Novak Djokovic ran out of puff in front of his adoring Belgrade public and suffered a third-set drubbing as he lost to Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final.

The world number one was beaten 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 by the Russian second seed, who drove a forehand past Djokovic on his third championship point.

Djokovic was seeking a third triumph at this tournament, and an 87th tour-level title of his career, but 24-year-old Rublev came out on top, scooping his third trophy of the year after previous successes in Dubai and Marseille.

Having been barred from playing in Australia and the United States in the early stages of the season, due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic was playing just his third tournament of the year.

He lost to Jiri Vesely in the Dubai quarter-finals and to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his clay campaign opener in Monte Carlo, and on home clay he won three matches from a set in arrears but could not make it four in a row.

Djokovic had worked hard to get back on level terms in Sunday's final after making a slow start, and he had two break points immediately in the third set.

Rublev saved both, the second with an audacious drop shot, on his way to taking the game, and he streaked through the rest of the decider.

This was just the second meeting on the ATP Tour between Djokovic and world number eight Rublev, with Djokovic having previously enjoyed a crushing hard court win at the ATP Finals in Turin last November.

Rublev, addressing Djokovic, said: "It's a big honour to play against you, to share a court for the second time.

"I hope to see you for many years, and we will have more battles which I would like.

"I feel so great here in Belgrade. It's a really nice city. It reminds me of a small Moscow. I really enjoy my time here and to win a title here I feel double special."

Novak Djokovic will chase the first title of his chaotic season when he tackles Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final on Sunday.

Playing in his home city of Belgrade, world number one Djokovic will be expected by many to carry off the trophy for a third time.

He scored a 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Russian Karen Khachanov in the first of Saturday's semi-finals.

Djokovic has made a habit of losing opening sets this week, rebounding from early deficits to beat fellow Serbians Laslo Dere and Miomir Kecmanovic on his way through to the last four, where it happened again.

The 34-year-old was able to recover and improve his career win-loss record to 13-2 at the clay-court tournament.

Djokovic, who has been prevented from playing events in Australia and the United States this year after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, believes he is gradually building up form and match fitness.

He said in an on-court interview: "I'm already feeling quite comfortable on the courts. I think the three matches that went all three sets gave me enough of the match play.

"I was running enough in order to be at my optimum best. I don't think the lack of matches now plays a role. Maybe it was the case three or four days ago, not today.

"But in terms of the audience, of course that's going to be a huge motivation boost for me, so I'm going to enjoy the crowd's support as much as I can and hopefully bring the title to Serbia."

Rublev, another Russian, beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-2 in the second semi-final, saying it had been his best performance of the week.

The world number eight is relishing playing Djokovic, saying: "It's going to be fun. Tomorrow I have nothing to lose, I can go out and enjoy it. He plays at home, so it will be his moment. The best I can do is fight and try to do my best."

Novak Djokovic again overcame the challenge of a fellow home favourite to advance to the semi-finals at the Serbia Open on Thursday. 

The world number one had battled from a set down against Laslo Djere 24 hours earlier and was once more made to work hard for his win versus Miomir Kecmanovic. 

The seventh seed took the opener without facing a break point and led early in the second set too. 

But Kecmanovic could not hold off Djokovic, who recovered to win 4-6 6-3 6-3 and reach the last four for the fourth time in five campaigns in Belgrade. 

After two victories in two nights against Serbians for the two-time winner, Djokovic is on a 10-0 run in matches with his compatriots and 27-4 all-time. 

The 20-time grand slam champion also has a 36-6 record in Serbia and has particularly enjoyed the "strange" opportunity to face his countrymen in front of a home crowd. 

"It's a very strange feeling, sharing the court with your compatriots," he said. "Obviously the crowd was phenomenal for both players in yesterday's match and today's. 

"They're very rare occasions when I'm able to play at home and experience this atmosphere, so I'm trying to enjoy every single moment." 

Djokovic is the last Serbian remaining in the tournament, though, and takes on third seed Karen Khachanov – a winner against Thiago Monteiro – in the semis. 

There remain two quarter-finals to play on Friday, as Andrey Rublev faces Taro Daniel while Fabio Fognini welcomes the challenge of Oscar Otte. 

Meanwhile, there were only two matches completed at the Barcelona Open due to rain, but Ilya Ivashka ensured fans were rewarded for their patience as he took Stefanos Tsitsipas the distance. 

Ivashka eventually went down 6-1 4-6 6-2 to the top seed in a heavily delayed second-round contest. 

Novak Djokovic edged into the quarter-finals of the Serbia Open by defeating Laslo Djere 2-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) in a tense encounter in Belgrade. 

World number one Djokovic was in danger of losing three straight ATP Tour matches for the first time in over four years when he surrendered the opening set to his fellow Serbian in front of an adoring crowd. 

The 20-time grand slam winner was two points away from defeat in the second-set tie-break but managed to force a decider by converting set point at the sixth attempt.

And Djokovic needed another tie-break to get the job done, with Djere paying the price for a series of errors as he missed out on a chance to claim a famous victory. 

Next up for Djokovic, who bounced back from successive defeats to Jiri Vesely and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Dubai and Monte Carlo respectively, is Miomir Kecmanovic. 

Seventh seed Kecmanovic faced little resistance from John Millman as he claimed a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) success, while Karen Khachanov was granted a walkover against Roman Safiullin. 

At the Barcelona Open, Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the third round courtesy of a 6-1 2-6 6-2 victory over Kwon Soon-woo. 

He will face Jaume Munar for a place in the quarter-finals following the wildcard's 6-1 6-4 triumph against ninth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili. 

Felix Auger-Aliassime was taken the distance by Carlos Taberner but eventually closed out a 6-1 3-6 6-4 success. His reward is a meeting with Frances Tiafoe, who beat Hugo Dellien 7-6 (7-3) 6-1. 

Lloyd Harris defeated Albert Ramos Vinolas 6-3 6-4, while Alex De Minaur, Emil Ruusuvuori, Pablo Carreno-Busta and Marton Fucsovics also advanced. 

Inclement weather brought a halt to top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas' meeting with Ilya Ivashka after just one game, while Grigor Dimitrov was up a break in the third set of a clash with Federico Coria.

David Goffin secured his sixth ATP Tour title by coming from behind to beat Alex Molcan in the Grand Prix Hassan II final on Sunday.

Slovakian Molcan, in search of a first triumph at main tour level, came flying out of the blocks, but ultimately Belgian Goffin's experience showed as he recorded a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

World number 65 Molcan, who defeated Goffin in the first week of the season in Melbourne, was in early control of this meeting in Marrakesh, a set to the good and serving at 2-1 up in the second.

However, former world number seven Goffin responded from that point onwards and did not look back as he won in one hour and 58 minutes.

Goffin feels he can take confidence from this success into the rest of the clay-court segment of the 2022 season.

"I'm very happy, proud of my week. It was not easy, a lot of tough matches," Goffin said. "But at the end, I have my sixth title, here in Marrakesh. It gives me a lot of happiness and confidence for the season on the clay.

"It was the case twice before that match that I lost the first set and I always stayed calm the whole week to turn it around. It was the case again today, because he was playing well.

"He was better than me in the first set, and then I managed to play better and better, serving better, being more aggressive in the middle of the second. I was the better player [after that]."

Quoted on the ATP website, Goffin said: "I was playing even better in the third set, so I'm really happy the way I finished with another break [and] a good match point. I didn't want to serve for the match, I preferred to finish with a break."

Molcan reflected on a positive week in Morocco that saw him most notably beat top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

"It was an amazing week for me," he said. "I won a lot of matches and enjoyed it very much."

David Goffin is wary he will face "a great fighter" when he tackles Alex Molcan in Sunday's final of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh.

Experienced Belgian Goffin is a five-time tournament winner on the ATP Tour, and his Slovakian opponent is chasing his first title at this level.

However, their one past meeting went Molcan's way when they met in the Melbourne ATP 250 tournament in January, and although that match was on hardcourts and this final is on clay, Goffin respects his left-handed opponent's game.

Goffin made sure of his place in the title match with a 6-3 6-3 win over Argentinian Federico Coria, while Molcan, who beat Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier in the week, was a 6-1 7-5 victor against Serbian Laslo Djere.

Speaking of the threat posed by Molcan, Goffin said: "He's a great fighter, he's moving so well. He's lefty, so he's using his lefty game really well on clay, especially two days ago against Felix, he played well. So it's a tough opponent."

Goffin, quoted on the ATP Tour website, said he was pleased to get his clay season under way in fine style, even if he felt jittery at times against Coria.

"I managed to deal with my emotions at the end to finish the match, so I'm happy to play another final, especially here, the first tournament on clay," Goffin said. "I will give everything tomorrow."

David Goffin moved within a match of his first ATP Final in over a year after fighting back to beat Roberto Carballes Baena 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-0 at the Grand Prix Hassan II.

The former world number seven saw off the Spaniard in a three-set quarter-final to book his place in the last four, 14 months on from his last title in the Open Sud de France.

Goffin, ranked 74th in the world and unseeded for the event in Marrakech, was forced to fight across a gruelling first set, which Baena edged out in a tie-break.

But he fought back to level things in the second before sweeping through the third set unanswered.

Goffin will face Argentine Federico Coria following the latter's 6-7 (1-7) 6-1 6-4 comeback win over Richard Gasquet.

Elsewhere, Alex Molcan's run continued after the Slovakian won 4-6 6-3 6-4 against Botic van de Zandschulp following his last-16 victory over top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

He will now face Laslo Djere in the last four after the Serbian overcame Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets.

Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out of the Grand Prix Hassan II after he was beaten 6-4 2-6 7-6 (9-7) by world number 65 Alex Molcan.

Making his debut in Marrakech, Auger-Aliassime arrived off the back of an impressive start to 2022.

Indeed, the world number nine had already triumphed in Rotterdam and been runner-up to Andrey Rublev in Marseille.

But he came unstuck at the hands of the player ranked 56 places lower, with Molcan securing his first career win over a top-10 player.

The Slovakian crucially broke in game nine on the way to taking the opening set. Auger-Aliassime, who hit 10 double faults during the contest, responded by dominating the second, while the players exchanged breaks in a decider that went to a tie-break.

The top seed forced match point at 7-6 up, but Molcan held on by reeling off the next three to secure a dramatic victory.

David Goffin, meanwhile, claimed his 300th tour-level win as he came from behind to defeat three-time champion Pablo Andujar.

Andujar had seen off second seed Dan Evans in the first round but, despite making a fast start against Goffin, it was the Belgian who triumphed 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

Federico Coria overcame Mirza Basic in straight sets, while Roberto Carballes Baena defeated Portugal's Joao Sousa 6-2 7-6 (7-4) and Richard Gasquet saw off Pavel Kotov.

Nick Kyrgios made his return to clay with a win on Tuesday, defeating Mackenzie McDonald 4-6 6-3 6-4 at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston.

It was the first time Kyrgios had played on clay since his infamous meltdown at the Rome Masters in 2019, where he threw a chair across the court and walked off, handing Casper Ruud a win by default.

After a meandering first set, the Australian world number 94 sparked into life when he saved the first of two break points with a second serve ace in the third game of the second. From there, Kyrgios opened up his shoulders and became more assertive from the baseline, as well as serving 18 aces in the closing two sets.

While again admitting clay is not his favourite surface, the 26-year-old was nevertheless pleased by the manner of the win against McDonald.

"He [McDonald] beat me in Washington where I used to play pretty well, and he's a tricky one because he doesn't make too many errors, and clay's obviously not my preferred surface," he said post-match.

"I just served really well, and just started playing more aggressive and found another gear. I would slip and slide a little bit, but my game actually suits the clay quite well."

While US seventh seed Tommy Paul secured a walkover 6-7 (4-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-2 win against Peter Gojowczyk, Chilean fifth seed and defending champion Cristian Garin also came from a set down to beat Jack Sock 4-6 6-3 7-5.

American sixth seed Frances Tiafoe faced relatively simpler work, defeating unseeded countryman Marcos Giron in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

Two all-American matches also opened play in Houston on Tuesday, with JJ Wolf securing a 6-4 6-4 win over eighth seed Jenson Brooksby in the first, and Steve Johnson defeating Denis Kudla 6-3 4-6 6-4.

Pedro Martinez secured his maiden ATP Tour title with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory over Sebastian Baez at the Chile Open on Sunday.

Both players were competing for their first success in Santiago, with fourth seed Martinez appearing in his second tour-level final after losing to Casper Ruud in Kitzbuhel in July.

World number 72 Martinez sat six places above his opponents in the rankings, but it was seventh seed Baez who claimed the first set before the Spaniard bounced back to send the match to a decider.

Martinez carried that second-set impetus into the final set, eventually triumphing after 2 hours and 48 minutes as he condemned Baez to just his third loss in 29 outings in Chile since the start of the 2021 season.

Andrey Rublev was crowned champion at the Open 13 Provence after downing Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5 7-6 (7-4) in the final.

Auger-Aliassime defeated Rublev in Rotterdam last week on the way to securing his maiden ATP Tour title, though all of their past meetings had required a deciding set.

Canadian Auger-Aliassime immediately broke Rublev, but the world number seven battled back to eventually claim the first set after a tense 56-minute opening exchange.

The pair twice exchanged breaks in the following set, with Rublev failing to serve out for the match at 5-4 before saving a set point at 5-6 down.

Rublev rallied from that point onwards, however, claiming his ninth tour-level triumph after a second set tie-break.

The Russian will look to become just the third man in the tournament's 30-year history to win the singles and doubles titles in the same edition when he takes to the court with Ukraine's Denys Molchanov in the doubles final.

Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz secured a spot in the Rio Open final after knocking off top seed Matteo Berrettini followed by countryman Fabio Fognini on Saturday.

Several quarter-finals were squeezed into Saturday's schedule alongside evening semi-finals following Friday's ranout, forcing Alcaraz to play twice along with Diego Schwartzman who also progressed to Sunday's decider.

Alcaraz first defeated top seed and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Berrettini in three sets, triumphing 6-2 2-6 6-2 in two hours and two minutes.

The 18-year-old Spanish seventh seed, who reached last year's US Open quarter-finals, backed that up with a straight-sets win over Fognini, 6-2 7-5.

"It means a lot to me," Alcaraz said post-match. "I surprised myself to be able to win two matches in a row in the same day. It's tough to win one match, two is even tougher."

Third seed Schwartzman got past fellow Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in a two-hour-and-two-minute semi-final, having won through earlier in the day 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4 against Pablo Andujar.

The top two seeds will meet in the Delray Beach Open final in Florida after wins by Cameron Norrie and Reilly Opelka on Saturday.

First seed Norrie got past American fourth seed Tommy Paul 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 16 minutes. Norrie had endured a slow start to the calendar year, but will now play for a third ATP Tour title.

Second seed Opelka had a tougher outing, needing three hours to overcome John Millman 7-6 (10-8) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4). In a match which only saw two breaks of serve,

Opelka, who won last week's Dallas Open title, sent down 16 aces and won 82 per cent of his first serve.

Roberto Bautista Agut ended his title drought by gaining revenge over Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final of the Qatar Open on Saturday.

Basilashvili beat Bautista Agut in the championship match in Doha last year, but the Spaniard came out on top on this occasion, winning 6-3 6-4.

The experienced second seed had not won a tournament since he was crowned Qatar Open champion in 2019, before repeating that feat with a straight-sets success.

Bautista Agut came from a break down in both sets to win the 10th ATP title of his career at the expense of the third seed from Georgia.

The 33-year-old world number 16 dropped only one set this week en route to getting his hands on another trophy.

He said: "It was a really tough final. This year we played without wind, which was much better for me.

"It was not easy to recover after a really tough battle yesterday [in a semi-final win over Karen Khachanov], but I think I did a good job today.

"It is my 10th ATP Tour title and I am very happy."

Top seed Cameron Norrie is through to the semi-finals of the Delray Beach Open after beating Sebastian Korda in three sets.

Norrie eventually overcame the American fifth-seed after a final set tie-break, winning 6-2 1-6 7-6 (7-4).

The Brit's tenacity was key, saving seven of 10 break points, and he will now face another American, Tommy Paul, in the final four in Florida after he beat qualifier Stefan Kozlov 6-3 6-1.

The other semi-final will be contested between Reilly Opelka and John Millman after they bested Adrian Mannarino and Grigor Dimitrov respectively.

Opelka was taken to a third set by his French opponent before winning 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-1, hitting 19 aces on his way to victory.

Millan proved too good for third seed Dimitrov winning 6-4 6-4 in an hour and 34 minutes where the Australian's return was a highlight.

At the Rio Open, rain washed out many of the scheduled matches on Friday, with Diego Schwartzman against Pablo Andujar and Miomir Kecmanovic against Francisco Cerundolo both cancelled.

Matteo Berrettini and Thiago Monteiro were finally able to finish their round of 16 match at 11.35pm local time, with the Italian securing victory 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3.

He will play seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz who overcame Federico Delbonis 6-4 7-6 (7-1) after their match was pushed back, starting not long prior to midnight local time.

Roberto Bautista Agut followed two sprints with a gruelling slog as he battled past Karen Khachanov to reach the final of the Qatar Open.

Spanish second seed Bautista Agut had dashed past Andy Murray and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the loss of just three games in Doha, but Khachanov proved far more obdurate.

After a slow start, eventually Bautista Agut picked up the pace and emerged a 2-6 6-3 7-5 winner in two hours and 24 minutes of toil, earning a shot at Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili in Saturday's final.

Bautista Agut praised Russian Khachanov for making him scrap for the win.

"He was playing very fast," said Bautista Agut, quoted on the ATP website. "He was playing very solidly, he was defending very well and he hit many unbelievable passing shots. I had to play incredibly well tonight. I enjoyed tonight so much."

Third seed Basilashvili is the defending champion this week and made light work of France's Arthur Rinderknech, tying up a 6-4 6-2 victory.

In Marseille, Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was stunned by Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in the Open 13 quarter-finals. World number 163 Safiullin had a staggering 13 break points against the under-performing Tsitsipas serve, and although 11 of those were saved, the two that were not decided the match.

Safiullin, for his part, faced one break point and saved it on the way to a 6-4 6-4 victory. He made his presence felt at the ATP Cup in Australia at the start of the year and, although results have been disappointing since, the 24-year-old is doing well again in France this week.

Next for Safiullin will be last week's Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime, who saw off Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 6-3 6-4 in the last match of the day. After losing his first eight finals on the ATP Tour, Auger-Aliassime may well be closing in on a second title in eight days.

Saturday's other semi-final will see Russian second seed Andrey Rublev tackle Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who reached the last four of a main-tour event for the first time by crushing Aslan Karatsev 6-1 6-3.

Rublev dug deep to edge out French wildcard and former top-10 player Lucas Pouille 6-3 1-6 6-2.