Rafael Nadal is not treating the Paris Masters as a chance to fight for a place at the top of the ATP rankings.

Nadal has played only once – alongside the now-retired Roger Federer at the Laver Cup – since he was knocked out in the fourth round of the US Open by Frances Tiafoe.

The 36-year-old has won two grand slam titles in 2022, at the Australian Open and the French Open, seeing him sit one clear of Novak Djokovic when it comes to the record amount of major triumphs.

Yet it is Nadal's fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, some 17 years his junior, who sat top of the world rankings ahead of the Paris Masters and the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.

Nadal could yet end the year at the summit, but to overtake Alcaraz he would likely need a deep run at the Paris Masters – one of two ATP 1000 tournaments he is yet to win in his illustrious career – and in northern Italy.

However, Nadal, who became a father last month, says he now has a much simpler aim than becoming the best player on the planet.

"To be clear, I understand it's an interesting point because you're talking about fighting for number one, [but] I don't fight any more to be world number one," Nadal said in a press conference on Tuesday, a day ahead of his opening match against Tommy Paul in the French capital.

"I just fight to keep being competitive in every event that I play. It's something I said a long time ago, I will not fight any more to be number one.

"I did in the past. I achieved that goal a couple of times in my career and I have been very, very happy and proud about achieving that. But I am at a moment in my tennis career where I don't fight to be number one.

"I'm just excited to be here. I'm here to try my best and then accept things how they are coming. Hopefully, I will be ready, I'm going to try to be competitive. Let's see. I'm excited about it."

Having dominated the game for so long, Nadal and reigning Paris Masters champion Djokovic find themselves ranked at second and seventh by the ATP respectively.

Nadal and Djokovic are the only players in the top 10 aged over 30, with four of the other eight players aged under 25.

"My feelings are that I am proud of all the things that I was able to still be here in 2022," Nadal said, when asked what it was like to be competing against the next generation of talent.

"It's something that says that I did a lot of things well in my life, not only my tennis career. To hold the passion, to hold the love for the game and fighting spirit.

"I'm proud of that and just hope that I can enjoy the last two events of the year."

With his son not yet a month old, Nadal conceded he is missing home.

"[A] different approach to usual. It has always been difficult to leave home, to be honest," he said.

"It's quite interesting how even after two or three weeks you leave your son at home and [are] not be able to go see him. It's something quite interesting how even after only three weeks of knowing him you start missing him.

"So yeah, a new experience, all changes are difficult in his life, and you need to adapt to it."

Aryna Sabalenka fought from a set behind to come back and defeat Ons Jabeur 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 in their first match of the WTA Finals on Monday.

Sabalenka, 24, has now won her past three matches against Jabeur, and this time around it was her ability to limit the effectiveness of the Tunisian's serve that turned the tide.

Jabeur's serve dominated the opening set, winning 73 per cent (16-of-22) of her service points while not allowing Sabalenka a single break point opportunity.

The second set was a different story, as some double faults crept into Jabeur's game and her success rate on her service points dipped to 51 per cent (24-of-47), allowing Sabalenka to break three times before forcing a decider with a close tiebreaker.

Sabalenka finally got on top in the third set, narrowly edging the total points count 37 to 31 in the frame while converting both of her break point chances to finish off the victory.

She now sits second in the Group B standings, trailing Maria Sakkari due to the Greek winning her match in straight sets.

BREAK POINTS WON

Sabalenka - 5/8

Jabeur - 6/10

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Sabalenka - 21/26

Jabeur - 37/29

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Sabalenka - 1/6

Jabeur - 7/5

Maria Sakkari defeated Jessica Pegula 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) in the opening match of the WTA Finals on Monday in Fort Worth.

It was a highly anticipated first match after the same two competitors faced off in the Guadalajara Open final just eight days ago, with Pegula taking that contest 6-2 6-3 in convincing fashion.

That final lasted just 71 minutes, but the rematch would be a far more gruelling affair, with the first set alone reaching 73 minutes.

Illustrating the even nature of the contest, both players won exactly 52 out of 104 total points played in the opening set, with both players converting three of their five break point opportunities.

Sakkari created a slight edge in the second set, winning 52 per cent of the points (42-of-81) and creating four break point opportunities to Pegula's one.

Pegula took her only chance to break, and then saved two match points to force a tiebreak, but Sakkari would not be denied as she secured the victory and moved to the top of the Group B standings.

BREAK POINTS WON

Sakkari - 4/9

Pegula - 4/6

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Sakkari - 3/1

Pegula - 3/4

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Sakkari - 22/22

Pegula - 22/28

Carlos Alcaraz views fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal as another competitor and "not my enemy", despite the pair's battle for top spot in the world rankings.

The 19-year-old continues to break records at the top table in tennis, becoming the first teenager to be crowned world number one in the Open Era.

Alcaraz, aged just 19 years and 129 days, also set a new benchmark as the youngest number-one ranked male player in the world since rankings were published in 1973.

Those feats came after winning September's US Open, where he joined Arthur Ashe (1968) and Rod Laver (1969) as the only Open Era players to win on their first or second main-draw outing at the tournament.

Now, Alcaraz has Nadal – a record 22-time major winner – chasing him for top spot, though the youngster assures there will never be bad blood between himself and his compatriot.

"I don't see it that way," Alcaraz responded to Eurosport when asked if he was embroiled in a battle with Nadal.

"It's true, Rafa is fighting for the No.1. Some players have the same goal – to be No.1, so I need to do my best. Outside the court [Rafa and I] are colleagues, at least it's the way I see it.

"Rafa is not my enemy. I say hello, I don't see that competition. With the rest of the players, it's the same. Beyond that relationship, I'll try to keep being No.1."

While Alcaraz remains the world's top-ranked male player, he intends to savour the moment after a surreal victory at the US Open.

"It is an incredible feeling, waking up as No.1, the US Open winner. It's a dream come true," he added.

"I am enjoying this moment so far. I keep working, my life is still the same, I'm still the same kid, same player. I just keep practising, keep improving."

As the teen aims to relish topping the ranks, his next focus turns to the Paris Masters – where he faces Yoshihito Nishioka on Wednesday – with a knee injury not as serious as first thought.

"It's a little pain, but the calendar is very demanding," he said of the injury. "We are playing and travelling with barely any breaks and it's normal that we have a few pains.

"All players have them and we learn how to deal with them. I am feeling good physically and I am ready to play here in Paris and in Turin in the [ATP] Finals."

Jannik Sinner and Marin Cilic were the two most notable first-round losers at the Paris Masters, where Taylor Fritz kept his slim ATP Finals hopes alive on Monday.

World number 12 Sinner, the 11th seed in the French capital this week, suffered a straight-sets loss to Marc-Andrea Huesler, as did 15th favourite Cilic against Lorenzo Musetti.

Ninth seed Fritz downed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5 6-2, with Cameron Norrie and Frances Tiafoe also recording straight-sets victories against Miomir Kecmanovic and Lorenzo Sonego respectively.

Victory for Fritz kept the American in the hunt for qualifying for November's ATP Finals in Turin for the first time, needing to reach the final in Paris to overtake Felix Auger-Aliassime or Andrey Rublev.

"Right now I'm just focused on kind of playing myself into the tournament," said Fritz. "I feel like any time this year that I've won a couple of matches in a tournament, then I've done well.

"So I'll just try to focus on these early rounds. Turin is still in the picture, obviously, but there's not much else I really could have done.

"Felix has played really, really well, so he deserves it, but I am going to try to steal his spot this week for sure."

Home favourite Gilles Simon awaits Fritz in the second round at the ATP 1000 event after defeating Andy Murray 4-6 7-5 6-3.

Alexander Bublik and Mikael Ymer played out another three-set battle, with the former triumphing 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-4.

Richard Gasquet, Yoshihito Nishioka, Karen Khachanov, Maxime Cressy, Nikoloz Basilashvili and John Isner were the other first-round winners on the opening day in France.

Novak Djokovic might be a player that drives fear into the heart of his opponents, but the Serbian insists he is not the Halloween boogeyman of the tennis tour.

As he prepares for a title defence at the Paris Masters, the 21-time grand slam winner is naturally out to put the frighteners up his rivals.

But when asked on Sunday whether he was "the monster of tennis", because of his strong track record against the cream of the sport, Djokovic had to smile and laugh it off.

"The monster? I don't know the significance of that word in your language, but in mine it is not really the best," he said in a press conference.

"I prefer not to be the monster of the tennis. But yeah, the record against pretty much all the top players is positive, which is great.

"We played so many tournaments throughout the year and throughout our careers, and some of us have been there more than some of the younger players. So playing more matches helps, I think, to know how to approach every next big challenge when you play one of your top rivals.

"I have managed to do well throughout my career, which is great, which is something that I always intended to do."

Djokovic earned a 27-23 win-loss record in his favour against Roger Federer and he leads Rafael Nadal 30-29 and is 25-11 up on Andy Murray across their tour careers.

He has lost his lone meeting with new world number Carlos Alcaraz, which came on clay in the Madrid semi-finals earlier this year, and there could be more such clashes during the final years of Djokovic's career.

At the age of 35, Djokovic remains a force to be reckoned with. He gets a first-round bye in Paris and will face Maxime Cressy or Diego Schwartzman in his opening match 

The world number seven has won his last three singles tournaments, with a triumph at Wimbledon followed by titles at Tel Aviv and Astana.

Djokovic has six Paris Masters titles, the joint-most he has managed at any of the ATP 1000 events, level with his haul from Miami and the Internazionali d'Italia.

His ranking is unusually low, and that can to a large extent be attributed to him being prevented from playing in Australia and North America this season, due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.

Djokovic also suffered from Wimbledon being stripped of ranking points amid the Ukraine crisis, meaning that despite successfully defending his title at the All England Club, he lost the 2,000 ranking points he collected at the grand slam in the 2021 season.

He said his experience after being banished from Australia in January was "challenging".

"It was a completely new experience for me," Djokovic added. "Unfortunately not a great one but still a life experience, and a possibility for me to grow stronger out of that."

Daniil Medvedev celebrated "one of the best victories" as he beat Denis Shapovalov 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the Vienna Open on Sunday.

Playing in his first tour-level final since winning the Mexico Open in August, Medvedev found himself on the back foot after Shapovalov came out on top in a 50-minute opener.

The world number four conceded serve twice in the first set – the first time he had been broken throughout his run in Austria.

However, Medvedev hit back to claim the second set at the first time of asking.

Having lost serve twice in the decider, Shapovalov hung on in to frustrate Medvedev, saving six match points before finally succumbing to a deft drop-shot that the Canadian could only clip back into the net.

The victory marks Medvedev's second title of 2022, while it also ensures the Russian – who worked his way to world number one earlier in the year – will play in the ATP Finals next month, after going for glory at the Paris Masters.

"This match was the best of the week because Denis was really playing unreal until probably 4-3 in the second set," said Medvedev, who is aiming for a strong end to the season.

"He dropped his level by maybe two per cent and I was able to use it. This is one of the best victories when you know your opponent is on top of you, but you try and stay there and do what you can.

"I like to play indoor hard courts at the end of the season. I feel that I do a great job with my team not to arrive burnt out.

"I'm looking forward to the last two tournaments of the year which are really important and I usually play well."

Felix Auger-Aliassime climbed to sixth in the ATP Finals chase as he earned yet another title at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

The Canadian had not won any of his eight career finals before this season, but he has now come through four of five in 2022.

Three of those have been in Auger-Aliassime's past three tournament entries, as he followed up successes in Florence and Antwerp by beating Holger Rune on Sunday.

Rune had himself won last time out against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Stockholm final, but he was brushed aside by Auger-Aliassime 6-3 7-5.

The world number nine threatened to wrap up the victory in double quick time as he raced through the opener, with Rune responding in the second set to drag the match out to 100 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime fended off a break point early in the second and two more later in the set, protecting his serve throughout and then going on the offensive.

The fourth of four break opportunities at 5-5 was seized, and Auger-Aliassime – fresh from beating world number one Carlos Alcaraz – served out the match at the third attempt.

The 22-year-old has never previously made the season-ending Finals but moved ahead of Andrey Rublev with his latest success.

There will be one racing certainty when the WTA Finals gets under way: a new champion will be crowned.

Iga Swiatek heads the list of contenders to carry off the trophy in Fort Worth, Texas, having enjoyed a spectacular season.

Ascendant Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff will be chasing a home victory, while Tunisia's Ons Jabeur has reached finals at Wimbledon and the US Open so loves the big occasion.

Ahead of the tournament getting under way on Monday, Stats Perform has taken a look at the eight-player field.

Swiatek still the player to beat

With no past winner in the line-up, there is every reason to look to the world number one, Swiatek, as favourite.

The 21-year-old Polish player has eight titles this year, lifting trophies at Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, the French Open, the US Open and San Diego.

Indeed, she is the only grand slam singles winner in the draw, with Ash Barty having retired and Elena Rybakina absent after no ranking or race points were awarded at Wimbledon, where she was a surprise champion.

Rybakina's absence calls into question the meritocracy of this year's tournament, which is intended to showcase the top performers on tour, yet there can be no doubt the season's premier performer is in the draw.

French Open and US Open winner Swiatek's remarkable run of 10 straight-sets victories in finals (dating back to the 2020 French Open) was finally ended by Barbora Krejcikova, who sprang a shock by winning in Ostrava in early October.

But by getting back to winning ways a week later in San Diego, scrapping for a three-set victory over Donna Vekic in the title match, Swiatek produced a typically impressive response, beating Qinwen Zheng, Gauff and Pegula on her way through the draw to improve to 64-8 in her win-loss record for the year.

Here is a measure of her dominance this season: Swiatek headed the 'Race to the WTA Finals' rankings with 10,335 points, with the players in second (Jabeur) to eighth place (Daria Kasatkina) having tallies ranging between 4,555 and 2,935 points.

Is Pegula the chief rival to Swiatek?

She might not have been the player that would have sprung to mind even a month ago, but Pegula's victory at the Guadalajara Open this month was an eye-opener.

Beginning by saving match points in a thrilling three-setter against Rybakina, Pegula took down grand slam winners Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka before swatting aside Maria Sakkari in the final.

Pegula has reached quarter-finals at the Australian, French and US Opens in 2022, and she has a tour-high 39 wins in WTA 1000 events since the beginning of last year.

She is up to third in the WTA rankings, one ahead of Coco Gauff, with the United States now having two women in the top five for the first time since October 2010, when Serena Williams was number two and sister Venus sat fourth.

As Pegula said after the Guadalajara final: "I'm definitely a very ambitious person. A little bit of a perfectionist, as well. I don't think you could win if you weren't ambitious, especially at this level.

"I feel like it's going to give me more motivation going forward knowing I can win these big titles. I think it will give me a lot of confidence ending the year, going into next year."

These are spirited words. She heads into the tournament with a 0-4 record against Swiatek in 2022, however.

Who's in, who's out, what's it all about?

As well as Swiatek and Pegula, the field for the eight-day tournament includes Caroline Garcia, Aryna Sabalenka and Sakkari, who have all featured at the WTA Finals in the past.

Four players make their debuts, including Pegula, who is joined as a newcomer by Jabeur, Gauff and Daria Kasatkina.

Gauff, 18, has become the 14th player aged under 19 to reach the WTA top five since the rankings were introduced in 1975.

She would not be the youngest WTA Finals champion, were she to lift the title, as Monica Seles has a tight grip on that record, having triumphed at the age of 16 years and 11 months at the 1990 edition.

Last year's champion Garbine Muguruza is absent. The Spaniard was expected by many to push on and enjoy a stellar 2022 season, but it did not play out that way, with the former French Open and Wimbledon winner sliding to 57th in the world rankings after a dismal campaign.

It goes to show that whoever prevails in Fort Worth, we should be cautious about treating the outcome as an indication of what to expect in the new year.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz was stunned in the Swiss Indoors Basel semi-finals as Felix Auger-Aliassime set up a final clash with Holger Rune.

Auger-Aliassime saw off the US Open champion in just 82 minutes as he won 6-4 6-3 to take his unbeaten run to 12 matches.

The Canadian was in irresistible form on Saturday, with his shot placement in decisive moments proving far more consistent and lethal than his counterpart, hitting 23 winners to Alcaraz's eight.

Twenty-two-year-old Auger-Aliassime is still fighting to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time and victory in Sunday's final will move him up to sixth in the rankings having won each of his two previous tournaments in Antwerp and Florence.

"It's amazing," Auger-Aliassime said. "I never expected it, when I was in Florence three weeks ago, or after the US Open. I'm just really happy that all my work is coming together.

"I've always believed that I can play this way, that I can be consistent in that way, but one thing is to believe and the other is to actually do it. It's nice to feel that way, it's nice to come out on the court and win that many matches in a row. So hopefully this is just the beginning of seeing me play this way."

Rune awaits after the Dane beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (10-8) despite being 6-2 down in the second-set tie-break. He will move into the top 20 for the first time as a result of that win.

The final of the Vienna Open will be contested by Daniil Medvedev and Denis Shapovalov, who came through their respective semis in straight sets.

Top seed Medvedev was exceptional against Grigor Dimitrov, with the Russian's serve proving especially important in his 6-4 6-2 win.

Medvedev won 87 per cent of points on his first serve to leave Dimitrov frequently struggling for momentum, and the former world number one recognised that impact.

"The serve is probably the most important shot in tennis," he said. "I was lacking it a little bit this season, I was doing too many double faults. Sometimes in important moments my serve could have been a little bit better. I was working a lot with my coach to try and find this rhythm [again], and so far I'm serving good here. I'm really happy about it and that's also why I'm playing so good."

Shapovalov ultimately romped to an impressive win over Borna Coric.

A tight first set was followed by the Croatian getting bageled as Shapovalov won 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 to reach his second final of the year.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz is through to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel after easing past Pablo Carreno-Busta in straight sets.

Alcaraz took just under an hour and 40 minutes to overcome his fellow Spaniard and friend 6-3 6-4, getting 67 per cent of his first serves in and winning 77 per cent of those.

Carreno-Busta struggled to keep the US Open champion at bay, facing 12 break points in all, and although he saved nine of them, his defiance was ultimately in vain.

"It is difficult to play against a friend like Pablo," Alcaraz said on-court after his win on Friday. "Every day we go and have dinner, lunch, together. Every week and we train together, so it is difficult to play against him.

"I also support him and want him to win every match. On court, there are no friends. You have to be focused and go for the match and that is what I did."

Alcaraz will face third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final four after the Canadian defeated Alexander Bublik 6-2 6-3.

The other semi-final will see Roberto Bautista Agut play Holger Rune after the Spaniard beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5 7-6 (7-5) and the Danish teenager defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.

In Austria, top seed at the Vienna Open Daniil Medvedev beat Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 to advance to the last four, where he will play Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian overcame Marcos Giron 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The winner of that contest will face either Denis Shapovalov, who beat Dan Evans 6-3 6-3, or Borna Coric after the Croatian came through against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5).

Emma Raducanu has pulled out of next month's Billie Jean King Cup, citing a wrist injury.

The former US Open champion had been named as part of Great Britain's team for the tournament, which will take place at Emirates Arena in Glasgow between November 8-13.

Raducanu was selected alongside Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, with a fifth member to be added at a later date, and made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April's qualifier against Czech Republic.

However, after pulling out of the Transylvania Open earlier this month with the same right-wrist issue, the 19-year-old confirmed on Friday she had been told by doctors she will not recover in time.

"It's disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won't be ready in time, particularly with it being on home soil," Raducanu said.

"I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time. 

"Since my last tournament I've been working every day on physical training and rehab. I've got confidence in my team-mates and look forward to playing next year."

Great Britain will be one of 12 teams participating in Scotland, and have been drawn in a group with Kazakhstan and Spain.

Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out of the Vienna Open after losing in a dramatic third-set tie-break against Borna Coric, who claimed his third successive win over the Greek ace.

The second seed was the highest-profile casualty in the Austrian capital on Thursday, as he succumbed to the Croatian once more 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4).

Coric rescued six match points before stunning Tsitsipas at the 2020 US Open, while he also triumphed when they collided in the Cincinnati showpiece in August.

The world number 27's chances of completing a hat-trick of victories appeared bleak at a set and break down, but he rallied to force a decider that went the distance, before holding his nerve for another notable win.

Coric's reward is a quarter-final clash with Hubert Hurkacz, who boosted his chances of qualifying for next month's ATP Finals with a 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over Emil Ruusuvuori.

Daniil Medvedev advanced to the last eight after a 6-3 6-3 victory over home favourite Dominic Thiem. Next up for the top seed is Jannik Sinner after the Italian saw off Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-3.

Third seed Andrey Rublev's ATP Finals hopes were dented after a 6-3 6-4 defeat by Grigor Dimitrov, who will play Marcos Giron after the American overcame seventh seed Cameron Norrie in straight sets.

Over in Basel, third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime required just 49 minutes to complete a commanding 6-1 6-0 rout of Miomir Kecmanovic for his 10th straight ATP win.

Meanwhile, Stockholm champion Holger Rune continued his momentum by recording a seventh straight victory after seeing off Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-2.

Sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut enjoyed a straight-sets win over three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray to set up a clash with home favourite Stan Wawrinka, who outlasted Brandon Nakashima in a deciding set.

Emma Raducanu has been urged to slow down the churn of coaches by her side as Russian Dmitry Tursunov claimed he walked away from the British player because of "red flags".

Tursunov, a former top-20 player and seven-time title winner on the men's tour, said Raducanu needs to listen to "one voice" and see where that takes her, after he became the latest coach to part ways with the former US Open winner.

It emerged in early October that Tursunov had called a halt to working with Raducanu, and he has taken up a role with Swiss player Belinda Bencic instead.

Tursunov told tennismajors.com how "emotionally" he had wanted his trial period with Raducanu to become permanent, insisting he saw rich potential in the 19-year-old, but he suspected there would "be problems later".

Former Davis Cup winner Tursunov did not specify who or what he saw as being a stumbling block to working with Raducanu on a permanent basis.

"I was walking away from Emma regardless of whether there was another [player] available or not," Tursunov said. "We didn't agree on the terms and there were some red flags that just couldn't be ignored."

Raducanu turns 20 in November. As well as Tursunov, in the past 18 months she has worked with Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz and the Lawn Tennis Association's Iain Bates.

Her growing list of former coaches is notable and the focus on that factor could influence those Raducanu wishes to work with in the future.

Tursunov said Raducanu was "minimum a one-year project but... probably a two-and-a-half-year project to be on the safe side", and reasoned that her game remained "very raw".

"It’s going to take some time, but as I said to her and to pretty much everyone on her team: I think you just need to have one voice and just try that for a bit," Tursunov said

He said he "stuck around" after a trial around the US Open and was looking for assurance that, if taken on, he would be given time to work towards long-term goals.

"But of course, with her coaching situation, there's now a thought going through every coach's mind," Tursunov added.

Raducanu has not reached a final since her dazzling Flushing Meadows victory, but Tursunov has no doubt about the talent of a player he describes as "absolutely great" and "hungry to improve".

There have been just four quarter-final runs in the wake of her September 2021 triumph in New York, with Raducanu only converting one into a semi-final appearance

Tursunov, 39, says Raducanu "has a tremendous upside", but he also issued a warning, adding: "The ingredients are very good, but you can still mess it up."

Daniil Medvedev set up a second-round showdown with home favourite Dominic Thiem at the Vienna Open after defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets on Wednesday.

The top seed broke early and late in both sets as he cruised through the opening round a 6-2 6-2 winner.

Next up for Medvedev is a clash with former US Open champion Thiem, who beat him in the semi-finals on the way to triumphing at Flushing Meadows two years ago.

Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame local wildcard Dennis Novak 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 as the Greek ace seeks a third final in as many weeks, having lifted the title in Astana and finished as runner-up to Holger Rune in Stockholm.

Jannik Sinner also advanced in straight sets against Cristian Garin, but Taylor Fritz's ATP Finals hopes suffered a blow after the fourth seed was beaten 6-1 4-6 6-3 by Denis Shapovalov.

Over in Basel, world number one Carlos Alcaraz sailed through to his 11th quarter-final of the season after a commanding 6-4 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp.

Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime recovered from losing the opening set to deny Marc-Andrea Huesler. The third seed claimed a career-best ninth successive ATP Tour victory, as he looks to complete a hat-trick of titles in as many weeks having recently reigned in Florence and Antwerp.

Stockholm champion Rune built on his recent momentum with a 6-2 7-5 success over Alex de Minaur, but Naples winner Lorenzo Musetti was ousted in a deciding set by Albert Ramos-Vinolas.