Diego Schwartzman felt he played "an almost perfect match" to overcome Pedro Martinez in straight sets and reach the quarter-finals of the Rio Open.

The third seed advanced with a 6-1 6-1 victory, though that does not quite tell the whole story as the second game of the first set lasted a mammoth 24 minutes and 40 seconds.

Martinez saved eight break points in that lengthy game before finally being outdone by Schwartzman, who will now face another Spaniard in Pablo Andujar.

Incredibly, Martinez won 31 points in the first set but just one game.

"It was unbelievable," Schwartzman said. "This was probably the longest game in the history of the tournament 

"I don't remember anything like this before. I played an almost perfect match, I played against an opponent that had as much confidence as me."

Andujar beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-5 5-7 6-3, while fourth seed Pablo Carreno-Busta lost 5-7 6-4 6-3 to Fabio Fognini in the shock of the day.

Federico Coria awaits Fognini after following up his surprise win over defending champion Cristian Garin with a 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 victory against Fernando Verdasco.

At the Delray Beach Open, top seed Cameron Norrie beat Oscar Otte 6-3 7-5 and will face Sebastian Korda, who saw off Andreas Seppi 7-5 6-3, for a place in the semi-finals.

Tommy Paul and Stefan Kozlov are also through to the final eight in Florida after beating Denis Istomin and Steve Johnson respectively in straight sets.

Andy Murray suffered one of the heaviest losses of his career in the second round of the Qatar Open, while Andrey Rublev escaped an early exit at the Open 13. 

Former world number one Murray went down 6-0 6-1 to last year's runner-up Roberto Bautista Agut in Doha on Wednesday. 

It was just the fourth occasion in which the three-time major champion has lost a match while winning only one game or fewer in his career – the last time being a defeat by the same scoreline to Roger Federer at the ATP Finals in 2014. 

Murray's fellow Briton Dan Evans also endured a second-round loss, going down 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – Bautista Agut's next opponent. 

Denis Shapovalov bounced back from his first-round loss to Jiri Lehecka in Rotterdam last week by dropping just eight points on serve as he claimed a 6-4 6-0 victory over Alex Molcan inside 52 minutes. 

Next up for the Canadian will be Arthur Rinderknech after the Frenchman came from a set down to defeat seventh seed Alexander Bublik 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4. 

Nikoloz Basilashvili faced little trouble in overcoming Elias Ymer 6-4 7-5 and his reward is a quarter-final against Marton Fucsovics, who got the better of Kwon Soon-woo. 

Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic will meet in the last eight after they respectively eliminated Emil Ruusuvuori and Botic van de Zandschulp. 

In Marseille, second seed Rublev was made to work hard for a place in the Open 13 quarter-finals by home hope Richard Gasquet. 

Gasquet went a break up in the third set and, after surrendering his advantage, stopped Rublev serving out the match to force a tie-break. 

However, the world number seven did not waste his next opportunity as he sealed a 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) success. 

Aslan Karatsev also booked his place in the last eight, while there were wins for Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Lucas Pouille too. 

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza, 2021 finalist Barbora Krejcikova and top seed Aryna Sabalenka were all eliminated from the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

A day of upsets left Ons Jabeur, the eighth seed, as the top remaining player in the draw.

Some big names helped deliver the shocks, though, with world number two Sabalenka usurped by two-time Wimbledon champion and 2013 Dubai winner Petra Kvitova in straight sets.

Muguruza did not look like being one of the scalps as her title defence continued against Veronika Kudermetova.

But after taking the first set, the reigning WTA Tour Finals champion went down 3-6 6-4 6-4.

French Open champion Krejcikova, beaten by Muguruza in the final last year, also exited the tournament at the hands of Dayana Yastremska 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Iga Swiatek let a set lead slip to Jelena Ostapenko, while two-time Dubai champion Elina Svitolina collapsed to lucky loser Jil Teichmann 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.

Jabeur, a winner against Jessica Pegula, was the only seed to win in a ruthless round of 16.

However, her reward in a still stacked quarter-final draw is a meeting with Simona Halep, another who has twice won in Dubai.

Defending champion Cristian Garin was victim of the biggest shock of Tuesday's play at the Rio Open.

Fifth seed Garin – winner of the most recent edition in 2020 – exited a second consecutive tournament at the first-round stage after he was humbled by Federico Coria.

Coria had defeated the fifth seed, Dusan Lajovic, at last week's Argentina Open, too, but was particularly impressive on Tuesday.

A stunning 6-2 6-0 win was sealed in an hour and 16 minutes.

Coria fended off two break points midway through the first set and then won the remaining nine games in succession in a dominant victory.

Garin was the only seed to lose in Brazil, however, as Lorenzo Sonego was on the right side of a 6-2 6-0 scoreline against 2019 winner Laslo Djere.

Fabio Fognini also advanced in straight sets, while Spanish pair Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Fernando Verdasco similarly eased through.

At the Delray Beach Open, 2021 runner-up Sebastian Korda defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in his first match since winning the Australian Open doubles title with Nick Kyrgios.

Former champion Sam Querrey came up short against Denis Istomin.

Andy Murray made a winning start at the Qatar Open after defeating Taro Daniel 6-2 6-2 in Doha.

The three-time grand slam winner was beaten in straight sets when he faced Daniel in the second round at the Australian Open last month.

But he avenged that defeat with a dominant display against the world number 110 that saw him prevail in one hour and 20 minutes.

Murray boasts an impressive record at the ATP 250 event, lifting the trophy in 2008 and 2009 while reaching a further two finals (2007 and 2017).

And the 34-year-old wildcard will face second seed Roberto Bautista Agut in round two.

"Taro played very well in Australia," Murray said. "He had a very good run there and was too good for me there. 

"I tried to be the one dictating from the first point, and I thought I did that well. It was one of the better matches I've played in recent months.

"Obviously, the results from years ago aren't going to affect the results this week.

"But what it tells me is that the conditions here are good for my game, so if I can play to a good level, the courts are going to suit me here, and I'll make it difficult for everyone I play against."

Elsewhere, seventh seed Alexander Bublik hit 25 winners – including seven aces – in a 6-2 6-4 victory over Slovakia's Jozef Kovalik.

However, there was no joy for Lloyd Harris; the eighth seed was beaten in straight sets by Hungarian Marton Fucsovics for the second year running.

Over at Open 13 in Marseille, three-time winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame fellow wildcard Gilles Simon 6-2 6-4 in the battle of the players boasting five titles between them at the event.

But seventh seed Alexei Popyrin lost out in a deciding-set tie-break to world number 163 Roman Safiullin.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Garbine Muguruza came through their first-round matches unscathed at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

Belarusian Sabalenka made light work of 19-year-old Marta Kostyuk, sealing a 6-4 6-1 win in one hour and 15 minutes.

Standing in her way of a third consecutive quarter-final in Dubai is Petra Kvitova, who beat Camila Giorgi on Monday.

Last year's champion and fourth seed Muguruza began her title defence with a 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-2 win over Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova in two hours and 24 minutes.

Spaniard Muguruza will face Veronika Kudermetova in the second round after the Russian beat former world number one Victoria Azarenka in straight sets earlier on Tuesday.

There were also wins for eighth seed Ons Jabeur and 10th seed Elina Svitolina against Vera Zvonareva and Mayar Sherif respectively.

Elsewhere, there was a shock as qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse dumped out third seed Paula Badosa 6-3 5-7 6-4.

Ninth seed Danielle Collins is also out after the American retired due to dizziness in the second set against Marketa Vondrousova.

Sofia Kenin failed to put up a fight as she went down 6-1 6-2 to Jelena Ostapenko.

Novak Djokovic has said missing grand slams including the French Open and Wimbledon will be "the price I am willing to pay" for resisting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Last month, the world number one and 20-time grand slam winner was deported from Australia on the eve of the Australian Open after his entry visa to the country was cancelled.

That stemmed from Djokovic refusing to join the overwhelming majority of fellow tennis stars in being vaccinated against coronavirus, and amid controversy over how he handled getting the virus himself in December.

In a new interview with the BBC, Djokovic said he was prioritising his right to choose what to put into his body above his sporting ambitions.

The 34-year-old Serbian declared his stance is likely to keep him sidelined for "most of the tournaments" at present.

Djokovic is set to make his return to the court at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships later this month, with vaccination not a requirement. He has been included on the entry list for next month's Indian Wells Open, but that is a tournament he may have to sit out.

He confirmed in the BBC interview that he has still yet to be vaccinated, though did not entirely rule out the prospect in the future.

"I have not," he said. "I understand and support fully the freedom to choose whether you want to get vaccinated or not."

Prior to entering Australia, where he was obliged to confirm his status, it was only widely assumed that Djokovic had not been inoculated.

Now he is keen to "speak up ... and justify certain things", adding: "So I was never against vaccination. I understand that globally everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus and seeing hopefully an end soon to this virus.

"And vaccinations are probably the biggest effort that was made on behalf of the planet. I fully respect that, but I've always represented and always supported the freedom to choose what you put into your body. For me that is essential. It's really the principle of understanding what is right and what is wrong for you.

"And me, as an elite professional athlete, I've always carefully reviewed and assessed everything that comes in, from the supplements, food, the water that I drink or sports drinks. Anything really that comes into my body as a fuel.

"Based on all the information that I got, I decided not to take the vaccine as of today. I keep my mind open because we are all trying to find collectively a best possible solution to end COVID. Nobody really wants to be in this kind of situation that we've been in collectively for two years."

Djokovic is the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion and, after Rafael Nadal's Australian Open triumph, he has been bumped down to joint second on the all-time men's grand slam list. Missing majors at this stage of his career could be a crushing blow to Djokovic's hopes of finishing top of that pile.

"I'm part of a very global sport that is played every single week in a different location, so I understand the consequences of my decision, and one of the consequences of my decision was not going to Australia, and I was prepared not to go," Djokovic said.

"I understand that not being vaccinated today I am unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment. That is the price I am willing to pay."

He looked to disassociate himself from the anti-vax community by saying he had "never said I am part of that movement" and declaring that was a "wrong conclusion" to draw.

At the same time, Djokovic concurred when asked if he was willing to sacrifice the chance to be seen as the greatest player of all time, and to travel to Roland Garros and the All England Club this year.

"Because the principles of decision-making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I'm trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can," Djokovic said.

"I say that everyone has a right to choose to act or say whatever they feel is appropriate for them."

Teenage seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz fought back from a poor set to win 2-6 6-2 6-1 over fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar at the Rio Open on Monday.

The 18-year-old struggled for rhythm in the opening set but showed composure to respond by breaking Munar early in the second set and dominating from there.

Alcaraz took the victory in two hours and 15 minutes, saving 10 of 13 break points across the match, while dropping only three games in the second and third sets.

Spaniard Pedro Martinez set up a second-round clash with third seed Diego Schwartzman after a 6-3 6-4 win over Shang Juncheng.

Pablo Andujar Alba also progressed 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 over Pablo Cuevas, while Serbian qualifier Meomir Kecmanovic accounted for local wildcard Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves 6-3 6-0.

At the Delray Beach Open in Florida, Steve Johnson beat South African veteran Kevin Anderson in just over two hours, triumphing 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-2.

Oscar Otte got past Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 to set up a second-round date with top seed Cameron Norrie, while there were only two breaks across the match as seventh seed Maxime Bressy was ousted by John Millman 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-3).

Italian veteran Andreas Seppi beat German Peter Gojowczyk 7-5 6-4, while young American Brandon Nakashima comfortably handled Denis Kudla 6-1 6-1.

Dan Evans and Karen Khachanov made strong starts at the Qatar Open on Monday, while top seed Denis Shapovalov learned who his first opponent will be. 

After just over an hour and a half, fifth seed Evans sealed a 6-4 6-4 victory over Egor Gerasimov in their first meeting on the ATP Tour. 

Evans won 85 per cent of points behind his first serve and did not face a single break point as he advanced to the second round. Malek Jaziri or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will be his next opponent. 

Following a tight opening set, Khachanov overcame Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to continue his impressive form early in the 2022 season.

Alex Molcan came from a set down and navigated a second-set tie-break to defeat Chris O'Connell and earn a meeting with Shapovalov in the second round. 

At the Open 13 in Marseille, home hope Richard Gasquet overcame Mikael Ymer 6-4 7-5 to book a meeting with Andrey Rublev in the second round. There were also wins for Stefano Travaglia and Ilya Ivashka. 

Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep and Barbora Krejcikova had little difficulty progressing to the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday. 

The unseeded Halep, who was champion in 2020, needed just an hour and 11 minutes to see off Alison Riske 6-2 6-4 as she looks to climb back up the rankings. 

The two-time grand slam winner went into this week ranked 23rd in the world after a difficult 2021 that was ravaged by injury, but she was in fine form against Riske. She showed good spirit to dig herself out of a hole in the second set and save two break points – the American's only ones in the entire match – in the fourth game. 

Swiatek, seeded sixth, was even more comfortable against Daria Kasatkina, defeating the Russian 6-1 6-2 in just 65 minutes. 

Kasatkina had no answer to Swiatek in the first set and, by the time she started to gain some form of momentum, she was already a set and a break down. 

Swiatek had few issues closing out the match and was joined in the second round by Petra Kvitova, who dropped just two games en route to an emphatic 6-2 6-0 defeat of Camila Giorgi. 

Krejcikova was the highest seed in action. The Czech, who lost to Garbine Muguruza in last year's final, was given a tougher examination than some of her rivals, with wildcard Caroline Garcia putting up a solid fight. 

Krejcikova came through 6-4 7-6 (7-0) in the end, blowing the Frenchwoman away in the second-set tie-break, though she will surely have to sharpen up if she is to go one better than 2021 – the 26-year-old hit just 12 winners to 28 unforced errors. 

There was also a victory for Jessica Pegula in an all-American affair with Coco Gauff that included 10 breaks of serve – the former won 6-4 6-4. 

Reilly Opelka rammed 16 aces past Jenson Brooksby on the way to victory in two tie-breaks in the all-American final of the Dallas Open.

In a battle between two of the United States' brightest young men's tennis talents, neither could find a way to break the other's serve.

That meant it came down to the shoot-out of the tie-break in each set, with Opelka sealing a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) victory in an hour and 51 minutes.

It gives the world number 23 a third ATP title of his career, all of which have been won in America. His previous successes came at Delray Beach and the New York Open.

This indoor showpiece on Sunday was just a second main-tour final for 54th-ranked Brooksby, a player who caught the eye in a breakout 2021 campaign, and he found Opelka's serve impenetrable, as has been the case for all-comers throughout the week.

Opelka faced just one break point in the title match, the first against his serve all week, but staved that off. He had five chances against the Brooksby serve but could also not take advantage.

Rather than power, Opelka finished off the match with finesse, hitting a backhand winner after a teasing exchange. He then described 21-year-old Brooksby as "a future top-10 player" after keeping the youngster waiting for his first ATP title.

Brooksby was ranked outside the top 300 this time last year and is poised for a first top-50 breakthrough.

The champion was delighted with his own game, with Opelka saying at the trophy presentation: "I thought I played very well under pressure, especially against a great player like Jenson.

"He makes you very uncomfortable and he took me out of my comfort zone a lot of the match today. I really had to play my best tennis to get by and I barely did."

Felix Auger-Aliassime finally won a first ATP Tour title after impressively dealing with Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The Canadian had lost all of his previous eight finals on the tour, not even clinching a set in any of them, but he found the winning formula this time as he beat Tsitsipas 6-4 6-2.

Auger-Aliassime made an emphatic start, breaking Tsitsipas in the very first game and from that point there was no looking back.

The 21-year-old's aggressive style of play had Tsitsipas on the back foot almost throughout and, after claiming the first set, he saw things out with admirable confidence.

He raced into a 5-1 lead in the second set and there were never any signs of nerves on his part, as he avoided facing a single break point over course of the full match.

Auger-Aliassime, who was beaten by Gael Monfils in the 2020 Rotterdam final, said: "It has not been the smoothest road since my first final three years ago.

"It is an amazing day for me to get my first title and especially here. I played my first ATP main draw here a couple of years ago [in 2018], so it is right I won my first title here.

"I have a lot of good memories playing here in front of you, so thank you for making it a special week for me that I will remember for the rest of my life.

"It is the happiest day of my career, and hopefully it is the first of many to come."

Tsitsipas accepted he lost to the better player on the day, bemoaning his struggles when serving.

The world number four won 74 per cent of points on his first serve and 33 per cent on his second – both figures were dwarfed by Auger-Aliassime's 93 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively.

"He played a really good match, producing really good shots and serving well the whole match," Tsitsipas said.

"I wasn't able to serve well at all today. He played very well."

Anett Kontaveit clinched the WTA St Petersburg Ladies Trophy title, fighting back to win an enthralling three-set final against world number seven Maria Sakkari on Sunday.

The Estonian, ranked ninth in the world, won her sixth career singles title after recording a tense 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 win over her Greek rival, in a clash between the tournament's top two seeds.

The victory means Kontaveit leads Sakkari for head-to-head victories, winning seven of their 13 meetings to date, and stretched the champion's remarkable run of indoor wins to 20 matches.

She was made to suffer before recording her first title of 2022, winning the eagerly awaited clash after a gruelling three hours of tennis.

Sakkari struck the first blow, winning a tense opening set as she targeted a first WTA 500 title of her career.

Kontaveit responded strongly and forced a decider by winning a tight second via a tie-break.

Greek top seed Sakkari found herself one service game from victory after a strong start to the third set, before Kontaveit's counter-attack arrived.

Kontaveit rallied after going 5-3 down by registering consecutive breaks, before comfortably seeing out her final service game, and has now won five of her last six singles finals.

The top two seeds Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman will face off in the Argentina Open final after the latter won two matches on Saturday to progress at his home event.

The Argentine world number 14 had to overcome countryman Francisco Cerundolo 6-3 2-6 5-7 earlier on Saturday after their quarter-final had been interrupted by rain on Friday evening.

The match was tied at 1-1 in the third set when rain intervened, with Schwartzman triumphing when play resumed to earn a semi-final date with third seed Lorenzo Sonego.

Schwartzman would later beat Sonego 7-5 3-6 6-2 in almost three hours on a busy day for the 2020 French Open semi-finalist.

World number eight Ruud progressed with a routine 6-3 6-3 victory over Argentine sixth seed Federico Delbonis.

At the Dallas Open semi-finals, Reilly Opelka and John Isner broke the record for the longest tiebreaker on the ATP Tour since 1990.

Second seed Opelka triumphed over fellow American Isner but it was not easy, winning 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (24-22).

Opelka sent down 39-21 aces across the match, earning a spot in the final against fourth seed Jenson Brooksby who beat Marcos Giron 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5).

Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, after they prevailed in hard-fought semi-finals on a day of drama in Rotterdam. 

Top seed Tsitsipas faced a tough test against 20-year-old Czech qualifier Jiri Lehecka, whose dream run had included a shock win over world number 12 Denis Shapovalov.

The world number four was forced to battle back after losing the opening set, eventually beating the main-draw debutant 4-6 6-4 6-2.

Tsitsipas, whose last final appearance saw him blow a two-set lead over Novak Djokovic in the 2021 French Open showpiece, has yet to claim an ATP 500 title during his career, a record which he will now look to set straight against Auger-Aliassime. 

Currently ranked ninth in the world, the 21-year-old had to overcome a stern test of his own against defending champion Andrey Rublev, who sits two places higher in the ATP rankings, to reach the ninth final of his singles career.

After losing a thrilling first set in a tie-break, Auger-Aliassime roared back to claim a 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2 win over the Russian, his first victory over Rublev in three career attempts.

Auger-Aliassime is chasing his first career title, after losing in the final of this same event against Gael Monfils in 2020.

The final will be Tsitsipas and Auger-Aliassime's eighth career meeting. The Greek has won the most recent five, including their only previous meeting on a hard indoor surface, in the final of 2020's Open 13 in Marseille.