Sorana Cirstea beat world number 12 Beatriz Haddad Maia in the longest WTA Tour match of the year so far at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Liudmila Samsonova ousted Paula Badosa on Sunday in a three-set victory that lasted three hours and 22 minutes.
That record was exceeded by eight minutes a day later – Cirstea prevailing 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 in her first-round encounter with 11th seed Haddad Maia.
Cirstea, ranked 70th in the world, fended off two match points in the second-set tie-break and took that momentum into the decider.
Haddad Maia has lost four of her five meetings with Cirstea, though had defeated the Romanian in Adelaide in January.
"I fought really hard today. I really think I gave it all," Cirstea said.
"I have nothing left. Sometimes you just have to stay in there. Bia played amazing. You know, tennis is not fair sometimes. You play for three hours and a half, and it's a difference of a point.
"I wasn't planning to break the record! But Bia's been in great form, and I knew coming in she's a great fighter.
"I think this is what tennis is about, where all the work pays off. Sometimes it doesn't matter if it's a first round or a final, the joy is the same."
Another marathon encounter was played out between Veronika Kudermetova and Anhelina Kalinina, with the latter winning 6-3 5-7 7-5 in three hours and three minutes.
Karolina Muchova will face Cirstea in the next round after she saw off Bernarda Pera 6-1 6-4, with her victory including an early contender for shot of the tournament.
Muchova was scampering back towards the baseline as she looked set to lose a thrilling rally, only for the Czech to execute a perfect tweener lob.
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka received a bye to round two, where she will face Lauren Davis after the American's victory over Jil Teichmann.
Jelena Ostapenko dispatched Katarina Zavatska 6-1 6-4 with the minimum of fuss, while Victoria Azarenka overcame Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets.
Azarenka has won 135 WTA-1000 main-draw matches in straights sets, at least three more than any other player.
Karolina Pliskova defeated Marketa Vondrousova to set up a meeting with Yulia Putintseva, with Ana Bodgan, Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Shelby Rogers also victorious.
Russell Westbrook will stay in California as he has opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Westbrook's time with the Los Angeles Lakers came to an end before the trade deadline as he was used as part of a deal with the Utah Jazz.
The 2017 NBA MVP struggled to rediscover his previous form after joining the Lakers in 2021, but has another chance to prove himself in L.A. with the Clippers.
According to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Westbrook's agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, confirmed his client has chosen the Clippers as his next team, once he and the Jazz have finished negotiations on buying out the remaining $47million owed on his deal.
Westbrook made a name for himself with the Oklahoma City Thunder, including his standout season in 2016-17 when he averaged 31.6 points per game in the regular season from 81 appearances, as well as 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists.
He left Oklahoma in 2019 for one season with the Houston Rockets followed by one at the Washington Wizards before making the move to the Lakers as they looked to surround LeBron James with star power.
It did not work out, with Westbrook struggling in his first campaign, averaging just 18.5 points per game, while he has only started in three of his 52 appearances this season, averaging 15.9 points per game.
Westbrook – who had also talked with the Wizards, the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat – will be reunited with former Thunder team-mate Paul George, who had expressed his desire for the 34-year-old to join him at the Clippers.
They sit fourth in the Western Conference on a record of 33-28.
Jon Rahm insists he does not need the validation of being the world's number one golfer after returning to the top of the rankings with his win at the Genesis Invitational.
Rahm held off Max Homa to claim his third PGA Tour title of 2023 on Sunday, having gone back-to-back at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express in January.
The Spaniard is the first player since Johnny Miller in 1975 to win three PGA Tour titles in a calendar year before the start of the March, while he has now triumphed on five of his last nine worldwide starts.
Rahm's win at California's Riviera Country Club – at a competition hosted by Tiger Woods – secured his fifth stint atop the world rankings, but the 28-year-old has little interest in that accolade.
"I've never had three PGA Tour wins in a season, and to do it this early on is incredible – and to do it at this golf course," he told reporters after his victory.
"You talk about the history of Riviera as a golf course, the history of Tiger Woods as a player… it's a pretty big deal. As a historian of the game, to win the tournament hosted by Tiger is pretty incredible.
"I've won five out of my last nine starts and I've won three tournaments already.
"I don't a ranking to tell me… to validate anything, right? I'm having the best season of my life and hopefully I can keep it going."
Cameron Norrie was not the only opponent Carlos Alcaraz had to overcome in the Argentina Open final, as he battled feelings of guilt after not doing "the right things" to recover from injury.
Alcaraz made it one title from one tournament in 2023 as he overcame Norrie 6-3 7-5 in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
Last year's US Open champion dropped just one set through the tournament as he marked his return to action in style, with the 19-year-old having missed the Australian Open due to a hamstring issue.
Alcaraz had not featured since November, and the world number two admitted he did not feel his application during his extended break was always as good as it should have been.
"This trophy is special. During those four months I had a hard time and I didn't do the right things off the court, and I felt a bit guilty after the injury," Alcaraz said.
"Fighting against this is not easy. Coming here, my first tournament after four months, and winning the first tournament since the US Open is very special for me."
Alcaraz won seven games on the bounce to swing the final in his favour, and believes he hit peak performance during the match.
"I felt very comfortable playing the final," Alcaraz added.
"I knew that it was going to be really difficult. I started really focussed on what I had to do at the beginning, my game, my level.
"This is the level that I have to play in finals."
Alcaraz has already collected seven titles in his young career, with five of those coming on clay.
His idol and compatriot Rafael Nadal won 13 clay-court tournaments prior to turning 20.
Combined with Alcaraz's haul, that total of 18 betters the 13 managed by all other players combined on the ATP Tour in the 21st century before turning 20.
Alcaraz is now set to play in the Rio Open, where he is the reigning champion, this week.
Novak Djokovic claimed a share of yet more history on Monday as he started his 377th week as world number one.
Djokovic has won 22 major titles, the joint-most among men, and has long since held the record for the most weeks at the top of the ATP rankings.
His nearest rival on the men's tour – since the rankings were introduced in 1973 – is the now retired Roger Federer, who spent 310 weeks in top spot.
But Djokovic has also matched Steffi Graf, the WTA leader, in making it to 377 weeks.
Graf was the women's number one 45 weeks longer than second-placed Martina Navratilova (332), with Serena Williams in third (319).
The WTA rankings began in 1975.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was disappointed to have to leave the All-Star Game inside a minute but explained it was a "mature decision".
Team Giannis beat Team LeBron 184-175 in Salt Lake City on Sunday but did so without their captain, who scored a single basket before stepping out.
Antetokounmpo entered the game already carrying a wrist injury, which he sustained in the Milwaukee Bucks' win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
Reports after the All-Star Game said the two-time MVP was to travel to New York the following day for further testing on his right wrist.
Antetokounmpo, wearing strapping on his wrist, added: "I'm taking it day by day, trying to get healthy.
"Obviously, I had the incident three days ago. I don't think it's smart in any way to play a lot of minutes in the All-Star Game.
"Obviously, you want to participate, you want to run up and down, joke around, have some dunks, create some work.
"But at the end of the day, I feel you also have to be mature. It was a hard decision but mature decision to take a break here, take care of it, and hopefully I can be available for my team when they need me."
The Bucks are half a game back from the Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference.
LeBron James has downplayed the severity of the hand injury that forced him out of the second half of Sunday's All-Star Game in Salt Lake City.
James' Team LeBron lost 184-175 to Team Giannis, with the Los Angeles Lakers superstar ruled out at half-time after playing 14 minutes where he scored 13 points with four assists.
The four-time NBA MVP appeared to injure his right hand which was caught in the rim attempting to block Pascal Siakam's lay-up attempt in the second quarter.
"Coach [Michael] Malone is a defensive minded coach," James told reporters. "I had him in my early days at Cleveland. I told him I'd get one stop for him and I tried one little chase-down block and got my finger caught in the rim.
"But I'll be fine, I'll be fine. I don’t think it's too much to worry about but for precautionary reasons I had to just take the rest of the night off."
James' availability will be critical to the Lakers' hopes of a run into the playoffs, currently sitting 13th in the Western Conference with a 27-32 record.
The 38-year-old, who missed three games last week due to an ankle injury, is averaging 30.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists for the Lakers this season.
The Lakers return to action after the All-Star break on Thursday against the reigning champions, Golden State Warriors who are ninth in the west at 29-29.
Jayson Tatum says it was a surreal feeling to create history with the most points ever in the NBA All-Star Game after posting 55 in Team Giannis' victory on Sunday.
Tatum surpassed Anthony Davis' 52-point record from 2017, scoring 55 points on 22-of-31 shooting from the field, making 10-of-18 from three-point range.
The Boston Celtics forward posted 27 points in the third quarter, which was also an All-Star Game record, and became the second player behind Stephen Curry to make 10 three-pointers in the contest.
"I really didn’t know [about the record]," Tatum said. "I didn’t know what the record was. I found out midway through the fourth quarter.
"Dame [Lillard] was like 'yo, the record is 52, you've got 49'. It kinda hit me, breaking history in the moment."
Tatum, in his fourth All-Star selection, won the game's Kobe Bryant MVP award for the first time, which was a source of great joy for the 24-year-old.
"It means the world," Tatum said. "Kobe was my idol, my favourite player, the reason why I fell in love with the game.
"I was in the first All-Star Game when they named the MVP after him and ever since I had my eyes on wining it one day. I'm finally glad I got one."
One of the highlights of the contest when Tatum taking on Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown in a series of one-on-one battles.
Brown actually top scored for Team LeBron, hitting 35 points off the bench on 16-of-27 shooting with 14 rebounds.
"That was cool," Tatum said. "It was normal for us, it was just millions of people watching. We been playing one-on-one so many times. It was special."
Jayson Tatum scored an All-Star game record 55 points as Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron 184-175 in Sunday's game in Salt Lake City.
Tatum won the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP for the contest, where the first team to 182 points won with an untimed fourth quarter.
The Boston Celtics small forward shot 22-of-31 from the field along with 10-of-18 from beyond the arc, with 10 rebounds and six assists from 35 minutes. Tatum's 55 points exceeded Anthony Davis' previous All-Star record of 52 from 2017.
Tatum led the way in the free-scoring contest where defense was at a minimum, with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell adding 40 points on 15-of-25 shooting from the field with 10 assists on his return to Utah.
Damian Lillard contributed 26 points off the bench, making eight-of-20 from three-point range, while captain Giannis Antetokounmpo left the court after a dunk in the first minute with an ongoing wrist issue.
Opposition captain LeBron James exited the game at half-time due to a hand contusion sustained in a second-quarter dunk, finishing with 13 points and four assists across 14 minutes.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown top scored for Team LeBron off the bench with 35 points along with 14 rebounds and five assists.
Brown and Tatum's combined 90 points, albeit on opposition sides, was the most ever by a pair of teammates in an All-Star Game.
Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving both scored 32 points for Team LeBron, while the latter had a game-high 15 assists.
LeBron James has not missed the playoffs in consecutive years since the first two seasons of an NBA career that’s spanned two decades.
He is intent on not letting that happen again, telling reporters before his 19th consecutive All-Star Game of his urgency to right the ship.
The Lakers currently sit 13th out of 15 Western Conference teams with a record of 27-32, 3.5 games behind the sixth-seeded Dallas Mavericks, and two games out of the 10th seed as the Play-In Tournament begins to look like a more realistic path to the postseason.
"I don't want to see myself not being part of the postseason for two years straight," James said. "It’s just not part of my DNA."
With fellow perennial All-Star Anthony Davis now back healthy and trade-deadline additions of guard D’Angelo Russell, shooting specialist Malik Beasley and frontcourt players Jarred Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba, James said he feels a healthier and revamped Lakers squad will be a formidable opponent for any team should they reach the postseason.
"I've always been confident in any club that I’ve been on [that] once we got to the playoffs we could compete with anyone," he said. "I feel no different now.
"With the roster the way we're shaped up now, if we can finish off this regular season on the right foot, then we can compete versus anyone in the Western Conference, if not the whole league."
James stopped short of guaranteeing a playoff berth, though, as he acknowledged the competitiveness of a conference where only two teams – San Antonio and Houston – have no realistic chance of advancing.
"It’s 23 of the most important games of my career, for a regular season," James said of the Lakers’ remaining schedule. "It’s the type of mindset I have, and I hope the guys will have, coming off the break.
"It’s going to take a lot of commitment, which is okay, that’s what it should be about. [But] if we can punch our ticket, we can compete versus anyone."
Team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo both exited the All-Star Game in Utah on Sunday due to injuries.
Los Angeles Lakers forward James appeared to hurt his hand by hitting it on the rim during a dunk with 6:08 remaining in the second quarter and was ruled out for the second half.
James finished the game with 13 points on 54.5 per cent field goal shooting with four assists in 14 minutes.
The four-time NBA MVP's exit meant both Team LeBron and Team Giannis would be without their captains for the second half.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Antetokounmpo withdrew from the All-Star Game early with a pre-existing wrist injury, scoring two points before stepping out inside a minute.
James, who missed three games last week due to an ankle injury, is averaging 30.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists for the Lakers this season.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists for the Bucks, who are second in the Eastern Conference with a 41-17 record.
Kevin Love will sign with the Miami Heat after negotiating a buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
Love confirmed in a Twitter post that his plan is to sign with the Heat after clearing waivers, with the hope of earning minutes with another Eastern Conference contender.
The 34-year-old was in the midst of his ninth season as a member of the Cavaliers, and was the last remaining link to their one and only championship win in 2016.
After playing exclusively as a starter since the 2010-11 season, Love was moved into a reserve role this past campaign, making only seven starts from his past 115 regular season games.
He is averaging a career-low 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds this season while shooting 38.9 per cent from the field, but remains a respectable three-point shooter at 35.4 per cent from deep.
Love's dip in form saw him removed from the Cavaliers' rotation altogether in the lead-up to All-Star weekend, ultimately signalling the end of his time in Cleveland.
Miami currently have eight players this season averaging at least 25 minutes per game – Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Max Strus, Victor Oladipo and Gabe Vincent.
Of that group, Adebayo is the only true big-man, and while Butler plays above his size, Love provides a skill-set the Heat roster is lacking.
Always desperate to have at least three shooters on the floor at any time – which star duo Adebayo and Butler are not – Miami have been playing small lineups as they do not have a single player taller than six-foot-five who is also averaging at least one made three per game.
The six-foot-eight Love averages 1.7 made threes per game over the course of his whole career, and when extrapolated to starter's minutes this season, Love is averaging 3.0 makes on 8.6 attempts while grabbing 12.3 rebounds per 36 minutes.
He is also the NBA leader in defensive rebounding percentage among players averaging at least 20 minutes per game, snatching down 29.8 per cent of all opponent misses while he is on the floor.
Currently sitting seventh in the East with a record of 32-27, Miami will hope Love provides a spark down the stretch to keep their streak of three straight playoff appearances alive.
Jon Rahm remains the hottest player in golf after securing the Genesis Invitational title on Sunday with a final score of 17 under.
The win was his fifth from his past nine worldwide starts, and his third PGA Tour title of 2023 after going back-to-back at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express in January. He also won the Spanish Open in October, and the DP World Tour Championship in November.
He led by three strokes coming into his final round at Riviera Country Club, and he remained with a multi-stroke lead after posting a two-under front nine. But things went haywire on the home stretch, with bogeys on 10 and 12 briefly handing Max Homa a one-stroke lead.
Homa would bogey the 13th, tying things up at 15 under, before Rahm pulled away again with a 45-foot birdie putt on 14, and a tap-in birdie after a picture-perfect tee shot on the par-three 16th.
Homa ended up two strokes behind Rahm at 15 under, giving him his fourth top-three finish from eight PGA Tour starts this season, including two wins.
Patrick Cantlay finished one further back at 14 under, Will Zalatoris rode the best score of the day – a seven-under 64 – up into outright fourth place at 13 under, and Keith Mitchell rounded out the top five at 12 under.
Speaking to CBS after stepping off the final green, Rahm was asked to explain the joy of his 10th PGA Tour win, having surpassed the total of his childhood hero Seve Ballesteros (nine).
"I could explain exhaustion right now," he said. "Because that was a tough week, and a tough Sunday.
"Max battled out there, and Patrick kind of gave us a scare, but I'm just glad I could come through at the end.
"Beating Seve – I know he didn't play full-time PGA tour, and I know five of those wins are majors – but still, to reach that milestone of double-digit wins is pretty incredible.
"To do it at a golf course with this legacy, this history, and hosted by the man himself Tiger Woods – it's a true honour, I can't really explain it."
Woods carded a two-over 73 on Sunday to finish equal 45th at one-under overall.
Taylor Fritz showed why he is ranked top-10 in the world and rising after beating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0 5-7 6-2 in Sunday's final of the Delray Beach Open.
Fritz, 25, came into the tournament sitting at a career-best rank of seventh, and he did not lose his first set in Delray Beach until the final.
The top seed, Fritz was nearly perfect in the opening set, hitting 15 winners with only one unforced error and taking 72 per cent (28-of-39) of the total points. Kecmanovic did not hit a single winner in the set.
The 23-year-old Serbian showed far more fight in the second, and after saving all three of Fritz's break-point opportunities – including one match point – Kecmanovic capitalised on his one and only break-point chance of the match to force a third set.
But the mistakes crept back into the underdog's game, shooting himself in the foot with a pair of double faults and more unforced errors than winners.
Fritz took full advantage, securing two breaks down the stretch to run away with the victory and his first title of 2023.
After winning just one of his first six finals on the ATP Tour, Fritz has now won the past four finals he has reached.
Tiger Woods confirmed he plays to play all four majors but little else this year after finishing under par on his latest comeback at the Genesis Invitational.
Woods, playing his first non-major PGA Tour event since October 2020, posted rounds of 69, 74 and 67 before closing on Sunday with a two-over 73 on his final trip around Riviera Country Club, to score one under par overall.
It was the first time Woods had completed a 72-hole tournament since the Masters in April, and he noticeably had far less of a limp this time around as he continued to manage his badly damaged ankle.
He was interviewed by CBS after finishing, reflecting on his week, and said: "My game is fine.
"Yeah, it is rusty, I made some silly mistakes here and there. I didn't quite pick up the speed of the greens each and every day fast enough – like I normally would if I was playing – but overall, I feel like I hit the ball like I have been hitting it at home.
"Now I just happened to bring it out here where I had to walk from point A to point B, and that was always the difficulty of it.
"I'm just so thankful for all my team for getting me ready each and every night, and morning, and at least giving myself a chance to go out there and play – and I was able to do it."
After a better-than-expected showing, the 15-time major winner was asked when he plans to play again.
"Competitively, I don't know," Woods said. "My goal each and every year from here going forward is to play in all the majors.
"I'm not going to play too much more than that. My body – my leg, and my back – just won't allow me to play much more than that any more.
"That was my goal last year, and I was able to play three of the four. This year hopefully I can play all four. That is going to be my schedule going forward, because of all the limitations I have."
Woods shared part of the reason he decided to play this week, highlighting the special place in his heart held by Riviera Country Club.
"This wasn't the first PGA Tour I ever attended… but I was here [at the 1983 US PGA Championship] when Hal [Sutton] beat Jack [Nicklaus]," he said.
"This is truly – either here or maybe even St Andrews – one of the most historical tee shots, because they can't go anywhere but that same tee box. You look back in history at this club and everyone has hit from the exact same tee spot on 18.
"I was lucky enough to be part of that history, and play the golf course, and unfortunately my streak still continues, I've never won here, but hopefully next year.
"I'm a So-Cal kid at heart, and to be able to go to from my PGA Tour debut… to now being the host of this event, I would never have foreseen that. I'm very lucky, and very thankful."
In his first tournament since a four-month injury layoff Carlos Alcaraz went all the way and defeated Cameron Norrie 6-3 7-5 in the Argentina Open final.
Alcaraz, 19, became the youngest player to ever reach the world number one ranking in September, and with his victory in Buenos Aires he now has seven ATP Tour singles titles to his name.
After knocking off some rust in a close three-set opening match against Laslo Djere, Alcaraz advanced to the final following straight sets victories over Dusan Lajovic and Spanish compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
Against Norrie, Alcaraz played an exceptionally tight first set, winning 73 per cent (16-of-22) of his service points while not allowing his opponent a single break point opportunity.
He broke twice in the opening set and secured another quick break to begin the second, jumping ahead 3-0 as he threatened to run away with the match.
Norrie did not lay down, recovering from 5-2 down to tie things up at 5-5, but Alcaraz would not allow it to reach a tie-breaker as he finished the match with another break of serve.
The 250 ranking points on offer to the winner pulls Alcaraz to within striking distance of Novak Djokovic as he looks to reclaim his spot as world number one.
Daniil Medvedev came from a set behind to beat Jannik Sinner in the Rotterdam Open final and land his 16th ATP Tour title.
A 5-7 6-2 6-2 win for Medvedev gave the 27-year-old Russian his first trophy of the year, extending his career head-to-head record to 5-0 against Sinner.
The run from Medvedev this week has secured his return to the top 10 in the rankings, with the former number one set to go up three places to number eight on Monday.
Victory came in sharp contrast to Medvedev's last two appearances at the tournament, when he suffered first-round losses in 2020 to Vasek Pospisil and in 2021 to Dusan Lajovic.
Medvedev said after his win: "Thanks to all members of my team who are with me no matter what: some tough moments, some good moments, and we continue growing.
"The last two times I played here were terrible, and I'm happy to make it better this year."
Medvedev and Sinner's past meetings had curiously all come on indoor hard courts, as this also did.
Sinner won a title last week at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, so the 21-year-old was not wanting for confidence as he looked to finally register a win over Medvedev.
The Italian out-rallied Medvedev at the end of the first set to snatch the vital break, but he could not ride that momentum into the early stages of the second.
An early break went the way of 2021 US Open winner Medvedev, whose remarkable defence was a key factor as the comeback gathered steam.
A double fault from Sinner handed Medvedev a 4-1 lead and a double break, nudging the match towards the decider.
When it came, first blood went to Medvedev as Sinner netted a backhand to give up a break in the third game.
The Moscow man saved a break point in the next game to stay ahead, and that setback left Sinner sapped, his challenge fading as Medvedev maintained an impressively high level.
Liudmila Samsonova progressed after a marathon battle at the Dubai Tennis Championships, while Petra Kvitova breezed through as the seeds escaped unscathed on Sunday.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 12th favourite in the United Arab Emirates, eased past Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-1 to make a dominant start.
World number 15 Samsonova was made to work to beat Paula Badosa, winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to tee up a clash with Qinwen Zheng, who overcame compatriot Zhang Shuai in straight sets.
Samsonova's triumph took three hours and 22 minutes, the longest match of the WTA Tour season thus far, in a thrilling first-round encounter between two top-20 players.
"Playing against Paula is always tough," 14th seed Samsonova said in her on-court interview. "She's doing unbelievable, so I'm really proud that I stayed on the court until the end.
"I think I'm growing match after match, day by day. I know it's a long journey, and I hope to continue like that."
Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, cruised into the last 32 with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu as she aims to go one better than her runners-up finish two years ago in Dubai.
Another routine victory saw American Madison Keys ease past Jasmine Paolini 6-1 6-1, but there was no such luck for 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
She was dispatched 6-1 6-1 by world number 26 Marie Bouzkova, while Amanda Anisimova claimed a 6-3 6-2 win over veteran two-time grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva.
Viktoriya Tomova had too much for Kaia Kanepi in a 6-3 6-1 success, with her reward a second-round clash against third seed Jessica Pegula.
World number four Pegula lost to the in-form Iga Swiatek in the Qatar Ladies Open final on Saturday, and Leylah Fernandez will face the Pole next after beating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2.
Brittney Griner will return to the WNBA for the 2023 season after reportedly signing a one-year deal with the Phoenix Mercury following a 10-month detainment in Russia.
Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport in February 2023 for bringing under a gram of cannabis oil into Russia in vape cartridges.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist said she made an "honest mistake", with her lawyers arguing she was using the cannabis for medicinal purposes and was unaware of its illegal status in Russia.
She was subsequently jailed for nine years for drug possession and drug smuggling with criminal intent, but was released in December in a prisoner exchange that saw convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout return to Russia.
Griner stated she planned to play for the Mercury in 2023 following her return to the United States, and the team have reportedly agreed a deal for the eight-time WNBA All-Star to feature in the upcoming season.
Griner was drafted first overall by the Mercury in 2013, going on win the 2014 WNBA championship by sweeping the Chicago Sky in the finals.
Her last game for the team before her imprisonment also came against the Sky in a 2021 WNBA finals defeat after one of the best seasons of her career, during which she averaged 20.5 points, 1.9 blocks and 9.5 rebounds per game.
Griner will look to help the Mercury bounce back after suffering a first-round exit in the WNBA Playoffs in August, with the team set to begin their 2023 campaign against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 19.
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