Jannik Sinner celebrated becoming the new world number one with a straight-sets victory over Grigor Dimitrov booking his place in the French Open semi-finals.
Following Novak Djokovic's withdrawal from Roland-Garros due to a knee injury, the Italian moves to the summit of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career.
In fitting fashion, Sinner secured his maiden passage into the last four of the clay-court major after ousting Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7- ) in just under two-and-a-half hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The reigning Australian Open champion landed the early blow with back-to-back breaks in games five and seven on the way to drawing first blood.
Another break in the opening game of the second proved decisive as he held out for a two-set lead.
The second seed then had a chance to serve for the match after he broke in game nine of set three. Although Dimitrov responded immediately, the Bulgarian only delayed the inevitable as Sinner would dominate the tie-break to advance.
Data Debrief: Italian job well done by the new world number one
Sinner is the first Italian man to become world number one since the rankings were first published in 1973.
The 22-year-old is now 4-0 in his first four grand slam matches against top-10 opponents this year, making him the youngest player to achieve that feat since Jim Courier in 1992.
After Stefanos Tsitsipas, he is also just the second player in the last 15 years to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open and French Open in the same season.
Murray set for back surgery in bid to be fit for Wimbledon swansong
Andy Murray will undergo back surgery in an attempt to be fit for what will be his final appearance at Wimbledon, which begins in nine days.
The two-time competition winner was forced to retire from his second-round match at the Queen's Championships against Jordan Thompson after just five games.
It was later revealed by the 37-year-old that he had been suffering with back pain which eventually spread to his right leg, forcing him to withdraw from the competition.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist is set to call time on his illustrious career later this year, with Wimbledon and the Paris games described as a fitting end to his 20-year spell on the court by Murray.
But the former world number one faces a race against time to fit for Wimbledon, which starts on July 1, where he is also set to feature in the men's doubles with his older brother, Jamie.
“He saw a specialist yesterday evening and he’s basically trying to decide what his next move is," his brother told BBC Two on Friday.
"I don’t think it’s right for me to go into that personally, that’s up to him, but I think he has got a few decisions to make.
"It’s obviously incredibly disappointing for him that this was potentially going to be his last Queen’s, last Wimbledon and Olympics, and there’s a potential that that might not be able to happen.
"I think he’s got to make a few decisions, and see where he goes from there.”
Draper's dream run ended at Queen's by Paul
Jack Draper's dream run at the Queen's Club Championships was halted at the quarter-final stage on Friday as Tommy Paul edged a hard-fought contest in three sets.
Having claimed his maiden ATP Tour title in Stuttgart last week, Draper made it seven straight victories with a huge upset of world number two Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday.
However, he could not extend that winning streak as Paul attacked his serve on every opportunity, hitting several excellent groundstrokes as he took the opener.
Draper hit back in the second set, a long forehand seeing him convert his second set point.
However, the new British number one appeared fatigued in the decider, his exertions against Alcaraz taking a toll as Paul kicked on, breaking to love in the seventh game and seeing out a 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory.
Data Debrief: Draper falls short
Playing in his second Queen's quarter-final, Draper could have become the first home player to reach the last four since Cameron Norrie in 2021.
He was unable to stay the course against a fresher opponent, though, as fifth seed Paul improved to 25-10 for the season, reaching his second tour-level semi-final on grass.
Zverev survives early scare to pass Fils into Halle Open semi-finals
Alexander Zverev battled past Arthur Fils despite losing the first set to book a place in the Halle Open semi-finals.
The German, chasing his first-ever grass-court title, needed two and a half hours to get his 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 victory.
Neither player managed a break in the opening set, matching each other evenly before Fils finally got the edge in the tie-break to take the lead.
Zverev soon raised his level though, and during a run of eight consecutive points, broke the Frenchman to love at 3-2 on his way to forcing a decider.
Despite another bright start to the set by Fils, he failed to get a single break, with Zverev rallying to set up a meeting with Hubert Hurkacz in the next round.
Data Debrief: Zverev edges ever-closer to grass title
Zverev is 37-10 for the season, and is the first person since Roger Federer (2012-19) to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the Halle Open.
A two-time finalist at the tournament, the German is hoping to add two more wins to his 18-7 record in Germany to finally get his hands on the trophy.
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