Andy Murray will take on fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court on Thursday after the fifth seed came through a five-set battle against Dominic Thiem.

A match that started at 11am on Tuesday finally finished just before 8pm on Wednesday with Tsitsipas claiming a 3-6 7-6 (1) 6-2 6-7 (5) 7-6 (8) victory after three hours and 56 minutes of on-court action.

That will certainly have done Murray’s chances no harm given the two-time former champion was able to relax on Wednesday having wrapped up an easy win over Ryan Peniston under the roof 24 hours previously.

Murray and Tsitsipas have met twice previously – a five-set epic at the US Open in 2021 that went the Greek’s way and an encounter on grass in Stuttgart last summer where Murray claimed one of his best wins since his hip surgery.

Tsitsipas said of facing Murray: “I’m not expecting anyone supporting (me). It’s not my first rodeo.”

It is almost exactly 10 years since the Scot first lifted the trophy in SW19, and Tsitsipas said: “I remember witnessing his first Wimbledon title. Thinking about it now gives me goosebumps because I sort of felt what he went through because it was so difficult for him to close that last game.

“Every time I see that again it gives me shivers. He’s someone who’s done so much for the sport and I’ll go into it with a lot of respect for him. He’s such a tough competitor. That (Centre Court) is almost like his living room.”

It has been an up-and-down season for Tsitsipas, who reached his second grand slam final at the Australian Open but was brushed aside by Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the French Open and has won only two of his five matches on grass.

He resumed on Wednesday a set down to former US Open champion Thiem, who has now lost in the first round of grand slams six consecutive times as he continues to try to return to his former glories following a wrist injury.

The Austrian is at least getting closer and this match was right in the balance until the end of the deciding tie-break.

Tsitsipas’ girlfriend Paula Badosa came out to support him after winning her opening match and a final forehand pass proved to be the crucial moment.

Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed to the third round of the Madrid Open but there was no such luck for Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday.

Second seed Medvedev cruised past Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-4 6-3, teeing up a meeting with Alexander Shevchenko, who overcame Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.

Tsitsipas was made to work by Dominic Thiem, but the fourth seed battling from a set down to win 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5).

World number 40 Dusan Lajovic provided the shock of the day by defeating seventh seed Auger-Aliassime 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5).

Denis Shapovalov, the 21st seed, was another surprise second-round loser, falling 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-1) to China's Zhang Zhizhen.

Taylor Fritz avoided adding to the list of notable early eliminations in the Spanish capital, the eighth seed battling to a 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 victory over Christopher O'Connell.

Fritz's fellow American Frances Tiafoe progressed with a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while 14th seed Tommy Paul crashed out after a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) defeat to Roman Safiullin.

Seeds Alex de Minaur and Sebastian Baez also navigated their way through to the third round, defeating Marco Cecchinato and Marcos Giron respectively, as did Cameron Norrie at the expense of Yosuke Watanuki.

Dominic Thiem cruised through the first round of the Madrid Open in straight sets on Thursday, while former winner Andy Murray suffered an early exit.

Thiem, who has twice finished as runner-up at this event, made short work of Britain's Kyle Edmund in a 6-4 6-1 win to set up a second-round meeting with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Austrian won 86 per cent of points on his first serve (24 of 28) and saved all four break points against him as Edmund just could not get himself into the contest.

Elsewhere, Murray, who claimed titles in Madrid in 2008 and 2015, could not embark on another such run, with the veteran dispatched by Andrea Vavassori in a 6-2 7-6 (9-7) defeat.

The Italian was particularly dominant at the net against Murray, winning 13 of 17 such points, while the 35-year-old managed just five of 14.

Qualifier Roman Safiullin saw off a fightback from Chile Open winner Nicolas Jarry to progress 6-2 3-6 6-3, setting up a clash with Tommy Paul in the second round, while Dusan Lajovic followed up his win at the Srpska Open by beating Jason Kubler 6-3 6-3. 

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the third round of the Barcelona Open with a 6-3 6-1 straight sets rout of Nuno Borges.

The world number two thrilled his home crowd with a ruthless performance against his Portuguese opponent to reach the last 16, converting five break points along the way.

Alcaraz will be joined in the next round by third seed Casper Ruud, after the Norweigian overcame American Ben Shelton in a 6-2 7-6 (7-1) victory.

Roberto Bautista Agut will not join them, however, after he suffered a 6-2 6-2 loss to Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

At the BMW Open, Dominic Thiem set up a second-round clash with Marc-Andrea Husler after receiving a walkover against Constant Lestienne.

The 2020 US Open winner had been leading 6-3 when the match was abandoned at 0-0 in the second set, as fifth seed Sebastian Baez slipped to a 6-3 7-5 loss against home favourite Oscar Otte in Munich.

Stan Wawrinka mounted an impressive comeback victory on his return to action at the Monte Carlo Masters, but Andy Murray went out in straight sets.

The pair, both three-time grand slam winners, enjoyed contrasting fortunes in their first-round matches against Tallon Griekspoor and Alex de Minaur.

Wawrinka, who has not played since Indian Wells last month, saw off the Dutchman in a 5-7 6-3 6-4 triumph, but Murray was routed by the Australian in a 6-1 6-3 loss.

"It was really important to stay calm with myself," Wawrinka said. "In the first round you need to find your game. I am happy to get through. It was important to fight until the end."

Roberto Bautista Agut saved a match point in the second-set tie-break as he fought back to overcome Filip Krajinovic to prevail 5-7 7-6 (12-10) 6-1.

Dominic Thiem is also through following a 6-1 6-4 win over Richard Gasquet but 11th seed Cameron Norrie is out after suffering a 6-3 6-4 loss to Francisco Cerundolo.

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).

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.

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.

Richard Gasquet will get a showcase match against second-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Miami Open after prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-1 against Christopher O'Connell on Thursday.

The biggest names in the field learned their opponents after the 32 seeded entrant received byes into the second round of the Masters 1000 event, and Tsitsipas will be desperate to avoid a third consecutive loss after quick exits at the Rotterdam Open and Indian Wells Open in recent weeks.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev is waiting for Roberto Carbellas Baena after he blew away Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-0 3-0 (retired) in an all-Spanish showdown, while fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will meet Brazil's Thiago Monteiro in the second round after his 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Australia's Jason Kubler.

After O'Connell and Kubler both fell, Thanasi Kokkinakis flew the flag for Australia with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) comeback against Belgian wildcard Zizou Bergs, and his reward will be a battle against Polish eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

France's Gregoire Barrere earned a big matchup against 11th seed Cameron Norrie after eliminating Roman Safiullin 6-4 3-6 6-3, and Safiullin's Russian compatriot Pavel Kotov will join him on an early flight home after going down 6-2 6-2 against recent Chile Open finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Thiago Monteiro enjoyed a memorable victory on Monday as he defeated former world number three Dominic Thiem 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-2) in his opening match of the Rio Open.

The highest-ranked Brazilian in the field made a winning start at South America's only ATP 500 event, but he had to work for it, emerging victorious after an 88-minute third set.

A raucous crowd cheered on every point down the stretch, and after saving four break point opportunities to force a tiebreaker, he jumped ahead to a 5-1 advantage and served it out.

He will face the winner between second seed Cameron Norrie and rising Argentine talent Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the next round.

Meanwhile, the top seed in action on Monday – third seed Lorenzo Musetti – continued his recent rough stretch of form with a disappointing 6-4 6-1 defeat at the hands of Chile's Nicolas Jarry.

Musetti, already ranked 18th in the world at 20 years old, has now lost four of his past five matches, while Jarry has won eight out of 10.

Jarry will play Spain's Pedro Martinez in the second round after he spoiled a potential all-Chilean matchup, eliminating Cristian Garin 7-6 (7-0) 6-4.

The only other Brazilian in action, Joao Fonseca, had no luck against Slovakia's Alex Molcan as he went down 6-0 6-3, while Bolivia's Hugo Dellien was similarly dominant in his 6-0 6-2 trouncing of Portugal's Joao Sousa.

After taking a set off world number two Carlos Alcaraz at last week's Argentina Open, Laslo Djere advanced into the second round as Facundo Bagnis retired in the second set while trailing 6-2 3-2.

Lorenzo Musetti won his opening match at the Argentina Open in comfortable fashion, defeating hometown hero Pedro Cachin 6-2 6-3 on Thursday.

World number 20 Musetti is still just 20 years old, making him the third-youngest player inside the top-40. The only younger players are 19-year-olds Carlos Alcaraz (world number two) and Holger Rune (world number nine).

The talented Italian has two ATP Tour titles to his name, but none outside of Europe, and he will hope to change that after he advanced to the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires.

Musetti will play Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas next after he prevailed 6-4 6-4 against former world number three Dominic Thiem.

Fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo did his part to set up an all-Argentine quarter-final clash after dominating Jaume Munar 6-2 6-1, but compatriot Diego Schwartzman could not hold up his end of the deal, falling 6-1 6-3 to Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Meanwhile, world number seven Taylor Fritz made a winning start to his Delray Beach Open campaign, defeating Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 6-4 6-3.

Fritz will play France's Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-final after the 34-year-old veteran eliminated 24-year-old American J.J. Wolf 7-5 6-2.

Second seed Tommy Paul was too strong for Denis Kudla in a 6-3 6-4 triumph, and he will play Radu Albot for a place in the semi-final after the Romanian emerged the 6-4 6-4 victor against Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.

Playing in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Francisco Cerundolo avenged his younger brother's defeat at the Argentina Open by defeating Yannick Hanfmann 6-2 4-6 7-5 on Tuesday.

Francisco's younger brother Juan Martin had been eliminated by Hanfmann in the qualifying stage, but the fifth seed got one back on the German after leading the break point opportunities 17 to six.

Fifth-seed Cerundolo was the highest seed in action Tuesday, while sixth seed Sebastian Baez fell 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to Serbia's Dusan Lajovic.

In the only all-Argentine clash it was Facundo Diaz Acosta prevailing 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 against Federico Coria – who sits over 100 places higher in the rankings – while Roberto Carballes Baena collected a seeded scalp with a 7-5 6-4 win over Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Meanwhile, Australian Open quarter-finalist Ben Shelton was eliminated from his own hometown tournament as the Florida resident was bounced out of the Delray Beach Open 6-4 6-4 by Marcos Giron.

Shelton beat J.J. Wolf to reach that grand slam quarter-final, but Wolf will be moving on after he emerged with a 7-5 6-3 win against Ilya Ivashka. 

Wolf will play France's Adrian Mannarino following his 4-6 6-3 6-4 triumph over Germany's Daniel Altmaier, and Mackenzie McDonald will get a shot at redemption against fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka after a comfortable 6-2 6-2 success against Taro Daniel.

McDonald and Nishioka have played twice this year – once at the Adelaide Invitational and once at the Australian Open – and Nishioka has won all five sets.

It was also a day 33-year-old Matija Pecotic will never forget, with the world number 784 winning his first ever ATP Tour match by defeating Jack Sock 4-6 6-2 6-2.

Dominic Thiem insists Novak Djokovic must be regarded as the greatest tennis player of all time, ruling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out of contention.

Despite a hamstring issue, Djokovic became the joint-most successful male player in grand slam history last week as he moved level with Nadal on 22 titles following his record-extending 10th Australian Open triumph. 

Along with retired 20-time major winner Federer, Djokovic and Nadal find themselves in the long-running debate to determine the greatest player in history.

But 2020 US Open champion Thiem, who believes the number of major wins must be the decisive factor in the conversation, is confident Djokovic will soon leave his two great rivals firmly behind.

"In my opinion, the grand slam titles should be the defining criteria when determining the best of all time, they are the four most important tournaments in tennis," the Austrian said.

"Everything else is fine, but it's not the same. The slams are what counts, so the GOAT will probably be the one with the most grand slams.

"I am not very surprised [by Djokovic's Melbourne triumph]. Djokovic still looks young – physically and mentally, because of the way he moves on the court. It's like he was 25 years old.

"We have to be honest, he is the best, so his victory was not very surprising."

Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years for a glorious victory over Casper Ruud at the Swiss Indoors, joining fellow veteran Andy Murray in putting on a show in Basel.

Former world number one Murray pulled off a remarkable win over Russian Roman Safiullin, winning five games in a row from 4-1 behind in the final set.

But that was just a tease for the excitement that followed, as Wawrinka, who like Murray won three grand slam titles in his prime, felled second seed Ruud in straight sets.

The 37-year-old Swiss delighted his home crowd with a 6-4 6-4 victory over this season's French Open and US Open runner-up, serving nine aces as he defied a world ranking of 194th to produce some of his old magic.

Murray has fallen away from the elite ,too, but at 49th in the world he is not far away from rejoining that pack, although defeat looked to be beckoning against Safiullin.

The 35-year-old Scot fist-pumped with relief at recovering the break of serve that Safiullin snatched early in the decider, and Murray hit a service winner on his second match point to seal a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 success.

The victory for two-time Wimbledon winner Murray took him to 26 wins this season, the most he has had in a single campaign since pulling off an astounding 78 victories in 2016, the year he won at the All England Club for a second time, landed a second Olympic gold medal and finished top of the rankings.

Murray said of his win: "As the match went on, I started to dictate a few more points and served better."

Quoted on the ATP website, he added: "I changed the way I was returning a little bit, and when I did that, I was able to create a few more opportunities and frustrate him a little bit."

Pablo Carreno Busta scored a 6-2 6-1 win against Argentinian Sebastian Baez, with Alex Molcan, Dominic Stricker and Botic van de Zandschulp also advancing to the last-16 stage.

At the Vienna Open, Murray's fellow British players Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans both went through to the second round, Norrie beating Argentina's Pedro Cachin 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-1) and Evans fending off Germany's Oscar Otte 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

Canadian left-hander Denis Shapovalov beat Austrian wildcard Jurij Rodionov, but the home crowd had something to celebrate when former US Open champion Dominic Thiem continued his resurgence by eking out a 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) victory against American Tommy Paul, saving two match points.

Matteo Berrettini is set to tackle Davis Cup team-mate Lorenzo Musetti in an all-Italian Napoli Cup final on Sunday after defying advice to pull out with a foot injury.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini beat American Mackenzie McDonald 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 at the hard court event, while Musetti came through 6-3 6-4 against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

Providing Berrettini is healthy to participate in the final, the tournament looks set to deliver a crowd-pleasing trophy match, but it was touch and go whether the Rome native would get through the McDonald match.

"I don't even know how I did it," Berrettini said. "I wasn't feeling very good. I asked for the physio because my foot was hurting. It happened so many times in my career that I had to fight through so many things, not just thinking about the tennis ball."

He added, quoted by the ATP: "I didn't want to retire. My team told me, 'I think you should stop'. But I tried and I found a way."

Berrettini and Musetti have never gone head-to-head before. Berrettini has won two titles this year, both on grass, in Stuttgart and at London's Queen's Club, while 20-year-old Musetti scooped his maiden ATP title on clay in Hamburg.

At the European Open in Antwerp, Sunday's final will see American Sebastian Korda tackle Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, in a battle of two in-form players.

Korda was runner-up last week in Gijon, while Auger-Aliassime took the title in Florence, adding to his Rotterdam triumph from February.

Korda wrestled his way past a recently resurgent Dominic Thiem, scraping a 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory, before Auger-Aliassime was given a mighty battle by veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet, winning through in two tight sets, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-3) his margin.

Like Berrettini and Auger-Aliassime, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas has a third title of the year in his sights this weekend.

Tsitsipas swept through to the final of the Stockholm Open with a 6-2 6-2 win over Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori, setting up a clash with 19-year-old Danish player Holger Rune.

For Rune, there was no such straightforward path into the final as Alex de Minaur pushed him all the way, with the Australian eventually edged out 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 after two hours and 50 minutes.

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