Novak Djokovic clinched a 20th win in a row and maintained his perfect year to date with victory against Hubert Hurkacz at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The world number one cruised in the opening set, before Hurkacz put up more of a fight in the second.

Djokovic eventually prevailed to seal a 6-3 7-5 win, successfully seeing off his opponent despite Hurkacz valiantly throwing everything at him.

The 35-year-old Serbian has now won 15 consecutive matches in 2023, with his latest impressive display including just seven unforced errors, less than half Hurkacz's 15 as Djokovic's clinical edge proved decisive.

Fifteen successive victories is the fourth-best start to a season in Djokovic's career, though he remains some way off the 41-0 record he began 2011 with.

A semi-final clash against Daniil Medvedev awaits following the Russian's comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory against Borna Coric, which clocked in at one hour and 21 minutes.

Medvedev is also in the midst of an impressive winning streak, rattling off 12 consecutive successes since being eliminated by Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open in January.

Andrey Rublev booked his spot in the final four with a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victory over Botic van de Zandschulp to maintain his title defence.

He will face seventh seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, the German having seen off Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-4.

Second seed Casper Ruud suffered a shock three-sets second-round defeat to Japan's Taro Daniel at the Mexican Open in Acapulco on Wednesday.

The 2022 US Open and French Open runner-up had struggled past Guido Andreozzi in the first round and followed up that up with a 7-5 2-6 7-6 (7-5) loss to Daniel.

The Japanese qualifier, ranked 125th in the world, won in just under three hours, winning the final three points of the deciding tie-break after Ruud led 5-4.

Ruud had more winners (38-32) but committed 30 unforced errors compared to Daniel's 12.

Taylor Fritz cruised into the last eight with a 6-4 6-4 win over Canada's Denis Shapovalov, setting up a quarter-final with sixth seed Francis Tiafoe, who eased past Feliciano Lopez 6-2 7-6 (8-6).

Fourth seed Holger Rune was too strong for Nuno Borges 6-0 6-2 inside an hour, while eighth seed Alex De Minaur crushed Jacopo Berrettini in just over an hour 6-1 6-0.

Top seed Lorenzo Musetti was a surprise second-round loser at the Chile Open with Jaume Munar triumphing 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 31 minutes.

Fourth seed Diego Schwartzman also bowed out, going down 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) to local Nicolas Jarry.

Jarry will face Yannick Hanfmann in the quarter-finals, while Munar will take on Thiago Monteiro.

Novak Djokovic swept through to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with ease on Wednesday, clinching a 6-2 6-3 win over Tallon Griekspoor.

The Serbian picked up his 19th consecutive victory midway through his record 378th week as world number one, settling his last-16 clash in straight sets.

Griekspoor, at a career-high position of 39th in the ATP rankings himself, proved no match for the 22-time grand slam winner, who dismantled him inside an hour and 22 minutes.

Djokovic had looked poised for a near-flawless performance, with a late lost service game at 5-1 up in the second set the only major blemish on his display.

"It's been a great evening for me," Djokovic said in his post-match interview. 

"Yesterday [against Tomas Machac], I really had to work hard to get a win. Tonight, right from the blocks, I think I was sharp. I definitely played better than I did last night.

"Maybe the last three or four games weren't the best to close the match, but I managed to find a good serve in the end.

"I'm very pleased with the performance and with the way I felt on the court, and hopefully things can go in the right direction for tomorrow."

Djokovic, who remains undefeated in 2023, is bidding to win the Dubai title for a sixth time, in what represents his first tournament since he won the Australian Open in January. 

Elsewhere, second and third seeds Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev joined Djokovic in easing their way into the last eight.

The former was made to work by Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina however, recovering for a 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) win, while the latter saw off Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-2.

Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out with a surprise 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 loss to Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, who is rewarded with a last-eight clash against seventh seed Alexander Zverev.

Cristian Garin enjoyed the hometown advantage during Tuesday's opening round of the Chile Open, defeating former world number three Dominic Thiem 6-2 7-6 (7-2).

Slotted into the primetime fixture, Santiago resident Garin did not let the locals down, securing a break in the first game of the match to set the tone.

The other Chilean hopeful in the field, Nicolas Jarry, kept up his terrific form to also book his place in the second round.

After making the semi-final of last week's Rio Open – where he took a set off world number two Carlos Alcaraz – Jarry beat Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 for an 11th victory from his past 14 matches.

Fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas was the highest ranked player in action, and he went down 7-5 4-6 7-5 against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro, while sixth seed Laslo Djere had a better outing in his 6-3 6-2 victory over Joao Sousa.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry will meet second seed Francisco Cerundolo in an all-Argentine second round matchup after advancing past Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-1 7-6 (7-1).

Meanwhile, in Acapulco at the Mexican Open it was the Berrettini brothers stealing the headlines on a day where top hopes Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie both withdrew due to injuries.

World number 24 Matteo Berrettini won the first seven games of his match against Alex Molcan before the Slovak decided to retire at 6-0 1-0, and his younger brother Jacopo Berrettini capitalised on his qualifier status with a 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 2-1 (retired) comeback against Oscar Otte.

Australian eighth seed Alex De Minaur was the top seed in action and he discarded of Mexico's own 17-year-old qualifier Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez 6-1 6-2, while rising 21-year-old American Brandon Nakashima overcame Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-3 3-6 6-1.

Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his withdrawal from this week's Mexican Open due to a hamstring strain.

The reigning US Open champion, who missed the Australian Open with hamstring issues, was set to face Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round of the ATP 500 event in Acapulco.

Besides his injury frustrations, the teenager has enjoyed an impressive start to 2023, going 8-1 after triumphing in Buenos Aires and being runner-up to Cameron Norrie in Rio.

The latter event saw Alcaraz aggravate a hamstring problem, which has subsequently prevented him from building on that momentum this week. 

"Unfortunately I won't be able to play in Acapulco," the Spaniard posted on his social media channels. "I have a grade 1 strain in my right hamstring that will keep me out for several days, according to the tests we did this morning.

"I'm really sad I can't compete here, but now it's time to think about recovering and being ready as soon as possible. I hope to see you all soon!"

Norrie also confirmed he will not compete in Acapulco, the British number one citing fatigue as the reason for his absence.

"Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from Acapulco," he said in an Instagram story. "It's one of my favourite tournaments, so it's really tough for me to withdraw."

Novak Djokovic was made to work hard for his 18th consecutive victory, eventually putting away Tomas Machac in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Djokovic, who is celebrating a record 378th week as world number one, had to rely on a third-set tie-break to finally get over the line, defeating his Czech opponent 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-1) on Tuesday.

Machac is ranked 130th in the world, but caused Djokovic plenty of problems, earning 10 break points across the match, though he was only able to convert three.

Djokovic had a 4-1 lead in the deciding set before Machac fought back to force a tie-break, but the Australian Open champion ultimately had few problems at 6-6 as he won seven of the eight points played to clinch the win.

"Tomas certainly didn't play like the No. 130 in the world today," Djokovic said of his opponent. "He was giving me all kinds of trouble. But I guess when it mattered, I found another gear."

Djokovic, who is still undefeated in 2023, will face Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.

Elsewhere, fresh off two titles in as many weeks, third seed Daniil Medvedev eased past Matteo Arnaldi 6-4 6-2 to tee up a tie with Alexander Bublik next after his opponent Alexandar Lazarov retired hurt with Bublik leading 6-1 1-0.

Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Maxime Cressy 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-3, but sixth seed Karen Khachanov is out after he was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Botic van de Zandschulp.

The Dutchman will take on Mikael Ymer in the second round after his 6-2 6-3 win against Francesco Passaro, while eighth seed Borna Coric and Dan Evans played just four games before the latter retired hurt.

Christopher O'Connell set up a match against Alexander Zverev in the next round after he overcame Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5 6-4.

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Indian Wells Open as he continues his recovery from a hip injury.

Nadal sustained the injury during his straight-sets defeat to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January, struggling to move around the court during the closing stages of the contest in Melbourne.

A day after that match, the Spaniard wrote on Twitter: "I have carried out medical tests after the defeat yesterday. The MRI shows a grade two lesion in the iliopsoas of the left leg. Now it's sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. Normal recovery time six to eight weeks."

It seems that Indian Wells, the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, has come too soon for the 36-year-old, and it remains to be seen if he will be able to compete at the Miami Open later in March.

The tournament's director, Tommy Haas, said on Tuesday: "We wish Rafa continued healing, and hope to see him back at the BNP Paribas Open next year."

Nadal reached the final of last year's tournament at Indian Wells, where he lost to American Taylor Fritz. 

He has won three titles at Indian Wells, but the last came back in 2013.

Taylor Fritz was forced to come from behind to claim a three-set victory over John Isner in the opening round of the Mexican Open in Acapulco on Monday.

Fritz was among the seeds to progress, alongside Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, Francis Tiafoe and Tommy Paul.

The third seed lost the opening set in 29 minutes but rallied back to win 3-6 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 49 minutes over the big-serving world number 38 Isner.

Fritz claimed his first break of the match in the 17th game before levelling things up at one set each, before breaking Isner at 4-4 in the third and serving out for victory.

The win means Fritz will take on Canada's Denis Shapovalov in the second round after he beat Miomir Kecmanovic in three sets, with the American looking to go one better after being runner-up in Acapulco in 2020.

Second seed Ruud found himself in an almighty battle with Argentina's Guido Andreozzi and eventually prevailed 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2).

World number four Ruud, ranked 338 places above his opponent, was broken in the first game of each set but dug deep to get the job done in a little under three hours. 

Fourth seed Rune got past 2023 Australian Open quarter-finalist Ben Shelton 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2.

Sixth seed Tiafoe overcame Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 while 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Paul beat Emilio Gomez 6-1 7-6 (7-4).

Defending champion Pedro Martinez was bundled out of the Chile Open in the first round after losing 6-2 6-0 to German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.

Jaume Munar progressed to set up a second-round clash with top seed Lorenzo Musetti after winning 6-0 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) against Alejandro Tabilo.

Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from next month's Indian Wells Open as he continues to recover from knee surgery.

The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up has not been in action this season, having been forced to pull out of the Australian Open in January due to a small lateral meniscus tear.

Kyrgios underwent surgery soon after and was targeting the opening Masters 1000 event of the season at Indian Wells for his first tournament back.

However, event organisers confirmed on Monday the 27-year-old is still not ready to return.

"Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the 2023 BNP Paribas Open due to an ongoing knee injury," a statement read.

Indian Wells gets under way on March 6 and is followed by the Miami Open at the end of the month.

Kyrgios' last competitive singles match came in October at the Japan Open, which he withdrew from ahead of the quarter-finals.

The Australian, a two-time quarter-finalist on the hard courts at Indian Wells, has slipped down to 19th in the ATP Rankings.

Defending champion Andrey Rublev was able to find another gear to get through his first-round match at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday, beating Filip Krajinovic 7-5 6-2.

The number two seed got off to a rocky start, finding himself 5-2 down in the first set before dramatically turning the tide, winning five straight games.

Rublev's first serve percentage improved from 49 to 58 in the second set as he stepped up his game against his Serbian opponent.

"Filip is one of my good friends, and we always have tough battles," Rublev said after his win. "So, today I was going on court thinking that it was going to be a really tough match, and when he started the way he did, I didn't know what to do because he was playing so good.

"Somehow I calmed myself and said 'OK, restart at the bottom and raise my level', and I started to play much, much better. I was able to turn the match around and finish the match in a good way."

He will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round after the Spaniard took just 52 minutes to beat Malek Jaziri 6-2 6-0, converting all five of his break points as he strolled to victory.

Seventh seed Alexander Zverev had to come from behind to beat Jiri Lehecka 4-6 6-3 6-4, while Tallon Griekspoor set up a second-round clash with top seed Novak Djokovic after the Dutchman beat Constant Lestienne 6-4 3-6 6-2.

Andy Murray has pulled out of the Dubai Tennis Championships, with the tournament citing the player's recurring hip injury as the reason.

Murray reached the final of the Qatar Open, which he lost 6-4 6-4 to Daniil Medvedev on Saturday, and had to play three sets in every match during his run to the showpiece.

The world number 52 impressed in Doha, including beating Alexander Zverev and saving five match points against Jiri Lehecka in his semi-final.

However, the toll on the 35-year-old seems to have led to his decision not to participate in Dubai, with the tournament beginning on Monday.

A statement from the tournament read: "We regret to inform you that Andy Murray is unable to participate in this year's tournament.

"Andy has been dealing with a recurring hip injury that has unfortunately forced him out of Dubai. We wish Andy a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the court in Dubai soon."

Murray's win over Lehecka in Qatar meant he moved level with Jimmy Connors in fifth on the list for most ATP hard-court wins in the Open Era (489).

Novak Djokovic is amassing such a dossier of evidence that no sober judge would dispute his claims, but debate still rages as to who is the greatest men's tennis player of all time.

The 35-year-old has now racked up 378 weeks at number one on the singles rankings, not only improving his record among the men but also this week going past Steffi Graf, the leader on the women's tour.

Djokovic has won 10 of the last 16 grand slams he has contested, all since turning 30, and has moved level with Rafael Nadal on 22 singles majors, the most ever captured by a man.

His stockpiling of Masters 1000 titles is bordering on being greedy, with a record 38 tucked away, and although he turns 36 in May there is no sign of Djokovic slowing down.

Tommy Haas snatched three wins from nine encounters with Djokovic, while the Serbian was going up through the gears early in his career.

Haas told Stats Perform he sees Djokovic as a player who wants to "end that debate" over who is the greatest, but there are good grounds to reason the man from Belgrade has already done enough.

 

Djokovic's compelling case

With plenty of miles left in his legs, Djokovic has already reached 33 grand slam finals (W22 L11), the most by any man. It puts him level with Serena Williams (W23 L10) and one behind Chris Evert (W18 L16), who is perhaps a surprising leader in this field.

Given his form in the past 12 months, it would be astonishing if Djokovic does not reach more slam finals this year.

He has also won 38 Masters titles – the next rung down from the grand slams – and is not just the only singles player to have won every one of these nine tournaments, he has won each one at least twice.

Djokovic's six end-of-season ATP Finals titles puts him level with Federer.

Adding together grand slams, ATP Finals crowns and Masters 1000 wins, Djokovic has 66 of these so-called 'Big Titles', seven more than Nadal, who sits second on the list. It bears pointing out the Masters events only began in 1990, so this puts players of the modern era at an advantage, but the domination of these events by the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer mirrors their unprecedented grand slam supremacy.

Djokovic has an 83.5 per cent career win-loss record (W 1,043, L 206), the best of all players with at least 200 matches on tour during the Open Era (since 1968).

In the slams, his win-loss record of 341-47 gives Djokovic an 87.9 per cent winning record, just a shade behind Nadal's 88 per cent, and ahead of Federer (86 per cent).

Djokovic is rapidly closing in on overtaking Nadal's win percentage, having powered through his last 14 matches at the majors, triumphing at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

These winning percentages at the slams by the Big Three are not the absolute highest of all time, but considering Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have regularly had to play one another over the past two decades, that is easily explained.

Only Bjorn Borg (71.1 per cent) has a higher win percentage against top-10 players than Djokovic's 69.4 per cent, but Borg's career was relatively brief, stepping off the tour in his mid-20s, with Djokovic a model of sustained excellence.

Djokovic is playing in Dubai this week, seeking more trophy success.

The expert's view

"He's the ultimate competitive warrior out there," says Tommy Haas. "He doesn't leave a stone unturned, does everything that he possibly can to be the best that he can be."

Haas is now tournament director at the Indian Wells Masters – aka the BNP Paribas Open – and he had better results than most against Djokovic, scoring wins on grass in Halle and Wimbledon in 2009 before repeating the trick on hard court in Miami four years later.

Djokovic, it can be argued, is a better player at 35 than he was at 25, and he is certainly more dominant. The man who feeds off his inner "wolf energy" has lost none of his bite.

"He's spoken about it himself many times, the sort of upbringing that he had, the experiences that he had to go through just to put so much grit in him, so much fire and fighting power. And you see it. The guy is an absolute beast out there," Haas said.

"There's no doubt in my mind that in his mind he wants to become the greatest of all time and win the most slams and end that debate and I think that's that's what he's looking to do.

"We're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves now but let's just say he does have the most slams. He's won every Masters series there is, maybe the most of all of them as well. Longest number one, most slams and then I think there is no room to argue."

Is winning enough to define greatness?

Yes. It has to be. In hand-to-hand combat, whether in war or something as relatively frivolous at tennis, it's all about getting the better of the enemy. Then it's about continuing to do so, and if it's easy on the eye, all well and good.

Roger Federer played the most sumptuous tennis that made him a bigger draw than anyone, and the Swiss great was also a sensational winner to boot, and a charmer, but Djokovic is picking off his records one by one.

Does this make Djokovic the most popular tennis player of all time? No, he rarely exhibits the warmth of personality that Federer brought, the crowd-pleasing flourishes are in shorter supply, and he brings some of the bad press and occasional crowd antipathy on himself.

But winning is the priority for Djokovic, and nobody does it better.

Haas says: "Really, can you say does he have the prettiest game or the best shot selection or this and that? Without Roger and without Rafa he would have been pushed to become that good of a player? Maybe not. And you have to always look at every generation pushing each other and all that stuff.

"And the debates can go on and on. Bjorn Borg retired when he was 26 years old, he won 11 slams. What if he would have played 10 more years? Yeah, he probably could have had 20."

But Djokovic has 22 and is hurtling towards Margaret Court's 24 slams, the most by a woman. There is no doubt he believes he can go beyond that, and keep going.

Shingo Kunieda won 28 wheelchair singles majors, and Djokovic might even get up towards that number.

For now, the number that matters is number one. Whether you like him or not, the man they call Nole is hurtling into history as the champion supreme.

Cameron Norrie avenged last week's Argentina Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz by fighting back to beat the injury-hit Spaniard in a back-and-forth Rio Open final on Sunday.

Defending Rio Open champion Alcaraz was hampered by an injury to his right leg as he was pegged back after taking the opener, with Norrie eventually claiming a 5-7 6-4 7-5 win.

Alcaraz performed admirably despite seeing his movement limited in a nail-biting decider, but Norrie's power ultimately proved too much as the 27-year-old took his fifth ATP career title.

Top seed Alcaraz – playing in his 10th tour-level final at the age of 19 – started well and had forced seven break points by the time he took a thrilling first set, allowing Norrie just one.

With Alcaraz stopping to have his right thigh wrapped after appearing to be in discomfort, Norrie roared back and took the second set following three straight breaks of serve.

That teed up a dramatic finish, with Alcaraz playing a series of delightful drop shots to take the first break of the decider despite playing at walking pace for long periods. 

Alcaraz stopped to tear the wrapping off his leg as the pair traded breaks in front of a lively crowd in Brazil, but it proved a bridge too far for the Spaniard as Norrie pinned him back, hitting several excellent returns to claim his first final success against a top-10 ranked opponent.  

"It's so special to win this one, especially after losing a couple of finals already this year," Norrie told Amazon Prime Video. "I had to do it the tough way, you know? 

"I was looking done there and I just managed to flip a switch and turn it around. It's a good day, especially on a surface I'm not too comfortable with. I had to battle a lot of demons in the last couple of weeks."

Hubert Hurkacz fought off Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi to land the Open 13 Provence title in Marseille on Sunday.

Poland's former Wimbledon semi-finalist scored a 6-3 7-6 (7-4), serving 19 aces as he justified his status as the tournament's top seed.

Hurkacz broke serve in the fourth game of the opening set to seize command of the match, before resisting a determined effort from Bonzi in the second set to force a decider.

A sixth win in seven ATP finals for the 26-year-old Hurkacz came when Bonzi sent a forehand just wide.

The result means Bonzi, playing his second ATP final, has again been kept waiting for a first trophy success at this level, having also lost in the Pune title match to Tallon Griekspoor at the start of the year.

Bonzi, born in nearby Nimes, was hoping to become the first French champion at this event since 2017, when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated compatriot Lucas Pouille in the final.

Hurkacz praised Bonzi in an on-court interview, telling the crowd: "He played really, really well. He deserved to win the second set. I just tried to compete as hard as I can.

"I think my game's getting better, and I'm super happy with the way I competed today. I know you guys wanted Benjamin to win."

Top seed Hubert Hurkacz saw off a spirited Alexander Bublik in straight sets to seal his place in the final of the Open 13 Provence with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win.

The world number 11 wrapped up victory in his semi-final in Marseille without being taken to a deciding third set for the first time during his tournament run.

But he was still forced to fight for the result, after unseeded Kazakhstani Bublik pushed him hard in their encounter.

Hurkacz only broke serve once during the first set and had to hold his nerve in a second-set tie-break to finish the job.

He will face a homegrown opponent in Benjamin Bonzi in the final, after the latter won an all-French last-four encounter with wild card Arthur Fils.

The former saw off his fellow countryman 6-4 6-4 in a straight-sets triumph of his own.

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