Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out of the Grand Prix Hassan II after he was beaten 6-4 2-6 7-6 (9-7) by world number 65 Alex Molcan.

Making his debut in Marrakech, Auger-Aliassime arrived off the back of an impressive start to 2022.

Indeed, the world number nine had already triumphed in Rotterdam and been runner-up to Andrey Rublev in Marseille.

But he came unstuck at the hands of the player ranked 56 places lower, with Molcan securing his first career win over a top-10 player.

The Slovakian crucially broke in game nine on the way to taking the opening set. Auger-Aliassime, who hit 10 double faults during the contest, responded by dominating the second, while the players exchanged breaks in a decider that went to a tie-break.

The top seed forced match point at 7-6 up, but Molcan held on by reeling off the next three to secure a dramatic victory.

David Goffin, meanwhile, claimed his 300th tour-level win as he came from behind to defeat three-time champion Pablo Andujar.

Andujar had seen off second seed Dan Evans in the first round but, despite making a fast start against Goffin, it was the Belgian who triumphed 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

Federico Coria overcame Mirza Basic in straight sets, while Roberto Carballes Baena defeated Portugal's Joao Sousa 6-2 7-6 (7-4) and Richard Gasquet saw off Pavel Kotov.

Serena Williams appeared to shut down premature talk of calling time on her career by declaring that she hopes to return from injury in time for Wimbledon.

The 40-year-old has not played competitively since losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of last year's tournament at SW19 and is now ranked at 246 in the world.

Williams' future in the sport was called into question on Thursday when her long-time coach Patrick Mouratoglou announced he will now work with Simona Halep.

However, the 23-time major winner – who has been coached by Mouratoglou since 2012 – has moved to confirm her intention to return to top-level tennis in the coming months.

Speaking alongside Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at an event in Miami, Williams said: "We've been talking about my comeback and he's been hyping me up.

"He's getting me ready for Wimbledon. Can't wait!"

Williams is one major title shy of matching Margaret Court's long-standing record of 24, having been beaten in four finals since her most recent triumph at the 2017 Australian Open.

She missed last year's US Open on home soil, as well as the 2022 Australian Open in January.

Rodgers was surprised at Williams' Wimbledon announcement and asked: "What about the US Open?", to which the ex-world number one replied: "Wimbledon is first".

The grass-court grand slam gets under way on June 27.

Dominic Thiem is ready to "get back on track" after testing negative for coronavirus.

The luckless Austrian revealed he had contracted COVID-19 after making a long-awaited return in the Andalucia Open Challenger Tour event last week.

Thiem has not played on the ATP Tour since last June, missing Wimbledon and the US Open in 2021 after undergoing wrist surgery.

The 2020 US Open champion, who was beaten by Pedro Cachin on his comeback in Marbella, on Thursday stated that he is now COVID-free.

"A short update: I am finally negative and I feel much better! Thank you for all your messages! I really appreciate it!" he tweeted.

"I'm going to have a medical check-up, so I can get back on track!"

Thiem has reportedly pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters this week, but his return to the ATP Tour should be imminent with the French Open on the horizon next month.

Patrick Mouratoglou, the long-time coach of Serena Williams, has confirmed he will now work with Simona Halep.

Mouratoglou began coaching Williams in 2012 and has guided the former world number one to 10 grand slam titles and a further six major finals.

However, the last of those triumphs came in 2017, with Williams still one major success shy of matching Margaret Court's long-standing record of 24.

Williams reached the semi-final of last year's Australian Open, losing to Naomi Osaka, before subsequently going out in the last 16 at Roland Garros.

But the 40-year-old has not featured since retiring due to an injury in the first round to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon and is now ranked as the world number 246.

And it does not appear as though Williams will be making a return to the WTA Tour soon, with Mouratoglou explaining that, at least in the short term, he will be coaching former world number one Halep.

"Today, I am starting a new chapter in my coaching career: I am now the full-time coach of Simona Halep," Mouratoglou tweeted on Thursday.

"In the last eight months, I realised how much I missed coaching. It is the passion of my life, and I still feel like I have so much to give.

"Simona came to the Mouratoglou Academy before Indian Wells for a training block. I swung by at a few of her practices, watched her train.

"At the end of the week, she asked me if I was available to coach her. I have the highest respect for her but it was out of the question at the time.

"A few weeks later. I had a conversation with Serena, and the door opened for me, at least short term, to work with someone else.

"I will keep you updated on what's coming next soon."

World number 20 Halep endured an injury-hit 2020 and 2021, and split with long-time coach Darren Cahill in September of last year. The Romanian has won two grand slam titles, triumphing at Roland Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon the following season.

She has reached three other major finals and enjoyed a strong start to 2022, triumphing at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 prior to the Australian Open, in which she reached the round of 16.

Runs to the semi-finals at the Dubai Tennis Championship and Indian Wells Open have followed, though the 30-year-old will be hoping Mouratoglou can help her recapture the form she showed to end 2017 and 2018 on top of the WTA rankings.

Matteo Berrettini could miss the French Open after the world number six was forced to withdraw from three tournaments as he continues to recover from minor hand surgery.

The Italian progressed to the Wimbledon final in 2021 and started the new season in encouraging fashion as he reached the Australian Open semi-finals, where he was well-beaten by eventual winner Rafael Nadal.

However, the 25-year-old has seemingly struggled from then on, with his next best performance coming in Rio – where he made the last eight – as he limped to a 9-6 record so far in 2022.

Further difficulties followed for Berrettini after he sustained an injury to his right hand late in March, forcing him to withdraw from the Miami Open before undergoing a "minor operation".

Berrettini provided another update on Instagram on Thursday, revealing he would not feature at the Monte-Carlo Masters, scheduled to start later this week, or the Madrid Open and Italian Open at the start of May.

The latter tournament in Rome begins just two weeks before the second grand slam of the year, leading to concerns that Berrettini may not feature at Roland Garros.

"UPDATE – following advice from the medical experts, my team and I have decided that it is crucial I do not put time pressure on my recovery process," he posted.

"We have therefore decided I should withdraw from the Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome tournaments to ensure I give myself the proper amount of time to return at my highest level.

"Withdrawing from these events, particularly Rome, was an extremely tough decision, however it is the right one to ensure many more years of competing at the highest level for the biggest trophies.

"Thanks very much for all the support. My recovery process is on track and I look forward to seeing you on-court soon."

The 2022 French Open will provide Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with a final opportunity to shine in front of a home crowd after the 36-year-old confirmed his impending retirement.

Tsonga has suffered with injuries over recent seasons and has managed just two ATP Tour match wins so far in 2022.

The Frenchman reached a high ranking of world number five and finished as runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open.

He never won a grand slam but did reach five more major semi-finals. Tsonga has collected 18 singles titles on the ATP Tour, including two Masters 1000 crowns in Paris (2008) and Toronto (2014). His last triumph came in 2019 in Metz.

"It is with great emotion that I announce today my decision to stop my professional career at the next French Open," Tsonga wrote on social media.

"So many incredible moments, so much joy shared with a public that gave me a lot. Hoping for one last thrill with you!"

In a video accompanying his announcement, Tsonga said: "The goal is to be myself, to be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga the tennis player.

"I hope that I will stay in shape before and be able to be who I have always been at this tournament.

"I have always set myself high goals to try to get what I can. For me, this will be the opportunity to do it one last time."

Yannick Noah (69.6 per cent) is the only Frenchman to have a higher winning percentage in tour-level matches than Tsonga (66.5).

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka won for the first time since late February, defeating Alison Riske 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 at the Charleston Open on Wednesday.

Losing her opening matches at the sunshine double of Miami and Indian Wells, after only taking five games off Iga Swiatek at the quarter-final in Doha, the world number five improved her head-to-head record with Riske to 5-0.

Sabalenka by no means cruised to victory, though, failing to close the match out at 5-2 in the second set. Riske had four break points to level at 5-5, but the 23-year-old powered through when she needed to, eventually closing out after an hour and 49 minutes.

Second-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain and ninth-seeded American Madison Keys also advanced to the third round at Charleston, with respective wins over Anna Bondar and Ulrikke Eikeri.

Badosa, who made the semi-finals in Charleston last year, overcame a mid-match rain delay to eventually win in an hour and 35 minutes.

Jessica Pegula continued her positive run of form after making the semi-finals in Miami, accounting for Jasmine Paolini with a 6-2 6-1 victory.

Other seeded winners included Belinda Bencic and Alize Cornet, while Elina Rybakina, Ajla Tomljanovic and Shuai Zhang were among seeds who lost on Wednesday.

The weather in South Carolina continued to be a problem at the first WTA clay-court event this season, however, as the match between Ons Jabeur and Emma Navarro was suspended due to heavy rain.

Meanwhile at the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota, Rebecca Peterson was the only seeded player in action on Wednesday, and lost 6-1 6-4 to Germany's Tatjana Maria.

Nick Kyrgios continued his strong return to clay courts on Wednesday, defeating Tommy Paul 6-4 6-2 to progress to the quarter-finals of the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston.

Before Tuesday's victory over Mackenzie McDonald, Kyrgios had not played on clay since his infamous meltdown against Casper Ruud at the Rome Masters in 2019, where he threw a chair across the court and walked off during a change of ends.

The 26-year-old Australian wild card's serve kept him in relative control, saving all six break points he faced in the 70-minute match, as well as serving 10 aces and winning 88 per cent of points on his first serve.

"I had to be locked in today and I knew that I had to serve well," Kyrgios said post-match. "It's probably one of the better matches I've played on clay in my career, so I'm pretty happy with the way I came out here today, just put my head down and went to work.

"I've been serving really well, so I just wanted to keep to good habits."

The world number 94 will now face Michael Mmoh, who defeated Sam Querrey 6-2 6-4.

Meanwhile, third seed Reilly Opelka did it relatively tougher in the other all-American clash on Wednesday, coming back from a set down to defeat Mitchell Kreuger 3-6 6-2 6-4.

Opelka came into the match having lost just 13 service games in 19 matches this season, but was broken twice in the opening set against Krueger. The world number 18 has been dealing with a right shoulder injury that forced him to retire at the Miami Open against Francisco Cerundolo.

The 24-year-old still managed 15 aces for the match, including a big serve out wide in the Ad court on match point.

"He played well, I think he came out swinging," Opelka said afterwards. "I think he was free, I wasn't. It's a different situation.

"It was a good opportunity for him to play free and get a win and I'm a guy who hasn't always been the most consistent, especially changing surfaces, so I think it was a good win."

He will face Gijs Brouwer, who progressed past J.J. Wolf with a 6-1 6-1 win.

David Goffin will go up against three-time Grand Prix Hassan II champion Pablo Andujar for a place in the quarter-finals in Marrakech.

The former world number seven is in the hunt for a first title of the season, and defeated Damir Dzumhur 6-2 7-6 (7-3) in his first match on Wednesday.

That victory teed up a last-16 tie with Andujar, who defeated second seed Dan Evans in his first-round match.

The 36-year-old Spaniard is something of a specialist in Marrakech, having won this tournament three times, in 2011, 2012 and 2018.

Young Italian prospect Lorenzo Musetti overcame Andujar's compatriot Carlos Taberner 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 to become the first player to reach the quarter-finals.

Musetti, who reached the last 16 at last year's French Open and featured at the ATP Next Gen Finals, has had a tough start to 2022, only reaching one other quarter-final so far.

Serbian eighth seed Laslo Djere followed Musetti into the last eight by beating Malek Jaziri 6-4 6-2.

Qualifier Mirza Basic sprung a surprise to overcome Kamil Majchrzak 4-6 6-4 6-1, while Vit Kopriva defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles in straight sets.

World number 172 Pavel Kotov claimed the scalp of a top-100 player, bouncing back from a first-set bagel to beat Tallon Griekspoor 0-6 6-2 6-2.

Nick Kyrgios made his return to clay with a win on Tuesday, defeating Mackenzie McDonald 4-6 6-3 6-4 at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston.

It was the first time Kyrgios had played on clay since his infamous meltdown at the Rome Masters in 2019, where he threw a chair across the court and walked off, handing Casper Ruud a win by default.

After a meandering first set, the Australian world number 94 sparked into life when he saved the first of two break points with a second serve ace in the third game of the second. From there, Kyrgios opened up his shoulders and became more assertive from the baseline, as well as serving 18 aces in the closing two sets.

While again admitting clay is not his favourite surface, the 26-year-old was nevertheless pleased by the manner of the win against McDonald.

"He [McDonald] beat me in Washington where I used to play pretty well, and he's a tricky one because he doesn't make too many errors, and clay's obviously not my preferred surface," he said post-match.

"I just served really well, and just started playing more aggressive and found another gear. I would slip and slide a little bit, but my game actually suits the clay quite well."

While US seventh seed Tommy Paul secured a walkover 6-7 (4-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-2 win against Peter Gojowczyk, Chilean fifth seed and defending champion Cristian Garin also came from a set down to beat Jack Sock 4-6 6-3 7-5.

American sixth seed Frances Tiafoe faced relatively simpler work, defeating unseeded countryman Marcos Giron in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

Two all-American matches also opened play in Houston on Tuesday, with JJ Wolf securing a 6-4 6-4 win over eighth seed Jenson Brooksby in the first, and Steve Johnson defeating Denis Kudla 6-3 4-6 6-4.

In light of recent high-profile misconduct, the ATP has warned players of harsher punishments for on-court behaviour in an internal note, as it also reviews its framework for stopping repeat offenders.

Nick Kyrgios was fined for audible obscenities and hurling his racquet onto the ground after his defeat to Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells – almost hitting a ballkid - while Alexander Zverev was thrown out of the Mexican Open in February after smashing his racquet repeatedly against the umpire's chair.

Jenson Brooksby also came under fire at the Miami Masters, throwing his racquet and hitting a ballkid in his win over Federico Coria, with Coria also motioning during the match that the consequent point penalty was not sufficient.

The recent spate of on-court outbursts has prompted the ATP to act.

"Effective immediately and as we head into the clay court swing, the ATP officiating team has been directed to take a stricter stance in judging violations of the Code of Conduct," ATP Tour chief Andrea Gaudenzi wrote in a circular to the players.

"Additionally, we are also undertaking a review of the Code, as well as the disciplinary processes, to ensure that it provides appropriate and up-to-date penalties for serious violations and repeat offenders."

Kyrgios was also fined after his loss to Jannik Sinner in Miami for criticising the umpire and smashing his racquet, and although Zverev was handed an eight-week suspension for his outburst in Acapulco, the ATP appears determined to nullify future misconduct.

While Gaudenzi, the Italian former top 20 player, understood the human elements to players competing under extreme pressure, he asserted the game itself should be taken into consideration.

"The first three months of the season have seen an unusual frequency of high-profile incidents involving unsportsmanlike conduct," Gaudenzi wrote.

"These incidents shine a bad light on our sport. This conduct affects everyone, and sends the wrong message to our fans, especially young fans."

Belinda Bencic survived a scare as she advanced to the Charleston Open second round with a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win over Wang Xiyu.

The Olympic gold medallist was a semi-finalist in Miami last time out, while she has also reached the quarter-finals in Sydney and St Petersburg this year.

However, the 10th seed was in danger of falling at the first hurdle at 5-2 down in the second set against world number 149 Wang.

Bencic rallied to force a tie-break and, subsequently, a deciding set, which she controlled to set up a second-round clash with 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova.

Magda Linette also fought back from the brink of defeat; the world number 64 saving a match point before prevailing against Maria Voleynets 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

Although, there was no joy for former champion Sloane Stephens, who was beaten in three sets by Zheng Qinwen.

Stephens – winner here in 2016 – recovered from losing the opening set 6-3 to take the second 6-4. But there was no denying the Chinese teenager, who dropped just nine points as she raced through the decider 6-0 to claim the first top-50 win of her career.

The likes of Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys were due to feature in the evening session, which was postponed due to severe inclement weather including the possible threat of a tornado.

In Bogota, top seed and home favourite Camila Osorio advanced to the last 16, but only after opponent Ylena In-Albon was forced to retire at 2-2 in the deciding set.

Fourth seed Hanna Udvardy and eighth seed Harriet Dart were beaten in straight sets by Dayana Yastremska and Elina Avanesyan respectively.

Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime cruised through his debut match at the Grand Prix Hassan II as Dan Evans crashed out in the first round.

World number nine Auger-Aliassime needed just an hour and 24 minutes to see off home hope Elliot Benchetrit 6-3 6-3.

He saved all six break points he faced to set up a second-round meeting with Slovak lefty Alex Molcan in Morocco.

But Evans' stay in Marrakech is over after he succumbed to a surprise 6-4 6-2 loss to Pablo Andujar. The Briton has now won just one of his last five matches on tour.

Lorenzo Musetti has endured a tough start to 2022 and headed into this tournament 5-7 on the year.

However, the 20-year-old delivered a reminder of his potential with a straight-sets win over fourth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Joao Sousa knocked out fifth seed Federico Delbonis but sixth seed Botic van de Zandschulp and eighth seed Laslo Djere did prevail, as did veteran Richard Gasquet.

Alize Cornet was the highest seed in action on the first day of the Charleston Open, and showed her class, beating Alycia Parks 6-0 7-5.

Cornet, the 12 seed, was nearly perfect in the first set, winning 86 per cent of her service points (12-14) and 80 per cent of her return points (12-15).

15 seed Amanda Anisimova also made it through, and with an identical scoreline, defeating American compatriot Sachia Vickery 6-0 7-5.

China's Shuai Zhang is the 16 seed, and she also only needed two sets to see off unseeded opponent Francesca Di Lorenzo 6-2 6-4.

Hungary's Anna Bondar earned a second-round matchup against world number three Paula Badosa after defeating the Netherlands' Arianne Hartono 6-1 6-4.

Italian Jasmine Paolini will meet six seed and world number 13 Jessica Pegula in the second round after beating Romania's Gabriela Lee 6-2 6-3.

Meanwhile, in Bogota at the Copa Colsanitas, Brazilian qualifier Laura Pigossi defeated five seed Harmony Tan 6-4 6-3.

Top seed and world number 33 Camila Osorio will kick off her tournament on Tuesday against Ylena In-Albon.

Iga Swiatek has revealed she was "crying for 40 minutes" when she discovered Ash Barty had retired and the Polish sensation has felt "a range of emotions" after becoming world number one.

Barty sensationally called time on her career at the age of 25 last month.

The Australian quit while she was at the top of the rankings and on the back of winning her home grand slam for the first time at Melbourne Park in January.

Swiatek on Monday became Poland's first world number one and the 20-year-old could be hard to dislodge, as she is on a 17-match winning run.

The 2020 French Open champion became the youngest woman to win the Sunshine Double on Saturday when she beat Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open final after being crowned champion at Indian Wells.

Swiatek was in tears after finding out that Barty had ended her playing days and it soon sunk in that she would officially become the best player in the world.

She told BBC Sport: "I was crying for 40 minutes. Mainly, it was because of Ash's retirement. I didn't know it was going to happen and it really surprised me.

"I always had this vision that we would all play until we are 35 or something, until our bodies are so tired that we can't anymore.

"I needed time to actually understand what she must have thought. Her decision was really brave and I felt a lot of emotions because of that."

She added: "I also felt emotional because of my own position.

"I realised after two hours of being really emotional that 'hey, you don't know what is going to happen yet and you still have to win some matches'.

"So I told myself 'let's wait with the emotions and with being excited because I have work to do'."

Swiatek won the Qatar Open before claiming another two prestigious titles in the United States and the Warsaw native says the manner in which she has dominated has taken her by surprise.

"Emotionally it has been really intense and I have felt a range of emotions – from being proud and having satisfaction, to confusion and surprise," she said.

"These last weeks showed me I can trust in myself a little bit more and trust my skills and my tennis. Before I didn't really know it was possible for me to have a streak like that. So it also kind of surprised me.

"After Doha and after Indian Wells I didn't have time to digest what I've achieved. Right now I am going to take some time to analyse what happened from a 'work' point of view."