Alexander Zverev breezed into the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France by beating home favourite Adrian Mannarino for the loss of just one game.

The world number three needed just 50 minutes to swat aside Mannarino 6-1 6-0 to set up a last-four match with Mikael Ymer.

Champion at this event in 2017, Zverev's record in Montpellier moved to 9-1 and he has now won seven matches in a row against Mannarino.

Ymer, the world number 83, squandered one match point in his contest with Richard Gasquet but eventually came through 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-1.

The best entertainment came in the earlier match between Alexander Bublik and Roberto Bautista Agut, sixth seed Bublik eventually coming through 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-4) after just over two hours on court.

He will face Filip Krajinovic for a place in the final, the Serbian having beaten Damir Dzumhur in straight sets.

At the Tata Open Maharashtra, rising Italian star Lorenzo Musetti was surprised by world number 95 Kamil Majchrzak.

The Pole, who defeated Musetti's compatriot Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open in straight sets, won 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to set up a semi-final against Emil Ruusuvuori.

The other semi-final sees Joao Sousa, into the last four at Tour level for the first time since St Petersburg in 2019, face Elias Ymer.

 "I think I played a great match," said Sousa after beating Daniel Altmaier in straight sets. "I was very solid. I knew it was going to be a tough match, so I was prepared to run a lot."

Sebastian Baez stunned world number 18 Cristian Garin in three sets to reach the last eight at the Cordoba Open, his first career ATP Tour quarter-final.

Baez took a set off Stefanos Tsitsipas – his first ever top-10 opponent – before losing at the Australian Open, but he has kicked on again in Argentina.

The 21-year-old faced a huge uphill battle when he fell a set behind to third seed Garin, who won in Cordoba in 2020.

However, Baez roared back in quite remarkable fashion to prevail 4-6 6-1 6-1 in perhaps the best result of his career – and one of his opponent's worst.

"It was a pretty bad match, one of the worst of my career in terms of feeling," Garin said. "He deserves it as well, but I feel like I wasn't up to it.

"I had a regular first set and then I couldn't find myself. The little adaptation I had was clear, I was slow. It was one of my worst matches in many years."

Baez faces Alejandro Tabilo next after his last-16 defeat of Carlos Taberner, but a tricky field remains as the two seeds in action besides Garin on Thursday both won.

The reward for Lorenzo Sonego and Albert Ramos-Vinolas is a match against one another on Friday.

Top seed Alexander Zverev returned to winning ways after a surprise fourth-round Australian Open exit when he won his first match at the Open Sud de France on Thursday.

The German world number three was bounced out at Melbourne Park by Denis Shapovalov in straight sets, but he navigated his way safely past Mackenzie McDonald to reach the quarter-finals in Montpellier.

A largely dominant Zverev won 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to set up a clash with Adrian Mannarino in the last eight, and the 24-year-old highlighted how important he felt it was to quickly get back in the swing of things after disappointment in Melbourne.

"I'm going to give myself the best chance to do well in this tournament. But obviously, I'm happy to be back here," he said of the tournament he won in 2017.

"This is a place I really enjoy coming back [to]. After the Australian Open that I had, I wanted to play tournaments before my scheduled tournaments in Acapulco, Indian Wells and Miami. I said Montpellier is the perfect fit for that, and I'm happy to be here."

The same cannot be said for Gael Monfils, who suffered a crushing 6-1 6-2 defeat to Mikael Ymer on home soil.

The Swede was practically flawless throughout, winning a whopping 83 per cent of points on first serve and 89 per cent on second, with Monfils never even sniffing out a single opportunity to break back.

Richard Gasquet is a force to be reckoned with in Montpellier and reached another quarter-final, seeing off South Korean's Kwon Soon-woo 7-5 6-4.

Frenchman Gasquet reached six consecutive finals in Montpellier while in his prime years, being crowned champion in 2013, 2015 and 2016, and finishing runner-up in 2014, 2017 and 2018. Now 35, his last quarter-final appearance in an ATP main tour event came in August at Winston-Salem.

Gasquet's fellow Frenchman Mannarino sank the hopes of defending champion David Goffin, scoring a sparkling 6-4 6-2 victory.

Fourth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, who lost twice to Andy Murray in Australia last month, this time fell to world number 152 Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina, sliding to a 6-1 5-7 6-2 defeat. Basilashvili, the world number 21, now has a record of played five, lost five, for the 2022 season.

At the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune, there was a surprise defeat for Russian top seed Aslan Karatsev. Karatsev won a title in Sydney last month before losing to Mannarino in the third round of the Australian Open, and in his first match since that disappointment he slumped 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer.

Three seeds joined Ymer in the quarter-finals, with Jiri Vesely, Emil Ruusuvuori and Stefano Travaglia all making smooth progress without dropping a set. Vesely faces Ruusuvuori on Friday, while Travaglia awaits Ymer.

Top seed Diego Schwartzman cruised into the quarter-finals of the Cordoba Open after a straight-sets win over countryman Juan Pablo Ficovich on Wednesday.

World number 14 Schwartzman triumphed 6-3 6-2, converting three of five break points to win in one hour and 10 minutes.

Schwartzman will face Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan who progressed with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory over Jaume Munar.

Eighth seed Pedro Martinez was eliminated by Argentina wildcard Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Londero will face Serbian Nikola Milojevic, another lucky loser, who got past wild card Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

Fifth seed Federico Delbonis was bundled out of the Cordoba Open after a shock straight-sets defeat to Carlos Taberner on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Argentine, who is currently ranked 41st in the world, went down 6-4 6-2 to the 111th-ranked Spaniard.

Former top 10 player Fernando Verdasco was also beaten on Tuesday, going down to Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.

The 38-year-old Spaniard dropped out of the top 100 last year for the first time since 2004 after a difficult season with a long-term leg injury and COVID-19 prior to the French Open.

Baez will play Chilean third seed Cristian Garin in the second round, while Taberner will meet qualifier Alejandro Tabilo after he beat wild card Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 6-1.

Lucky loser Colombian Daniel Galan also progressed into the last 32 after a 7-5 6-3 victory over Bolivian Hugo Dellien, while sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas triumphed 6-4 6-3 over Andrej Martin.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga savoured a "fantastic" win as the veteran Frenchman showed in Montpellier there might still be life left in his career.

Ranked 259th by the ATP after two injury-blighted years, the former world number five scored his first main-tour singles victory since last March in Marseille as he beat Poland's Kacper Zuk at the Open Sud de France on Tuesday.

Tsonga battled for a 6-4 6-4 victory in the first round, and the 36-year-old, who has battled back and leg problems, said: "It's just amazing for me to be here on the court playing.

"For me, the goal is to have fun again, to find a level where I can beat great players again."

The former Australian Open runner-up competed last week at a Challenger Tour event, while the first grand slam of the year was carrying on without him in Melbourne.

He abandoned his 2021 campaign after a first-round loss at Wimbledon, where he was beaten in five sets by Sweden's Mikael Ymer.

Quoted on the ATP website after his return to winning ways, Tsonga said: "I had a few difficult months and to win like this for one of my first matches of the year, it's just fantastic for me.

"You cannot do it without the people around you. I have the chance to have very good people around me, and it gave me the opportunity to live some moments like this."

Qualifier Gilles Simon saw off wildcard Lucas Pouille 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-4 in a battle of two French compatriots of Tsonga who are both fellow former top-10 tour stars.

Other winners on Tuesday in Montpellier included Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who will face Tsonga on Wednesday, plus Ymer and France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

At the Tata Open Maharashtra, staged in the Indian city of Pune, seeds Emil Ruusuvuori and Stefano Travaglia both came through their opening tests. Ruusuvuori beat Egor Gerasimov 6-0 7-6 (13-11), while Travaglia was pushed hard by India's Ramkumar Ramanathan, eventually scraping through 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 6-3.

Defending Open Sud de France champion David Goffin rallied from losing the first set to defeat Benjamin Bonzi in Monday's first-round match.

Eighth seed Goffin, ranked at world number 52, prevailed 2-6 7-5 6-1 in Montpellier against the Frenchman.

It looked bleak for Goffin when Bonzi raced into a 3-0 lead in the second set, yet the Belgian reeled off three successive games to get himself back in the fight before snatching a crucial break to make it 6-5, and he did not look back from there.

"During the match I stayed positive even though I was one set and one break down," Goffin said.

"I tried to stay focussed, to stay as long as possible on the court to try to get some confidence, to work on certain things: to be more aggressive, [hit] a better quality of ball.

"At the end it was better and better, so I'm really happy the way I played at the end of the second and in the third."

Next up for Goffin is a tie with Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, or another Frenchman in the form of Adrian Mannarino, who lost to eventual Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal in Melbourne last month.

Monday's other match saw sixth seed Alexander Bublik defeat Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5).

Yuki Bhambri was the story at the Tata Open Maharashtra, as the Indian claimed a first tour-level match win in almost four years, beating Jozef Kovalik 6-7 (10-12) 6-2 7-5.

Bhambri, ranked at 863 in the world, had only played two singles matches on the ATP Tour since 2019 due to a knee injury and had last beat Mirza Basic in Miami in 2018.

"It is a privilege to play at home and it is an important win as well playing at my home tournament," he said. "Each match is tough at tour-level so I am just taking it one match at a time."

Radu Albot beat Federico Gaio in straight sets, while seventh seed Ricardas Berankis was shocked by Quentin Halys and Daniel Altmaier also progressed.

Dominic Thiem was forced to delay his comeback as he withdrew from the Cordoba Open due to injury.

The former world number three has not played on the ATP Tour since damaging his wrist in Mallorca last June but was due to face Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Nicolas Jarry in Argentina.

However, the 2020 US Open champion confirmed on Monday: "In the last days, I suffered a minor injury between my knuckles, a little strain of my ligament.

"The positive thing is the wrist is perfectly fine, but I'm suffering pain in my hand and also lacking practice, so I have to pull out.

"I'm very sad, but I'm going to come back once I'm 100 per cent fit, and thank you so much for the great and warm welcome I had here in Cordoba."

Thiem's withdrawal makes for a potentially simpler quarter-final draw for Pedro Martinez, who came through a marathon contest on Monday against Thiago Monteiro.

The eighth seed, who will next face Juan Ignacio Londero, won 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in a match lasting just under three hours.

There was an even longer battle between Juan Pablo Varillas and home favourite Facundo Bagnis, who was defeated 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-5) after three hours and 17 minutes on court. Varillas will play Albert Ramos-Vinolas or Andrej Martin in the next round.

Jaume Munar also sealed his progress, defeating Benoit Paire in straight sets. 

Thanasi Kokkinakis fought back from a set down to beat Arthur Rinderknech and claim a maiden ATP Tour title at the Adelaide International 2 in his hometown.

Kokkinakis was beaten by Gael Monfils in the semi-final of the Adelaide International 1 last weekend, but the 25-year-old got his hands on the trophy on Saturday after a 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win.

The Australian saved two match points in a semi-final defeat of Marin Cilic and showed his fight again to deny Rinderknech a first title.

Kokkinakis has had a tough time with injuries since rising to a career-high ranking 69 as a teenager in 2015, but he has shown what he is capable of early in the season ahead of the Australian Open.

There were no break point in the first two sets, but Frenchman Rinderknech failed to hold twice in the decider on a special day for Kokkinakis.

Kokkinakis said: "I wouldn't want to win my first title anywhere else. To my family, friends and coaches, what a ride it's been. You have seen me at my lowest lows and now the highest high. It's been a serious journey. For now, I am so happy.

"I've been playing and practising on this court since I was eight or nine years old, coming here before school every day. I love this court so much."

Kokkinakis will play qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of his home grand slam next week, while Rinderknech takes on Alexei Popyrin at Melbourne Park.

Aslan Karatsev failed to read the script as he beat Andy Murray in straight sets to win the Sydney Classic on Saturday.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray had rolled back the years to reach his first ATP Tour championship match since beating Stan Wawrinka in Antwerp back in October 2019.

There was to be no 47th ATP Tour singles title for the Briton at Ken Rosewall Arena, though, as Karatsev won 6-3 6-3 to ensure he will start the Australian Open next week with a spring in his step.

The world number 20 from Russia was a surprise semi-finalist in the first grand slam of the year at Melbourne Park last year and looks capable of making his presence felt again.

Karatsev struck 27 winners to 13 from the racket of former world number one Murray, who was unable to break the Vladikavkaz native's serve.

Murray failed to hold in the first game of the final and the opening set was over when he was broken for a second time.

Karatsev surged into a 3-0 lead in the second set and fended off five break points before finally holding to take a 4-1 lead, then went on to serve it out as he secured a third ATP Tour singles title, having been triumphant in Moscow and Dubai last year.

Murray will take great heart from the strides he has made this week and three years after fearing he may be force to retire at the Australian Open, the 34-year-old will face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round of the 2022 tournament next week.

Karatsev will do battle with Spaniard Jaume Munar for a place in the second round at Melbourne Park.

Andy Murray refused to add to Novak Djokovic's troubles after the Serbian star's visa saga reared up again, insisting he would not "start kicking Novak while he's down".

Some players have been critical of Djokovic, while world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas said the Serbian has been "playing by his own rules" after refusing to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

Djokovic faces a critical Federal Court hearing on Sunday that looks set to determine whether he can play at the Australian Open, which starts the following day.

Although the Serbian arrived in Australia with a medical exemption for the grand slam tournament, which he has won on a record nine occasions, that did not satisfy Border Force officers who last week decided Djokovic did not meet entry requirements.

After four days in detention, Djokovic won a first challenge against the visa decision on Monday and has been able to train at Melbourne Park in the days since; however, he will be returned to detention on Saturday morning in the Victoria state capital after immigration minister Alex Hawke cancelled the visa anew.

Murray said: "It's not a good situation. I'm not going to sit here and start kicking Novak while he's down. It's unfortunate it's ended up in this sort of situation.

"It's just one to get resolved. I think it would be good for everyone if that was the case. It seems like it's dragged on for quite a long time now.

"It's not great for tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak, and a lot of people have criticised the government here as well, so it's not been good.

Murray banged his head against a microphone in exasperation as he faced another question on the matter, clearly by now sick of being asked about Djokovic.

The Scot, a former world number one and long-time friend and rival to Djokovic, was asked about the latest developments after coming off court, having just booked his place in the final of an ATP Tour event for the first time since 2019.

Speaking after his semi-final win at the Sydney Classic, Murray said: "I would encourage people to get vaccinated.

"But I do feel like people should be able to make their own decisions. Ultimately, people have to make their own choices, but there is also consequences sometimes for those decisions as well."

Former doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs told Australian broadcaster ABC she expected the story to keep rumbling on.

"It's not over, he's staying in the country, but for the ramifications for the Australian Open, it's huge," Stubbs said.

"It's hard to know, obviously I'm not in his mind, but I would say he's going to be extremely disappointed, very sad, angry. I think he's probably going through all the emotions you can imagine as a human being."

Before the hearing on Sunday was confirmed, Stubbs said: "Unfortunately for Novak, it's not looking good."

Djokovic has been drawn to face fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round in a match that would be expected to take place on Monday or Tuesday.

Although the case of Djokovic has drawn global attention, Australian Stubbs said the single-minded nature of tennis players meant most were "really not concerned about Novak and his dilemmas".

"I think they're ready to get on with this tournament," she said. "I frankly think that most of them are sick and tired of talking about Novak and dealing with this situation in general."

Andy Murray will face the surprise package of last year's Australian Open in Saturday's final of the Sydney Classic.

Blocking Murray's way to a first ATP Tour title since October 2019 will be Russian player Aslan Karatsev, whose gritty win over Dan Evans prevented an all-British final.

Evans won a marathon tie-break in the second set of that encounter but could not maintain the level as he lost out 6-3 6-7 (13-15) 6-3 to a player who caused a sensation by reaching the 2021 Australian Open semi-finals.

It was also a case of digging deep for Murray, who picked up a stellar win over American Reilly Opelka, triumphing 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-4 against the fourth seed and world number 25. Murray is ranked down at number 135, but this strong week has provided evidence he still belongs at a much higher level.

Three years have passed since Murray came to Australia and indicated he was close to retirement due to hip trouble. He has battled back against the odds to stay active, but his lone ATP singles final appearance since that point came at the 2019 European Open in Antwerp, where he beat Stan Wawrinka to land a surprise title.

Now he is back in another title match, for what will be just his fourth singles final on the main tour since the end of the 2016 season, when he reached world number one status.

Murray rifled 16 aces and no double faults, winning an impressive 88 per cent of points when he landed his first ball in court, and his serve was not broken at any point by Opelka.

He has 46 singles titles and dearly wants to reach 50 before calling it a day, with a glorious chance to land a 47th coming up on Saturday.

Karatsev, the world number 20, is not a player that Murray would underestimate. He was ranked 114th and largely unknown before going on his run to the final four in Melbourne last February, but he has since pushed on and should provide a stiff test for three-time major winner Murray.

"It's already been a great week for me, big progress from anything I've done in the last year or so, to string four matches together like this and against top players in Basilashvili and Opelka," said Murray. "I'll go for 47 tomorrow. It's been a good week, I've played better with each match, so hopefully I'll step it up again."

At the Adelaide International 2 event, Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis produced a stunning semi-final win over fourth seed Marin Cilic, battling to a 6-2 3-6 7-6 (12-10) victory over the former US Open champion, teeing up a shot at Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the title match.

Andy Murray strode through to the semi-finals at the Sydney Classic after opponent David Goffin was forced to retire with an injury.

Murray won the opening set 6-2 before eighth seed Goffin, who had been receiving treatment on his knee, determined he could no longer continue.

It is the first time the 34-year-old Murray has reached a semi-final on the ATP Tour since winning the European Open title in October 2019.

Though not ideal circumstances, Murray will at least be glad of the extra rest after his three-hour encounter with world number 23 Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round. The Scot has also been drawn to play Basilashvili in the first round of the Australian Open.

Murray will face Reilly Opelka in the last four in Sydney after the American beat compatriot Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to advance.

Top seed Aslan Karatsev was made to work for his win against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego but secured a 6-3 3-6 6-2 victory to book his semi-final place against Briton Dan Evans, who defeated American Maxime Cressy 6-4 7-6 (7-5). Cressy reached the final of the Melbourne Summer Set tournament last week.

At the Adelaide International 2 event, third seed Karen Khachanov tumbled out after losing in straight sets to Arthur Rinderknech, the Frenchman coming through a 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 winner.

Rinderknech will face compatriot Corentin Moutet in the semi-finals after the qualifier overcame Thiago Monteiro 6-4 6-4.

Fourth seed Marin Cilic battled to beat American Tommy Paul 6-4 2-6 6-3, and a test awaits against Thanasi Kokkinakis who defeated fellow Australian Aleksandar Vukic 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2.

Andy Murray drew on his never-say-die attitude to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in a late-night thriller and book a quarter-final berth at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

The former world number one lost the first set despite leading 4-1 and 5-2, and was pegged back again having broken for a 3-2 lead in the second.

But Murray is renowned for being a fighter on court and so it proved again as the three-time grand slam winner defeated his Georgian opponent 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in a match that finished after midnight in Sydney.

It marked further joy for Murray against world number 23 Basilashvili, an opponent he defeated in four sets in the first round of Wimbledon last year.

Murray's fellow Briton Dan Evans continued a perfect start to 2022 as he breezed past Pedro Martinez 6-2 6-3 in 85 minutes without facing a break point.

Top seed Aslan Karatsev defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5 6-4 for his first win of the year, while Reilly Opelka (4), Lorenzo Sonego (5) and David Goffin (8) – who is Murray's last-eight opponent - all coasted through in straight sets.

However, Fabio Fognini (7) was a seed who did fall, as he lost 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6) to American Brandon Nakashima.

At the Adelaide International 2 tournament, top seed Gael Monfils – who triumphed at last week's Adelaide event – withdrew with neck pain in the deciding set of his second-round tie against Thiago Monteiro.

John Isner (2) also bit the dust against wildcard and home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis with each set going to a tie-break.

Karen Khachanov (3) and Marin Cilic (4) safely made it through in straight sets against Gianluca Mager and Jaume Munar respectively, but Marton Fucsovics (8) was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Frenchman Corentin Moutet.

Tommy Paul, Arthur Rinderknech and Aleksandar Vukic all progressed.

Andy Murray swept through his opening test at the Sydney Classic as the wildcard grabbed his first win of the year.

Murray sped to a 6-3 6-1 victory over Norwegian Viktor Durasovic, a player ranked a lowly 345th by the ATP who won through two qualifying rounds to reach the main draw.

The Scot broke four times across the contest and won 25 of 26 points when landing a first serve, an encouraging rate. Realistically, anything other than a comfortable win for the former world number one would have been concerning ahead of the Australian Open.

Murray at least put last week's disappointing first-round loss to Facundo Bagnis at the Melbourne Summer Set tournament behind him, and now a stiff tests await him in the last-16 stage.

Georgian second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili is next for Murray on Wednesday, with the world number 23 a familiar foe after these two met in the first round at Wimbledon last July.

On that occasion, Murray won in four sets following a desperate wobble in the third, which he lost from 5-0 ahead.

Five times an Australian Open finalist, Murray believes limbering up this week in Sydney can set him up well for the season's first grand slam.

"It is perfect conditions here," Murray said. "It feels like you are playing indoors. It is really nice to get your range here, and hopefully I can carry that through to Melbourne.

"I was hoping to get matches in Melbourne last week, but that didn't happen. Thankfully the tournament organisers and Tennis Australia agreed to give me the wildcard and the opportunity to play here, and I am very grateful for that."

Tuesday also saw a win for Maxime Cressy, the American serve-volleyer who caused a stir with his run to last week's final in Melbourne before pushing eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the title match.

Cressy, who was born in Paris, is a throwback in an era dominated by baseliners, and his game again came good as he saw off Adrian Mannarino 6-3 7-5. Dusan Lajovic awaits him in round two after the Serbian beat Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

At the Adelaide International 2 tournament, South African fifth seed Lloyd Harris made a first-round exit, losing 5-7 7-5 6-4 to Soonwoo Kwon.

There was another positive performance from Adelaide's own Thanasi Kokkinakis, who swatted away Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-4 6-0 to tee up a second-round shot at American second seed John Isner.

Kokkinakis, a once-bright young prospect who is finding his way again on tour after injury trouble, reached the semi-finals of last week's Adelaide tournament and is eyeing another run in South Australia before heading to Melbourne.

"After a good run last week, I was pretty knackered – I'm not going to lie," Kokkinakis said, quoted in The Australian. "But I thought another one in my hometown was a perfect situation.

"It was kind of a win-win for me almost. If I won, perfect, I get more matches. If not, I get to Melbourne and get to prepare for Aussie Open, but I'm stoked with the win."