

Goffin claimed just his second success over the 19-time major champion, producing an efficient attacking display to take a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) triumph.

Nadal returned to Ken Rosewall Arena for the decisive doubles match alongside Pablo Carreno Busta, but they failed to convert a set point before surrendering the opener to Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.

Spain forced a match tie-break after a video review showed Vliegen struck the ball before it crossed the net and with momentum on their side, Nadal and Carreno Busta surged to victory.

Nadal found the corner with a tremendous forehand from the baseline for the first mini-break and a double fault from Gille gave them a second. A double fault from Vliegen sent Spain through to a showdown with Australia on Saturday.

"It was tough for us it was a big change from Perth to here with not much time to adapt and the conditions today were very heavy," said Nadal after the 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 10-7 success.

"They [Belgium] have been here for 10 days, for us it's the first day. Well done to them, a great level of tennis... We are super happy to be in the semi-finals."

Dusan Lajovic got Serbia, who received raucous backing from the crowd in Sydney, off to a great start by claiming a 6-4 6-2 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime in an hour and 39 minutes.

Canada were consequently relying on Denis Shapovalov beating Djokovic in the second singles rubber to remain in the competition and hopes were high when he took the opening set of a heated encounter.

The world number two had to save three break points to avoid falling behind early in the second set, but his hold of serve kick-started a run that saw him reel off five straight games to force a decider.

Shapovalov received a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct after reacting to boos from the crowd by swearing, though chair umpire Carlos Bernardes later told spectators who continued to jeer the Canadian to "go home".

The 20-year-old showed tremendous character to fight back and take the match to a final-set tie-break after Djokovic jogged to the stands to provide an unwell fan with water while serving for the victory.

Djokovic raced into a 6-1 lead in the tie-break and got the job done at the fourth attempt, completing a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) triumph.

Serbia finished off a 3-0 victory when Nikola Cacic and Viktor Troicki defeated Peter Polansky and Adil Shamasdin 6-3 6-2 in just 58 minutes. They face Russia in the semi-finals.

Competing in his first tournament since February, Nadal has looked in fine form in Rome and followed up Wednesday's impressive 6-1 6-1 dismantling of Pablo Carreno Busta with another encouraging display, beating Lajovic 6-1 6-3.

Lajovic did show some fight during the early exchanges, responding well to a break of serve by breaking back – and to love.

But a marathon game, which included six instances of deuce, followed and Nadal prevailed to go 3-1 up, before going on to lose just four more points when closing out the opening set.

Lajovic looked set to lose with a whimper when successive breaks gave Nadal a 4-0 lead in the second, and although the former responded by winning three games on the bounce, he had given himself too much to do and the Spaniard cruised to victory.

Nadal was a class above for much of the contest, cleverly pulling the Serbian this way and that, and the world number two does not think he could be doing much better.

"I played I think a very positive level of tennis. Of course it needs to keep improving," Nadal said. "I need to keep working on a couple of things that are not coming automatically, but I can't ask for more.

"[It was] another great evening for me against another good opponent. Can't complain at all. Much better [than] what I expected.

"The first set was 6-1, but a super-tough beginning of the match. A lot of good points. I'm very happy, it's an important victory for me after such a long time. To start the tournament with these two victories is great news."

Earlier in the day, world number one Djokovic felt he was "pushed to the limit" by fellow Serbian Filip Krajinovic as he won 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 to reach the last eight in the tournament for a 14th successive year.

It was the first time in more than a decade that the two friends had met on the court and Djokovic was made to work particularly hard, saving five of six break points over the course of the contest and fighting back from 4-1 down in the tie-break before ultimately outlasting his compatriot.

Djokovic's next opponent will be Dominik Koepfer, who dealt with Lorenzo Musetti in relatively comfortable fashion, winning 6-4 6-0.

Fourth seed Matteo Berrettini was pushed all the way by fellow Italian Stefano Travaglia to secure his spot in the next round, coming through a tense 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) to set up a meeting with Casper Ruud, who beat Marin Cilic 6-2 7-6 (8-6).

Eighth seed Diego Schwartzman was given a run for his money by Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, but the Argentinian came from behind to prevail 3-6 6-2 6-4.

He will be up next for Nadal, while the other quarter-final will be contested between Grigor Dimitrov and Denis Shapovalov, both of whom came through three-setters on Friday.

Neither Novak Djokovic nor Nadal was in action after scoring victories a day earlier, but there was no shortage of shocks.

Home hopeful and seventh seed Fabio Fognini was among those to lose, going down 7-5 7-6 (7-4) to Ugo Humbert.

The match saw a remarkable 11 breaks of serve, including the first six games of the opener before Fognini was broken to love, then losing an early advantage in the second-set tie-break.

He was joined in making an early exit by US Open quarter-finalist Andrey Rublev.

Beaten by brilliant Russian compatriot Daniil Medvedev in the last eight at Flushing Meadows, Rublev lost in three sets to Hubert Hurkacz on this occasion.

Fifth seed Gael Monfils succumbed 6-2 6-4 to qualifier Dominik Koepfer, while Milos Raonic fell to Lajovic as the Serbian secured the Nadal clash, landing a 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-2 success.

Kei Nishikori also tumbled out as he struggles to regain his rhythm on the ATP Tour.

The former world number four was appearing in just his second tournament of the year due to an elbow injury and then the coronavirus pandemic but could not get past Lorenzo Musetti.

Musetti, an 18-year-old qualifier, had already dumped out Stan Wawrinka and said after his 6-3 6-4 success: "I think I played really smart. It was different to Wawrinka.

"They are great champions and I am really happy right now."

He was the only Italian man to win, though, with Casper Ruud seeing off Lorenzo Sonego.

Denis Shapovalov had a straightforward victory and Diego Schwartzman also headed through in two sets.

The 22-year-old claimed a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory to set up a meeting with Tennys Sandgren in the next round.

Following Ruud onto Centre Court, the American beat Spain's Jaume Munar 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in just over two hours.

Sixth seed Karen Khachanov is also safely through, although he surrendered a set in beating French qualifier Lucas Pouille 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-4.

But Dusan Lajovic, seeded eighth, was not quite as fortunate.

Lajovic, ranked 41st in the world, was beaten 6-4 7-6 (7-2) by Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein (ranked 256).

Feliciano Lopez came out on top of battle of Spaniards in the round of 32, beating Nicola Kuhn 6-1 7-6 (7-4).

Their compatriot Roberto Carballes Baena is in with a chance of joining them on Tuesday after seeing his clash with Sam Querrey paused due to light with both players having taken a set.

Elsewhere, Corentin Moutet beat Lloyd Harris to set up a meeting with top seed Daniil Medvedev, while Jiri Vesely and Stefano Travaglia also progressed.

Monday's other scheduled ATP event in Eastbourne saw play cancelled due to rain, with the scheduled match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Egor Gerasimov pushed back as a result.

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.