Lorenzo Musetti won his opening match at the Argentina Open in comfortable fashion, defeating hometown hero Pedro Cachin 6-2 6-3 on Thursday.

World number 20 Musetti is still just 20 years old, making him the third-youngest player inside the top-40. The only younger players are 19-year-olds Carlos Alcaraz (world number two) and Holger Rune (world number nine).

The talented Italian has two ATP Tour titles to his name, but none outside of Europe, and he will hope to change that after he advanced to the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires.

Musetti will play Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas next after he prevailed 6-4 6-4 against former world number three Dominic Thiem.

Fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo did his part to set up an all-Argentine quarter-final clash after dominating Jaume Munar 6-2 6-1, but compatriot Diego Schwartzman could not hold up his end of the deal, falling 6-1 6-3 to Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Meanwhile, world number seven Taylor Fritz made a winning start to his Delray Beach Open campaign, defeating Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 6-4 6-3.

Fritz will play France's Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-final after the 34-year-old veteran eliminated 24-year-old American J.J. Wolf 7-5 6-2.

Second seed Tommy Paul was too strong for Denis Kudla in a 6-3 6-4 triumph, and he will play Radu Albot for a place in the semi-final after the Romanian emerged the 6-4 6-4 victor against Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.

Playing in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Francisco Cerundolo avenged his younger brother's defeat at the Argentina Open by defeating Yannick Hanfmann 6-2 4-6 7-5 on Tuesday.

Francisco's younger brother Juan Martin had been eliminated by Hanfmann in the qualifying stage, but the fifth seed got one back on the German after leading the break point opportunities 17 to six.

Fifth-seed Cerundolo was the highest seed in action Tuesday, while sixth seed Sebastian Baez fell 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to Serbia's Dusan Lajovic.

In the only all-Argentine clash it was Facundo Diaz Acosta prevailing 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 against Federico Coria – who sits over 100 places higher in the rankings – while Roberto Carballes Baena collected a seeded scalp with a 7-5 6-4 win over Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Meanwhile, Australian Open quarter-finalist Ben Shelton was eliminated from his own hometown tournament as the Florida resident was bounced out of the Delray Beach Open 6-4 6-4 by Marcos Giron.

Shelton beat J.J. Wolf to reach that grand slam quarter-final, but Wolf will be moving on after he emerged with a 7-5 6-3 win against Ilya Ivashka. 

Wolf will play France's Adrian Mannarino following his 4-6 6-3 6-4 triumph over Germany's Daniel Altmaier, and Mackenzie McDonald will get a shot at redemption against fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka after a comfortable 6-2 6-2 success against Taro Daniel.

McDonald and Nishioka have played twice this year – once at the Adelaide Invitational and once at the Australian Open – and Nishioka has won all five sets.

It was also a day 33-year-old Matija Pecotic will never forget, with the world number 784 winning his first ever ATP Tour match by defeating Jack Sock 4-6 6-2 6-2.

Dominic Thiem insists Novak Djokovic must be regarded as the greatest tennis player of all time, ruling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out of contention.

Despite a hamstring issue, Djokovic became the joint-most successful male player in grand slam history last week as he moved level with Nadal on 22 titles following his record-extending 10th Australian Open triumph. 

Along with retired 20-time major winner Federer, Djokovic and Nadal find themselves in the long-running debate to determine the greatest player in history.

But 2020 US Open champion Thiem, who believes the number of major wins must be the decisive factor in the conversation, is confident Djokovic will soon leave his two great rivals firmly behind.

"In my opinion, the grand slam titles should be the defining criteria when determining the best of all time, they are the four most important tournaments in tennis," the Austrian said.

"Everything else is fine, but it's not the same. The slams are what counts, so the GOAT will probably be the one with the most grand slams.

"I am not very surprised [by Djokovic's Melbourne triumph]. Djokovic still looks young – physically and mentally, because of the way he moves on the court. It's like he was 25 years old.

"We have to be honest, he is the best, so his victory was not very surprising."

Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years for a glorious victory over Casper Ruud at the Swiss Indoors, joining fellow veteran Andy Murray in putting on a show in Basel.

Former world number one Murray pulled off a remarkable win over Russian Roman Safiullin, winning five games in a row from 4-1 behind in the final set.

But that was just a tease for the excitement that followed, as Wawrinka, who like Murray won three grand slam titles in his prime, felled second seed Ruud in straight sets.

The 37-year-old Swiss delighted his home crowd with a 6-4 6-4 victory over this season's French Open and US Open runner-up, serving nine aces as he defied a world ranking of 194th to produce some of his old magic.

Murray has fallen away from the elite ,too, but at 49th in the world he is not far away from rejoining that pack, although defeat looked to be beckoning against Safiullin.

The 35-year-old Scot fist-pumped with relief at recovering the break of serve that Safiullin snatched early in the decider, and Murray hit a service winner on his second match point to seal a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 success.

The victory for two-time Wimbledon winner Murray took him to 26 wins this season, the most he has had in a single campaign since pulling off an astounding 78 victories in 2016, the year he won at the All England Club for a second time, landed a second Olympic gold medal and finished top of the rankings.

Murray said of his win: "As the match went on, I started to dictate a few more points and served better."

Quoted on the ATP website, he added: "I changed the way I was returning a little bit, and when I did that, I was able to create a few more opportunities and frustrate him a little bit."

Pablo Carreno Busta scored a 6-2 6-1 win against Argentinian Sebastian Baez, with Alex Molcan, Dominic Stricker and Botic van de Zandschulp also advancing to the last-16 stage.

At the Vienna Open, Murray's fellow British players Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans both went through to the second round, Norrie beating Argentina's Pedro Cachin 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-1) and Evans fending off Germany's Oscar Otte 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

Canadian left-hander Denis Shapovalov beat Austrian wildcard Jurij Rodionov, but the home crowd had something to celebrate when former US Open champion Dominic Thiem continued his resurgence by eking out a 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) victory against American Tommy Paul, saving two match points.

Matteo Berrettini is set to tackle Davis Cup team-mate Lorenzo Musetti in an all-Italian Napoli Cup final on Sunday after defying advice to pull out with a foot injury.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini beat American Mackenzie McDonald 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 at the hard court event, while Musetti came through 6-3 6-4 against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

Providing Berrettini is healthy to participate in the final, the tournament looks set to deliver a crowd-pleasing trophy match, but it was touch and go whether the Rome native would get through the McDonald match.

"I don't even know how I did it," Berrettini said. "I wasn't feeling very good. I asked for the physio because my foot was hurting. It happened so many times in my career that I had to fight through so many things, not just thinking about the tennis ball."

He added, quoted by the ATP: "I didn't want to retire. My team told me, 'I think you should stop'. But I tried and I found a way."

Berrettini and Musetti have never gone head-to-head before. Berrettini has won two titles this year, both on grass, in Stuttgart and at London's Queen's Club, while 20-year-old Musetti scooped his maiden ATP title on clay in Hamburg.

At the European Open in Antwerp, Sunday's final will see American Sebastian Korda tackle Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, in a battle of two in-form players.

Korda was runner-up last week in Gijon, while Auger-Aliassime took the title in Florence, adding to his Rotterdam triumph from February.

Korda wrestled his way past a recently resurgent Dominic Thiem, scraping a 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory, before Auger-Aliassime was given a mighty battle by veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet, winning through in two tight sets, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-3) his margin.

Like Berrettini and Auger-Aliassime, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas has a third title of the year in his sights this weekend.

Tsitsipas swept through to the final of the Stockholm Open with a 6-2 6-2 win over Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori, setting up a clash with 19-year-old Danish player Holger Rune.

For Rune, there was no such straightforward path into the final as Alex de Minaur pushed him all the way, with the Australian eventually edged out 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 after two hours and 50 minutes.

Dominic Thiem saved three match points before beating Hubert Hurkacz for the first time to reach the semi-finals of the European Open on Friday.

Thiem was on the brink of being knocked out by the top seed in Antwerp, but fought back to win 3-6 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-4).

The 2020 US Open champion fended off all three match points in a second-set tie-break to take a thrilling quarter-final the distance and then came out on top in another breaker to advance.

Thiem will do battle with Sebastian Korda for a place in the final after the American emphatically defeated eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 6-2.

Richard Gasquet moved into the last four at the expense of David Goffin and will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who came from a set down to beat Dan Evans.

Matteo Berrettini remains in the hunt to win the Tennis Napoli Cup on home soil after a 6-2 6-3 quarter-final triumph over Taro Daniel.

Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta crashed out in Italy, losing 7-5 6-2 to Miomir Kecmanovic, who will face Lorenzo Musetti after he got the better of Daniel Elahi Galan. Mackenzie McDonald will come up against Berrettini after getting past Zhang Zhizhen.

Stefanos Tsitsipas sealed a Stockholm Open semi-final spot with a 7-5 6-3 win over Mikael Ymer and will take on Emil Ruusuvuori, who eliminated Frances Tiafoe.

Holger Rune and Alex de Minaur meet in the other last-four match in the Swedish capital following wins over Cameron Norrie and Denis Shapovalov respectively.

Dominic Thiem saw off Francisco Cerundolo for the second time in the space of a week as he dug deep in the deciding set to win 6-1 1-6 7-5 at the European Open.

The Austrian downed the Argentinian in straight sets six days earlier in Gijon but found this a sterner test of his capabilities against the sixth seed.

Nevertheless, the former US Open winner shook off a second-set collapse and then responded to going a break down in the decider, winning four of the final five games to seal a quarter-final clash with favourite Hubert Hurkacz.

He was joined in the last-eight by two more unseeded players, as David Goffin and Sebastian Korda recorded straight-set upsets over third seed Diego Schwartzman and fourth-ranked Karen Khachanov respectively.

At the Stockholm Open, fifth seed Alex de Minaur made swift work of American J.J. Wolf, dispatching him in a 6-4 6-2 win to set up a quarter-final with Canada's Denis Shapovalov.

Defending champion Tommy Paul is out however, losing to Sweden's Mikael Ymer, who recorded a 6-2 6-3 victory that earns him a clash with top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Slippery court conditions contributed to a backlog in fixtures at the Napoli Cup, meaning first-round matches were followed by second-round encounters on Thursday.

Nevertheless, second seed Matteo Berrettini made light work of Roberto Carballes Baena, winning 6-4 6-2.

Roberto Bautista Agut, seeded third, slipped to a 6-4 6-4 loss to Mackenzie McDonald, with the American joining Berrettini in the last eight.

Andrey Rublev set up a final meeting with Sebastian Korda at the Gijon Open, overcoming Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the last four.

The world number nine battled through an up-and-down opener before remaining patient to seal the second set and the match on Thiem's serve, taking a 6-4 6-4 victory.

Russian Rublev has now won eight successive sets of tennis against the 2020 US Open champion, and he is one win away from his fourth title of 2022 after triumphs in Belgrade, Dubai and Marseille.

Speaking on court after the win, Rublev said: "I was lucky I played a really good game and Dominic helped me out a little bit.

"Then I felt more confident and I was able to win in two sets, which was the most important thing. This week I have been playing really well, and I'll try to show my best tennis of the week tomorrow."

Korda will be Rublev's opponent on Sunday after the American saw off France's Arthur Rinderknech for a 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 win.

Meanwhile, at the Firenze Open, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime saw off home favourite Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-3, moving one step closer to a second ATP Tour title.

The Canadian will face JJ Wolf in the final in Florence, after the American clinched a 6-4 6-4 win over Sweden's Mikael Ymer.

Andy Murray's run at the Gijon Open came to an end with a three-set loss to Sebastian Korda on Friday, dashing his hopes of a semi-final appearance in Spain.

Murray earned his fourth Tour-level quarter-final spot of 2022 by beating Pedro Cachin, but American Korda defeated the former world number one 6-4 1-6 6-1.

Korda will face Arthur Rinderknech in the last four after he upset second seed Pablo Carreno Busta, taking an epic final-set tie-break to triumph 4-6 6-3 7-6 (18-16).

The other side of the draw will play host to an enticing semi-final meeting between Dominic Thiem and top seed Andrey Rublev after they secured straight-sets wins over Francisco Cerundolo and Tommy Paul respectively.

Thiem said after his 6-4 6-3 triumph over Cerundolo: "From the first match on, I have felt great on this court.

"It is very important for me as I am trying to climb up the rankings. The semi-finals at an ATP event is helping a lot."

Meanwhile, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Brandon Nakashima 6-3 6-4 to reach the Firenze Open semi-finals, where he will face home favourite Lorenzo Musetti.

The third seed from Italy downed Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-2, but fellow seed Alexander Bublik went down 3-6 7-5 6-1 to J. J. Wolf.

Dominic Thiem produced a dominant display to cruise past Joao Sousa in the duo's first-round clash at the Gijon Open, only dropping two games for just the second time in his career.

The 2020 US Open winner did not face a single break point in his one-sided 6-2 6-0 victory on Monday, reaching the last 16 after 62 minutes.

It is just the second time in the Austrian's career he has lost as few as two games in a completed ATP-level match, having previously done so against Jaroslav Pospisil in 2013 (in a 6-1 6-1 win).

"Especially with the forehand, it was really good for basically the first time [since my injury]," Thiem said afterwards. "I'm very happy about it. This way is right, the direction is right."

Meanwhile, Argentina's Sebastian Baez was forced to retire when a set down to France's Constant Lestienne, and fifth seed Tommy Paul eased past 16-year-old home hope Martin Landaluce in straight sets.

Only one seed was in action at the Firenze Open on Monday, with Aslan Karatsev advancing courtesy of a walkover following an injury to Tallon Griekspoor. 

Marin Cilic had to come from behind to defeat Dominic Thiem as he sealed a spot in the quarter-finals of the Tel Aviv Open.

Cilic, who was also celebrating his 34th birthday, was given a thorough test initially by the wild card, but Thiem ultimately faded away.

After losing the first set, second seed Cilic eventually won 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-4 as he succeeded in putting the Austrian's serve under intense pressure, setting up a quarter-final with either fifth seed Botic van de Zandschulp or Liam Broady.

Reacting to the victory, Cilic said: "I think it was a fantastic match. I think it was an amazing, amazing level.

"We don't get so many chances to play [a] second-round [match] in front of this big [of a] crowd, so thank you so much. It was a fantastic birthday."

Maxime Cressy, seeded fourth, was far more comfortable as he defeated fellow American Sebastian Korda 6-4 6-4 thanks to a break of serve in either set.

The only other seed in action was seventh favourite Adrian Mannarino. The Frenchman came unstuck against his countryman Constant Lestienne, who won 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.

At the Sofia Open, two high seeds were surprisingly dumped out on Wednesday.

Home favourite Grigor Dimitrov, seeded third, was beaten in straight sets by Ilya Ivashka, who showed commendable focus to see out a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) win despite the crowd's support of his opponent.

Number six seed Nikoloz Basilashvili was the other big name to suffer a shock defeat, with 38-year-old Fernando Verdasco beating him 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 as the seven-time ATP Tour title winner rolled back the years.

Lorenzo Musetti bucked the trend, however. Seeded fourth, the Italian was made to sweat by Bulgaria's Alexander Lazarov as the first two sets went to tie-breaks, but the Italian had too much in the end as he won 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) 6-2.

Earlier in the day, Musetti's compatriot Lorenzo Sonego comfortably dealt with Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3 6-4.

Stan Wawrinka will face Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Moselle Open after beating Joao Sousa in straight sets.

Wawrinka came through two qualifying matches to take his place in the main draw before defeating Sousa 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 in Metz on Wednesday.

The three-time grand slam champion's victory was only his fourth in a main draw at tour-level this year following a 13-month absence due to a foot injury.

Wawrinka said after setting up a showdown with top seed Medvedev: "It's the first time I won three matches in the same tournament for more than two years, so it's great.

"I'm getting confidence from winning a few matches, so I'm feeling a bit more relaxed, the way I'm moving. I think the level was good from me, and I'm happy with the win."

Dominic Thiem also advanced at the indoor hard-court event, seeing off Richard Gasquet 6-3 7-6 (7-3). 

Sebastian Korda was the first man to seal a quarter-final spot, sending third seed Lorenzo Musetti packing with a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) victory in the last match of the day.

Meanwhile, Alexander Bublik, Gregoire Barrere and Benjamin Bonzi were the other first-round winners.

 

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem has been bundled out at Flushing Meadows in the first round by Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5 6-1 5-7 6-3 on Monday.

The Austrian, who was back to defend his 2020 title after missing last year due to a wrist injury, was no match for the 12th-seeded Spaniard, despite coming in with a 7-0 head-to-head record.

Four-time Grand Slam finalist Thiem has struggled for the past 14 months, with a mix of injury and form, only gaining entry at the US Open with a wild card.

Thiem is now ranked 211th in the world and has a 9-10 record this season, albeit with an improved past two months.

Former world number three Thiem had waited 426 days between ATP Tour level wins, when he triumphed at the Swedish Open in July this year.

Carreno Busta, who won in Montreal earlier this month, won in three hours and 18 minutes, rallying back from a 2-4 deficit early to peel off 10 of the next 11 games and claim a two-set lead.

Thiem responded in the third set by breaking in the second game, with Carreno Busta committing more unforced errors, but the Austrian could not maintain the pressure in the fourth.

The Austrian hit 44-31 winners but was not helped by unforced errors (54-32), while his first serve percentage was down at 59 per cent, winning only 58 per cent on his first serve.

Dominic Thiem's run at the Winston-Salem Open came to a halt as Jack Draper claimed a comfortable straight sets victory on Wednesday.

In the first meeting between Draper and Thiem, it was the 20-year-old Brit who sealed his place in the last eight with a routine 6-1 6-4 victory.

Draper charged ahead in the first set, creating five chances to break and taking two of them, while his sole successfully converted break point in the second set paved the way for the Winston-Salem debutant to serve out the match.

World number 55 Draper has now reached three Tour-level quarter-finals this season, while 2020 US Open champion Thiem had been on a run of making it to the last eight in his last three tournaments, in Bastad, Gstaad (where he made the semis) and Kitzbuhel.

Draper did not offer up a single break opportunity, and said: "I was really good behind serve, really solid. In the second set it was tough because he was coming up with some amazing shots. It was a real honour to be on court with Dominic. He's an amazing player.

"I started confidently, I started well. I was hitting through the ball, felt good in the conditions. It was a difficult start because I felt like everyone was supporting Dominic and I knew that I needed to come out confidently and sharp, and that's what I did."

Draper will meet Marc-Andrea Huesler in the quarter-finals, after the world number 102 overcame Ilya Ivashka.

Botic van de Zandschulp is the favourite after Grigor Dimitrov's retirement due to illness with the Dutchman progressing to the last eight by defeating Spain's Jaume Munar in straight sets. He will face Benjamin Bonzi after the Frenchman's 7-5 6-2 defeat of Thiago Monteiro.

Maxime Cressy will face Adrian Mannarino after coming from a set down to beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 7-6 (7-3), while Richard Gasquet and Laslo Djere make up the other quarter-final tie after respective victories over Steve Johnson and Jason Kubler.

Top overall seed at the Winston Salem Open, Grigor Dimitrov, won the first set of his opening match against Dominic Thiem 6-0 before being forced to retire due to illness symptoms while trailing 4-2 in the second.

The first set was total domination from the Bulgarian, winning 80 per cent (12-of-15) of the points against Thiem's serve as he breezed through the opening frame in 25 minutes, but after experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath in the second set, he decided to pull the plug on his match after a visit from the doctor.

Thiem will play England's Jack Draper in the next round after he was too strong down the stretch for Italy's Fabio Fognini, winning 6-2 4-6 6-1.

Meanwhile, it was relatively smoother sailing for second second Botic van de Zandschulp in his all-Dutch matchup against Tallon Griekspoor, converting both of his two break point opportunities to win 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Earlier in the day, in-form Belarusian and 11th seed Ilya Ivashka used his powerful serve to overwhelm Germany's Peter Gojowczyk 6-4 6-2. 

Ivashka will meet Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler next after the world number 102 passed a stiff test against Sweden's Mikael Ymer, with his 6-4 6-4 win likely elevating him into the top-100 when the next rankings are released.

Richard Gasquet at 36 years young upset 20-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-1, and he will play Steve Johnson next after the big American defeated Spain's Pedro Martinez 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

Serbia's Laslo Djere needed almost three hours to get the better of Portugal's Joao Sousa 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5), and Djere will play Australia's Jason Kubler after he handled South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo 7-5 6-2.

The other two Aussies in action were less successful, as John Millman fell 6-4 6-4 to Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and James Duckworth went down 6-3 6-3 against Maxime Cressy.

Finland's rising star Emil Ruusuvuori was disappointing in his 6-4 6-1 loss to France's Adrian Mannarino, and fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi also got the job done against England's Kyle Edmund 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

In the late session, 15th seed Jaume Munar defeated Tseng Chun-hsin 6-3 6-4, and in the last match of the night, Lorenzo Sonego beat Alejandro Tabilo 7-5 6-1.

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