Casper Ruud defeated Quentin Halys in a third-set tie-break to reach the final of the Estoril Open, where Miomir Kecmanovic awaits after defeating Marco Cecchinato.

The number one seed, competing in his first semi-final of the season, prevailed 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2) in Portugal to move within one match of a 10th singles title.

Ruud broke his opponent's serve in the opening game and saw out the first set, but Halys – competing in his first ATP Tour semi-final – hit back in the second to prolong the match.

Both men held as the contest went the distance, but Ruud's quality told as he raced 3-0 ahead in the deciding tie-break and did not look back as he set up a final with Kecmanovic.

World number 40 Kecmanovic needed a little over an hour to beat sixth seed Cecchinato, who had surprised Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the previous round.

Kecmanovic, aiming to add to his only previous singles success in Kitzbuhel three years ago, held serve throughout to claim a 6-3 6-1 win over the 2018 French Open semi-finalist.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the final seeded player fell at the Grand Prix Hassan II as Dan Evans was defeated 2-6 6-4 6-2 by Roberto Carballes Baena.

Carballes Baena has now eliminated three seeded players and will face Alexandre Muller in Sunday's final after the Frenchman saw off Pavel Kotov in straight sets.

Muller edged a first-set tie-break and proved too strong in the second as he saw out a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 victory in Marrakesh.

Tennis great Boris Becker has emerged from a spell in prison as "a stronger, better man", having been "humbled" by his conviction for concealing assets last year.

Six-time grand slam singles champion Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in jail last April, having been found guilty of concealing £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts when he was declared bankrupt in 2017.

The German was released after serving eight months of his sentence in December and was subsequently deported from the United Kingdom.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Becker said he had learned valuable lessons from his stint inside, where his legendary tennis achievements counted for nothing. 

"Whoever says that prison life isn't hard and isn't difficult I think is lying," Becker said. "I was surrounded by murderers, drug dealers, rapists, people smugglers… by dangerous criminals.

"You fight every day for survival. Quickly you have to surround yourself with the tough boys, as I would call it, because you need protection.

"If you think you're better than everybody else then you lose. It doesn't matter that I was a tennis player. The only currency we have inside is our character and our personality. That's it, you have nothing else.

"You don't have any friends at first – you're literally on your own and that's the hard part. You have to really dig inside yourself about your qualities and your strengths but also your weaknesses."

Becker – who was previously a regular on the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon – reportedly cannot return to the UK until October 2024.

Having worked as a commentator with Eurosport in Germany for the Australian Open earlier this year, Becker is eager to rebuild his reputation. 

"I'm usually good in the fifth set – I've won the first two sets, I've lost the next two and I'm planning to win that," he said.

"It certainly humbled me, it made me realise that whether you're called Boris Becker or Paul Smith, if you break the law, you get convicted and you get incarcerated, that goes for everybody.

"I never expected the good and I certainly didn't expect the bad but I'm a survivor, I'm a tough cookie. 

"I've taken the penalties, I've taken the incarceration but I've also taken the glory and if anything this made me a stronger, better man. With my decisions in the future you can see whether I have learned from it or I didn't."

The stage is set for a star-studded final weekend at the Charleston Open as top four seeds Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Daria Kasatkina and Belinda Bencic all advanced to the semi-finals on Friday.

It is the first time since the 2012 Stuttgart Open that all four top seeds reached the final four in a WTA 500 event.

Pegula, the top overall seed and the only remaining American, used her commanding serving game to overwhelm 12th seed Paula Badosa 6-3 7-6 (8-6).

She ended up winning 80 per cent of her accurate first serves – compared to 57 per cent for Badosa – and it resulted in the Spaniard producing just one break point opportunity in the match, which she could not take.

Pegula will meet fourth seed and Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic next after her relatively comfortable 6-3 6-3 triumph against Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Switzerland's Bencic needed just 80 minutes to get the job done, creating 12 break point chances compared to Alexandrova's two, while winning the first three games of each set.

After coming into the tournament without consecutive wins since early January, reigning Wimbledon and US Open finalist Ons Jabeur looked back to her best in a dominant 6-0 4-1 (retired) drubbing of Anna Kalinskaya.

Jabeur is yet to lose a set in Charleston, and she will try to keep that the case when she faces Daria Kasatkina in her semi-final.

Kasatkina earned her spot in the final four with Friday's only three-setter, emerging victorious 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2 against Madison Keys in just over two and a half hours.

Only one match was able to be completed on Friday at the Houston Open as organisers announced they would try to protect the playing surface for a busy weekend of action.

It was the third day in a row that has been washed out due to persistent rain, but after completing their first set on Wednesday, and their second set on Thursday, Max Purcell was allowed to finish off his 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Daniel Altmaier.

It was the final first-round matchup yet to conclude, although there is still a second round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final to schedule in limited time before the ATP Tour rolls on.

The tournament's top seed, Frances Tiafoe, is yet to play a match yet after receiving a first-round bye, and it is the same case for second seed Tommy Paul.

In a statement, tournament director Bronwyn Greer said: "We want to ensure that our courts are in the best possible condition to complete our tournament this weekend, and with that in mind we have decided to forgo play today with the exception of that first-round match that is deep into the third set."

Casper Ruud is through to the final four of the Estoril Open after a routine 6-3 6-0 victory against defending champion Sebastian Baez on Friday.

The number one seed dominated his Argentine opponent from the moment the first set went to 3-3, winning nine-straight games from there to ease to victory.

Ruud did need to save four break points in the second game of the second set, but his ability to hold serve seemed to end any resistance that Baez could muster.

The Norwegian will face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the semi-finals after his own straight-sets triumph over Dominic Thiem

Halys reached his first ever ATP Tour semi after recording a 6-1 6-4 win over the former world number three in just one hour and 19 minutes.

The other semi-final will see Miomir Kecmanovic take on Marco Cecchinato after the latter stunned third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.

The world number 96 claimed a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) victory in the first meeting between the pair to set up a last-four clash with Kecmanovic, who saw off sixth seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles with a comfortable 7-5 6-2 win.

Elsewhere, Dan Evans is the only seed remaining in the Grand Prix Hassan II as he reached the semi-finals by cruising to a 6-3 7-5 triumph over world number 201 Andrea Vavassori in Marrakech.

Evans will face Roberto Carballes Baena next after the Spaniard toppled fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 2-6 6-2.

Second seed Lorenzo Musetti was beaten by Alexandre Muller 6-3 1-6 6-4 in a topsy-turvy encounter, and the Frenchman will now face Pavel Kotov in the final four after the Russian defeated Christopher O'Connell in a thriller, 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-3).

World number three Jessica Pegula was pushed all the way before emerging victorious 7-5 4-6 6-4 against Irina-Camelia Begu in Thursday's Charleston Open third round.

Pegula, the top-ranked American and the tournament's overall top seed, may have thought it was going to be smooth sailing after collecting a break-to-love in the match's opening game, but it was just the beginning of a two-hour-and-32-minute battle.

Begu played terrific tennis against a world-class opponent, winning 47 per cent of the match's total points, but she shot herself in the foot with eight double faults while Pegula had just one.

With the victory, Pegula booked her place in the quarter-final against Spain's Paula Badosa after her stylish 6-1 6-3 result over Russian 19-year-old Diana Shnaider.

Badosa now has a 4-2 record since the beginning of March, but both of those losses came to the in-form Elena Rybakina in eliminations from both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open.

Meanwhile, reigning Wimbledon and US Open finalist Ons Jabeur needed just 82 minutes to dispatch Caroline Dolehide 6-3 7-5, and combined with her opening victory against Lesia Tsurenko it is Jabeur's first consecutive wins since the Adelaide International in early January.

Jabeur will play Anna Kalinskaya in her quarter-final after the Russian upset two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

It was a strong day for the Russians, as Ekaterina Alexandrova got the better of Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2, and world number eight Daria Kasatkina knocked out Bernarda Pera 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic won the longest match of the day in a two-hour-and-45-minute war of attrition against Shelby Rogers 4-6 7-5 6-2, but the Americans had something to cheer for in the late window as Madison Keys advanced past Magda Linette 6-2 3-6 6-1.

Thursday's action at the Houston Open has again been called off without any matches completed due to persistent rain in the area.

It is the second day in a row without a match being completed after Wednesday's play only made it through one set.

Max Purcell took the first set of his match against Daniel Altmaier on Wednesday, before Altmaier came back to win the second set on Thursday, and they will hope to complete the match on Friday when they resume with Purcell leading 6-4 3-6 4-3.

John Isner will likely have a do-or-die tie-breaker as soon as his match with Gijs Brouwer resumes, as he trails 6-4 5-6 with the Dutch competitor on serve.

The only other match underway is locked at 4-4 between Denis Kudla and J.J. Wolf.

Dominic Thiem continued to impress at the Estoril Open as he reached the quarter-finals, but second seed Hubert Hurkacz is out in Portugal.

The Austrian backed up his first round win against compatriot Sebastian Ofner with a 6-2 6-2 straight sets triumph against American Ben Shelton.

It takes the 2020 US Open winner into the last-eight where he will face Quentin Halys after the Frenchman beat fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in a 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph.

There will be no Hurkacz however, after the Pole fell to 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2 loss against the unseeded Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Elsewhere, top seeds Lorenzo Musetti and Dan Evans are both through to the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II.

The pair saw straight sets victories see them through the last-16, with the Italian winning 6-2 6-3 against France's Hugo Gaston and the Briton pulling out a 6-1 6-3 victory against Australia's Alexei Popyrin.

World number one Iga Swiatek believes tennis authorities missed the opportunity to take a stand against the war in Ukraine by banning Russian and Belarusian players.

In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year – which was aided by Belarus – players from both countries were barred from competing at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon was the only grand slam to implement a ban, however, and affected players will be able to return to SW19 this year as neutral athletes after the All England Club reversed the move.

While Swiatek acknowledges a ban may be harsh on Russian and Belarusian players, she feels the sport missed a chance to send a strong message to Vladimir Putin's regime by enacting such a measure. 

"I heard that after World War II, German players were not allowed as well as Japanese and Italian, and I feel like this kind of thing would show the Russian government that maybe it's not worth it," she told the BBC.

"I know it's a small thing because we are just athletes, a little piece in the world, but I feel like sport is pretty important and sport has always been used in propaganda.

"This is something that was considered at the beginning, tennis didn't really go that way, but now it would be pretty unfair for Russian and Belarusian players to do that, because this decision was supposed to be made a year ago.

"I feel like tennis, from the beginning, could do a bit better in showing everybody that tennis players are against the war."

On her Russian and Belarusian colleagues, Swiatek added: "It's not their fault they have a passport like that, but on the other hand, we all have some kind of impact.

"I feel like anything that would help stop the Russian aggression, we should go that way in terms of the decisions the federations are making."

Top seed Jessica Pegula cruised into the Charleston Open third round with a straight-sets victory over Anna Blinkova on Wednesday.

The American world number three triumphed 6-2 6-0 in 65 minutes, winning the second set to love in 27 minutes.

Blinkova, who is ranked 63rd in the world, was no match for Pegula, who won 71 per cent on first serve and 65 per cent on her second. Pegula also generated 10 break points, winning 71 per cent on the Russian's second serve.  

The American will take on Romanian 15th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in the round of 16, after she toppled resurgent 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 6-1 6-4.

Defending champion and fourth seed Belinda Bencic triumphed in the evening session, breezing past Canada's Katherine Sebov 6-0 6-3 in 62 minutes.

Bencic will meet Shelby Rogers in the third round with the American edging countrywoman Caty McNally 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-1.

Ninth seed Madison Keys beat Hailey Baptiste 6-1 6-2, setting up a third-round clash with eighth seed Magda Linette who got past Varvara Gracheva 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-4.

Third seed Daria Kasatkina defeated Madison Brengle 6-2 6-1, progressing to face 38th ranked American Bernarda Para who beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3 6-4.

Spaniard Paula Badosa won 7-5 7-6 (8-6) over 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez and will face Diana Shnaider who upset fifth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 6-3.

Eugenie Bouchard's campaign at the Copa Colsanitas was halted in the second round with a 6-0 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 loss to fourth seed Kamilla Rakhimova.

Wednesday's play was rained out at the Houston Open with only one set completed, while third seed Brandon Nakashima withdrew from the event.

Persistent rain forced an early abandonment of action on the clay courts in Houston, with all eight second-round matches pushed back to Thursday.

Max Purcell's clash with Daniel Altmaier was the only match to get underway, with the Australian leading 6-4 before rain intervened.

Top seed Frances Tiafoe was due to open his campaign against Steve Johnson, with second seed Tommy Paul to face Yannick Hanfmann.

Nakashima's withdrawal for an undisclosed reason meant lucky loser Zizou Bergs will replace him and take on Cristian Garin.

World number five Ons Jabeur is through to the third round of the Charleston Open after making a winning start in a 6-3 6-3 triumph over Lesia Tsurenko on Tuesday.

Jabeur, a finalist at both Wimbledon and the US Open this past season, received a bye through to the second round thanks to her status as the second seed, and she had to save three break points in the opening game of the match against Tsurenko.

After repelling the early push, Jabeur rattled off the first five games to take a commanding lead, and she secured another break to begin the second frame.

Meanwhile, with half of the field still completing their first-round matchups, 12th seed Paula Badosa proved too strong for Egypt's Mayar Sherif in a comfortable 6-3 6-1 victory.

Spain's Badosa will play Canada's Leylah Fernandez in the second round after the promising 20-year-old took just 72 minutes to dispatch Russia's Evgeniya Rodina 6-3 6-2.

Rodina was the only loss from the four Russians in action on Tuesday, with Anna Kalinskaya defeating Alize Cornet 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2, 19-year-old Diana Shnaider eliminating Alycia Parks 6-4 6-3, and Varvara Gracheva prevailing 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 against Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Bernarda Pera advanced past Clare Liu 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 in one of the all-American showdowns, while ninth seed Madison Keys beat Emma Navarro 6-4 6-3 and Shelby Rogers took out Danielle Collins 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-1 in the others.

Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, handled the challenge of Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-1, and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka came back to defeat Sloane Stephens 3-6 6-3 6-2.

America's J.J. Wolf was the top seed in action on Tuesday at the Houston Open and he had no issue in his 6-3 6-2 first-round victory over Jordan Thompson.

Wolf, the fifth seed at the United States' only clay court event on the ATP Tour calendar, needed just 75 minutes to send the Australian home early on the back of a rock-solid serving performance.

Thompson was not able to produce a single break point opportunity in the match, and Wolf left an exclamation point on the contest by winning the final five games to run away with the win.

Meanwhile, seventh seed Marcos Giron gave the American crowd another win to cheer for in his 6-0 6-2 demolition of Ecuador's Emilio Gomez.

The chance for the double-bagel was there for Giron after winning the first 11 games to race out to a 6-0 5-0 lead, but he blew four match points as Gomez showed no quit and secured a break to at least take the match over the 60-minute mark.

Eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry prevailed 6-3 6-4 in his all-Argentine clash against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, taking a 3-2 lead in their overall head-to-head meetings after rising 21-year-old Cerundolo took the past two.

German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann booked a second-round matchup against second seed Tommy Paul after a hard-fought 6-4 3-6 6-2 triumph over Japan's Yosuke Watanuki, while Chile's Cristian Garin had little resistance in his 6-3 6-0 victory in a South American showdown against Bolivia's Hugo Dellien.

In the late window, Jack Sock failed to complete the United States clean sweep for the day as he fell 6-2 6-4 to the Czech Republic's Tomas Machac.

Dominic Thiem claimed his first win since February with victory at the Estoril Open.

The former US Open champion and two-time Roland Garros finalist had gone his previous four ATP Tour-level events without a win.

But Thiem, once ranked as high as third in the world, ended the drought with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 defeat of compatriot Sebastian Ofner.

He will next face American Ben Shelton, who defeated Constant Lestienne 7-5 7-5.

Meanwhile, there were three shocks at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh.

Roberto Carballes Baena came from a set down to beat fifth seed Maxime Cressy, Alexandre Muller overcame sixth seed Richard Gasquet, and qualifier Andrea Vavassori defeated eighth seed Nicolas Jarry.

Carlos Alcaraz is the latest to confirm he will not be competing at the Monte Carlo Masters.

The world number two already has two titles to his name in 2023 but lost the final of the Miami Open to Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz was set to compete in Monte Carlo when the clay court season begins next week but has joined compatriot Rafael Nadal in withdrawing due to injury.

Posting on Twitter, he said: "After two months abroad, I am happy to return home but sad because I finished my last match in Miami with physical discomfort.

"After visiting my doctor in Murcia today and being evaluated, I will not be able to go to Monte Carlo to start the clay court tour.

"I have post-traumatic arthritis in my left hand and muscular discomfort in the spine that needs rest to prepare for everything that is to come."

Alcaraz's defeat to Sinner in Miami saw him cede top-spot in the ATP world rankings to Novak Djokovic, having returned to the summit in March.

The Spaniard was previously ranked number one from September 2022 until January 30, 2023.