Cameron Norrie continued his Australian Open preparations with victory over Frenchman Luca Van Assche in the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.

The British number one saw off his 19-year-old opponent 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-1 in just under two and a half hours to set up a quarter-final against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.

Having claimed the opening set, Norrie had match point in the tie-break before Van Assche came through to bring the match level.

He was then broken by Van Assche in the opening game of set three before hitting back emphatically, rattling off six games in succession to secure the win.

Norrie is seeded 19th for the Australian Open ahead of the draw taking place in Melbourne on Thursday.

Emma Raducanu will make her comeback at the ASB Classic in Auckland next month.

The 21-year-old has not played a match since a heavy loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart in April. She subsequently withdrew from the Madrid Open and opted to undergo surgery on both wrists and one ankle.

Having initially targeted a comeback in late summer or early autumn, Raducanu has ended up missing the rest of the 2023 season.

Until recently there were doubts over whether she would make the start of next year but those have eased in recent weeks as she has stepped up her training.

And it has now been announced she will play at the WTA tournament in New Zealand beginning on January 1.

It will be Raducanu’s second appearance in Auckland and she will hope it is more positive than her debut in January, when she suffered an ankle injury during her second-round match and retired in tears.

The former US Open champion was able to recover to compete at the Australian Open but opted to undergo a procedure on her ankle to repair the damage in the spring.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Emma. (@emmaraducanu)

She criticised the “slippery” courts afterwards but has decided to accept a wild card to return.

Raducanu’s ranking has slipped to 296 and she faces a long road back to the top of the game, but it should give her the opportunity to fill in some of the steps she missed out thanks to her giant leap to stardom.

She can use a protected ranking of 103 to enter tournaments because of her long lay-off but that is currently not high enough to earn her a place in the main draw of the Australian Open.

Barring enough withdrawals of higher-ranked players, or a wild card, she will have to go through qualifying at a slam for the first time since her stunning title run in New York in 2021.

Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff, former world number one Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon semi-finalist Elina Svitolina are among the other names confirmed for the Auckland tournament.

Emma Raducanu is "in a good place" ahead of the Australian Open after an ankle injury threatened her participation.

Raducanu was left in tears after retiring against Viktoria Kuzmova in their round-of-16 match at the ASB Classic.

The 20-year-old won the first set 6-0, but after losing the second set 7-5, Raducanu was unable to continue, sparking fears over her ability to play in the Australian Open in just 11 days.

But with her tournament opener against Tamara Korpatsch now just two days away, the 2021 US Open champion eased fears over her fitness, saying she "fully trusts" her ankle.

"I've been able to do preparation, albeit more limited than usual," Raducanu told reporters on Saturday. "But I'm feeling in a good place to go out there and give it my best shot.

"We were thrown a bit of a curveball but we remained optimistic. It's been a team effort to get me to this place. We've been building it up pretty gradually.

"For the ankle, I feel really good. It's going to be more introducing certain things, and the rate at which we've had to do it has been really quick.

"But I've not really played much tennis ever in my career, so I'm kind of used to it. And I'm not stressed about lack of tennis that much."

In Melbourne, Raducanu will be aiming to go beyond the second round of a grand slam for the first time since her incredible US Open heroics in 2021.

Cameron Norrie missed the chance to cap his New Zealand homecoming as he was beaten 4-6 6-4 6-4 by Richard Gasquet in the Auckland Open final on Saturday.

Norrie grew up in Auckland, and the British number one reached his first ATP Tour-level final in the city in 2019.

But despite repeating that feat and then winning the opening set of Saturday's final, Frenchman Gasquet roared back to lift his first title on the ATP Tour since 2018.

After they split the opening two sets, Norrie looked to be on the way to victory when he held a 4-1 lead in the decider.

But 36-year-old Gasquet rattled off five straight sets, including two breaks of serve, to shock the second seed and become the oldest champion in the Auckland Open's 66-year history.

"It's an amazing title for me, especially now at my age," Gasquet told a post-match news conference. "I really didn't think I would win again.

"I'm 37 this year, so when I came here last week, if you were to tell me next Saturday you will win here, I wouldn't believe it."

Norrie gets his Australian Open campaign underway against wildcard Luca van Assche on Monday, while Gasquet will play fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the first round.

At the Adelaide International 2, Kwon Son-woo defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4) to take the crown.

Bautista Agut, who knocked out defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semi-finals, hit back from losing the opening set to level the game with a strong second stanza.

The deciding set went all the way to a tie-break as both players lost two of their service games, but with Kwon 5-4 up in the pivotal tie-break, the world number 84 found two breaks of serve to complete the victory.

The win was Kwon's second ATP Tour title and first since lifting the Astana Open trophy in 2021, while he becomes the first South Korean to win multiple Tour-level titles.

Cameron Norrie will get a chance to cap his New Zealand homecoming with a title at the Auckland Open.

The British number one, who spent much of his childhood in New Zealand and Auckland specifically, reached his first ATP Tour-level final in the city in 2019, and has repeated that feat this time out.

Norrie made light work of Jenson Brooksby on Friday, winning 6-3 6-4.

He will face Richard Gasquet, who progressed via walkover due to Constant Lestienne's withdrawal through injury, in Saturday's showdown.

Norrie has won all six of his matches this season, three in Auckland and three at the United Cup, where he beat Rafael Nadal.

"It was an absolute battle with Jenson. A lot of long rallies and I know how well he competes, so it was nice to get it done in straight sets," said Norrie.

"He puts the ball in such awkward parts off the court and I had to come up with a lot of really tough shots on the run and a lot of big passes.

"I was able to serve it out and stay really calm and get over the line, but he's a great player."

At the Adelaide International 2, defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis fell just short of reaching the final again.

He battled back from a set down to force a decider against Roberto Bautista Agut, but it was the Spaniard who prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-3.

Bautista Agut will face Soonwoo Kwon in the final, after the world number 84 defeated Norrie's compatriot Jack Draper 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

Thanasi Kokkinakis is on a roll again at the Adelaide International 2 where the hometown hero and defending champion marched into the semi-finals on just two hours' sleep.

The Australian wildcard saw off Serbian sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 on Thursday to set up a semi-final against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

Kokkinakis had a stellar run to the title at this tournament 12 months ago, beating John Isner and Marin Cilic before knocking over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the final.

A first-round exit followed at the Australian Open, although he memorably won the doubles title with Nick Kyrgios. Kokkinakis struggled for the rest of the year, with his ranking currently at 110.

Kokkinakis said after his latest win: "I didn't sleep much last night. I reckon I got to sleep at about five and maybe slept for a couple of hours.

"I just couldn't sleep for whatever reason, so I was trying to conserve energy. I didn't want to use it too much. I had a couple of Monsters [energy drinks] before I started and tried to get going.

"When I'm serving well my whole game follows, and then when my forehand gets going I think I've been hitting my backhand really well this week. If I'm doing those three things, it's a good recipe.

"I grew up on this court when I was eight, nine, 10 years old. I showed up last year, and hopefully I can ride the wave with you guys and keep it going."

Fourth seed Bautista Agut beat compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-2, while the other Adelaide semi-final will see British player Jack Draper tackle South Korean Kwon Soon-woo.

Draper, who has been drawn to face Rafael Nadal in round one of the Australian Open, beat Russian third seed Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6 (7-3), while Kwon saw off Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer 6-1 6-2.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

Casper Ruud was given a wake-up call ahead of the Australian Open as he was beaten by Laslo Djere in Auckland.

Ruud, who was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final last year, was the top seed in New Zealand but came unstuck in the round of 16 on Wednesday.

Djere came from behind to defeat the Norwegian world number three 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) and seal his place in the quarter-finals, where he will meet Constant Lestienne.

In the process, Djere recorded his first career victory over a top-five opponent.

Ruud must now shrug off the disappointment and switch his focus to Melbourne, where he will be hoping to break his grand slam duck.

David Goffin overcame qualifier Christopher Eubanks in straight sets to tee up a last-eight tie with Richard Gasquet, while Jenson Brooksby received a walkover due to Diego Schwartzman's injury.

Unlike Ruud, second seed Cameron Norrie did make it through. The world number 12, who spent the majority of his childhood in New Zealand, enjoyed a homecoming as he saw off Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3.

Norrie is unbeaten in 2023, having beat Alex De Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Rafael Nadal while in action for Great Britain at the United Cup.

"Obviously, there were [some] nerves in me, coming back to New Zealand I wanted to play well in front of everyone, and Jiri's a great player," said the 27-year-old.

"So, it wasn't easy, and credit to him in that second set for playing a really good tie-break. He really took it to me, but I really enjoyed the time on the court."

There was also a shock at the Adelaide International 2, where top seed Andrey Rublev succumbed to wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Rublev hit back after losing the first set but Kokkinakis ultimately prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Second seed Pablo Carreno Busta also fell out, losing to Kwon Soon-woo, leaving third seed Karen Khachanov as the favourite after his straight sets defeat of Marc-Andrea Huesler.

Mikael Ymer, Jack Draper, Miomir Kecmanovic, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Roberto Bautista Agut all progressed.

David Goffin got off the mark with his first victory of 2023 with a straight-sets win over fifth seed Alexander Bublik in round one of the Auckland Open.

The Belgian lost both matches at the inaugural United Cup last week, but he saw off Bublik 6-3 6-4 in 74 minutes to reach the last 16 in New Zealand.

Another seeded player fell at the first hurdle on Monday as Adrian Mannarino lost 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to J.J. Wolf.

Richard Gasquet advanced with a 6-3 6-1 win over wild card Kiranpal Pannu, while Jenson Brooksby beat Fabio Fognini 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-3 and will now face Diego Schwartzman.

At the Adelaide International 2, fifth seed Dan Evans suffered a 7-5 7-5 defeat to Mackenzie McDonald.

Fellow seeds Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Miomir Kecmanovic overcame Brandon Nakashima and Kyle Edmund respectively.

Coco Gauff won the third WTA title of her career as she warmed up for the Australian Open by sweeping past Rebeka Masarova in the final of the ASB Classic.

The 18-year-old was too good for Masarova throughout in Auckland, easing to a 6-1 6-1 victory in just an hour and 15 minutes on Sunday.

Gauff forced a break point in Masarova's first service game, and though the Spanish-Swiss player was able to rescue it, she was not so lucky in her next two as her ruthless opponent won the first set with back-to-back breaks.

That theme continued in the second as unforced errors from Masarova, who won just two out of 15 points on her second serve (13.3 per cent), saw Gauff break again immediately.

The American was then forced to save break points on her own serve but did so impressively as she rescued all 10 against her in the contest.

Masarova was able to get on the board again after saving another two break points, but that was as good as it got, with ultimately Gauff romping to victory in front of an impressed New Zealand crowd.

"It's been a great week for me, despite the rain," Gauff said, referring to tournament's frequent weather disruption, which also delayed the final and forced a pause at the end of the first set.

"It's my first title on hard [court] since I was 15, so I'm happy to do well on a surface that I love.

"It gives me a lot of confidence [ahead of the Australian Open]. You're never sure how your first week is going to go, but it's been a great week."

Coco Gauff marched into ASB Classic final with an emphatic defeat of Danka Kovinic, while Linda Noskova upset Ons Jabeur to set up an Adelaide International showdown with Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff beat Kovinic 6-0 6-2 to move into her first hard-court final since claiming the title in Linz back in October 2019.

The top seed from the United States won the first eight games of a one-sided semi-final, making another statement just over a week before the Australian Open gets under way.

Gauff took only 73 minutes to dispatch seventh seed Kovinic and will face qualifier Rebeka Masarova in the final on Sunday.

Spaniard Masarova reached her first WTA Tour final courtesy of a 6-3 6-3 victory over Ysaline Bonaventure.

The 130-ranked Masarova, a junior French Open singles champion in 2016, served with assurance and struck 16 winners to break new ground.

It was also a memorable Saturday for Czech teenager Noskova, who claimed the scalp of world number two Jabeur with a 6-3 1-6 6-3 victory in Adelaide.

It was the 18-year-old Noskova's second win over a top-10 opponent this week, having also knocked out Daria Kasatkina.

Second seed Sabalenka will be a strong favourite to deny world number 102 Noskova the title on Sunday after she saw off Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3 6-2.

Teenage Czech qualifier Linda Noskova upset former world number one Victoria Azarenka to set up a semi-final showdown with Ons Jabeur at the Adelaide International.

In a match lasting almost three hours, Noskova triumphed 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (8-6) to continue a dream run in Australia.

Noskova has already beaten third seed Daria Kasatkina in Adelaide and, on only her sixth appearance in a WTA main draw, has won five straight matches.

Further progress will be no easy feat, with top seed Jabeur – a losing finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022 – grinding out a 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

On the other side of the draw, second seed Aryna Sabalenka held off a resurgent Marketa Vondrousova to win 6-3 7-5. The Belarusian had led 4-1 in the second set before losing four of the next five games and failing on match point prior to finally seeing it out.

Irina-Camelia Begu defeated fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova 7-5 6-4 to set up a last-four clash with Sabalenka.

At the ASB Classic in Auckland, top seed Coco Gauff outclassed Zhu Lin 6-3 6-2, winning 90 per cent of first-serve points, firing down eight aces, and not giving up a single break point.

Seventh seed Danka Kovinic also won 6-3 6-2 against Viktoria Kuzmova to set up a semi-final clash with Gauff, while world number 95 Ysaline Bonaventure ousted third seed Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-2 to reach a first Tour-level semi-final where Rebeka Masarova awaits.

Emma Raducanu was in tears as she retired with an ankle injury at the ASB Classic 11 days before the Australian Open starts, while Coco Gauff beat Sofia Kenin to reach the quarter-finals.

Raducanu dished out a bagel to qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova in the first set of the round of 16 match in Auckland on Thursday, but the 2021 US Open champion was unable to continue after losing the second set 7-5.

The 20-year-old Brit ended a disappointing 2022 season early due to a wrist injury and suffered another blow ahead of the first major of this year, leaving the court in tears.

Gauff will be eyeing her maiden grand slam title in 2023 and she impressively dispatched fellow American Kenin 6-4 6-4 in the second round in the capital of New Zealand.

Top seed Gauff and her compatriot were forced to play indoors due to the rain and it was the 18-year-old who prevailed, breaking three times and saving six of the break points she faced.

The teenager will face Zhu Lin of China for a place in the semi-finals after she beat Venus Williams 3-6 6-2 7-5.

Leylah Fernandez inflicted a crushing 6-0 6-1 defeat on Julia Grabher after losing only two games in her first-round win over Brenda Fruhvirtova and the Canadian will now face Ysaline Bonaventure, who defeated Rebecca Marino in three sets.

Top seed Ons Jabeur made a winning start to the season at the Adelaide International, seeing off Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 to set up a meeting with Marta Kostyuk

Irina-Camelia Begu claimed the scalp of Jelena Ostapenko with a 6-3 6-0 upset of the seventh seed, while Victoria Azarenka was a 6-2 7-5 winner against Zheng Qinwen and teenager Linda Noskova got past Claire Liu in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka secured a straight-sets win in her first match of 2023, but was made to work for it by Liudmila Samsonova at the Adelaide International.

The number two seed won 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-3), saving seven set points after going 5-1 down in the first set, before roaring back to take both tie-breaks.

Sabalenka will face Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals, with the Czech having produced a dominant performance in a 6-0 6-4 win against Kaia Kanepi. 

"When it's 1-5 down, it's like you have nothing to lose, and you just go for your shots without thinking," Sabalenka said.

"That really helped me to stay in the set, to keep fighting and to keep trying."

Fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova eased through after a 6-4 6-0 victory against Bianca Andreescu, while Marta Kostyuk also advanced with a hard-fought 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 win over Elena Rybakina.

At the ASB Classic in Auckland, second seed Sloane Stephens is out after falling to Rebeka Masarova.

Having been forced to resume on Wednesday after rain suspended play the previous day, Stephens struggled against her Spanish opponent, eventually losing 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

Fifth seed Wang Xiyu is also out after retiring from her match against Karolina Muchova, but seventh seed Danka Kovinic is through after a simple 6-1 6-4 win against Nao Hibino.

Kovinic will face Lauren Davis next after she overcame Tamara Zidansek 6-2 6-1, while fellow American Sofia Kenin will take on number one seed Coco Gauff in the last 16 after she beat Wang Xinyu in straight sets.

Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff both got off to winning starts at the ASB Classic in Auckland on Tuesday.

Raducanu had to come from a set down to beat Linda Fruhvirtova 4-6 6-4 6-2, while top seed Gauff had an easier time of it as she dismissed Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-1 on another day interrupted by the rain.

Second seed Sloane Stephens was only able to get through three games before play was suspended in her match against Rebeka Masarova, while fifth seed Wang Xiyu was 5-3 down in the first set against Karolina Muchova when the rain came.

Fourth seed Bernarda Pera is out after her match with Viktoria Kuzmova resumed having being washed out on Monday, and the American was unable to prevent a 6-4 6-4 defeat, with Kuzmova advancing to face Raducanu in the last 16.

The only two other matches completed on Tuesday saw Elena-Gabriela Ruse beat Erin Routliffe in three sets, and Anna Blinkova overcome Elisabetta Cocciaretto, also in three.

At the Adelaide International, Zheng Qinwen earned a hard-fought victory against number six seed Anett Kontaveit, eventually winning 6-1 4-6 7-6 (9-7).

Eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova also crashed out despite winning the first set against Marketa Vondrousova, going on to lose 4-6 6-3 6-2, though seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko is through after beating Karolina Pliskova 6-1 6-3.

In a contest that lasted over two-and-a-half hours despite only two sets being played, Victoria Azarenka beat Anhelina Kalinina 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5), and will face Zheng next, while Sorana Cirstea will go up against top seed Ons Jabeur in the last 16 after beating Viktorija Golubic in straight sets.

Linda Noskova produced the biggest win of her career as she defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 at the Adelaide International on Monday.

The 18-year-old Czech was impressive against the third seed as she recorded her first win against anyone in the top 30 of the world rankings.

Fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova eased past Amanda Anisimova in just an hour and 15 minutes, winning 6-3 6-0, while Liudmila Samsonova will face second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the next round after coming from a set down to beat Zhang Shuai 5-7 6-3 6-0.

Irina-Camelia Begu and Elena Rybakina also both came from behind to secure wins, with the latter beating fifth seed Danielle Collins to set up a last-16 clash against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who beat Jaimee Fourlis 6-1 3-6 6-4.

At the ASB Classic in Auckland, 42-year-old Venus Williams comfortably overcame her 21-year-old opponent Katie Volynets 7-6 (7-4) 6-2, and will play China's Zhu Lin next after she eliminated sixth seed Madison Brengle 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

Third seed Leylah Fernandez beat Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-1 6-1 to set up a last-16 tie with Julia Grabher after she defeated Tereza Martincova in three sets.

Eighth seed Rebecca Marino is through after beating Dalma Galfi in straight sets and will now face Ysaline Bonaventure, who eventually put away Caty McNally 5-7 6-4 6-4.

Viktoria Kuzmova led fourth seed Bernarda Pera 5-4 in the opening set when rain stopped play for the day.