Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz made light work of Grigor Dimitrov to cruise into the last 16 of the Madrid Open with a straight-sets win on Sunday.

The Spaniard thrilled the home crowd at Caja Magica to reach the fourth round in style with a 6-2 7-5 victory.

Dimitrov lost his serve twice in a ruthless first-set rout and could not mount a comeback despite a spirited attempted recovery against the world number two.

Alcaraz's victory sets up a fascinating fourth-round clash with Alexander Zverev in a repeat of last year's final.

Zverev himself secured fast passage from the third round with a 6-1 6-0 win over Hugo Grenier.

Alcaraz and Zverev are joined in the last 16 by Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov after their respective victories against Yoshihito Nishioka and Roberto Bautista Agut.

There is no place for 12th seed Hubert Hurkacz, however, after he fell to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 loss against Borna Coric.

Andy Murray will play Daniil Medvedev in the Qatar Open final after the 35-year-old came through yet another lengthy contest in his semi-final against Jiri Lehecka.

Murray appeared to be on course for a routine win after taking the first set 6-0, but was broken early in the second, eventually losing 6-3 to take him to a fourth three-set contest in four matches this week in Doha.

Lehecka should have won a hard-fought decider when 5-4 and 40-0 up on his own serve, but Murray's trademark resilience saw him break back despite facing five match points against, before ultimately winning the tie-break 8-6.

"I don't know how I managed to turn that match around," Murray said after the win. "In the 5-4 game, I think I played most of the match points really well. He missed one bad shot on the deuce point in that game at 5-4, but I played the match points pretty well.

"It's been an amazing start to the year. I have never experienced this in my whole career, like this many matches... It was sort of looking [like it might be a quicker match] for 30 minutes and then it turned into something completely different. Yeah, just amazing that I managed to turn that around."

Murray equalled Jimmy Connors for the fifth-most ATP hard court wins in the Open Era (489), and will play Medvedev in the final after the Russian's 6-4 7-6 (9-7) win against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Canadian had three set points in the second set tie-break to try and force a decider, but Medvedev showed determination to turn it around and seal his place against Murray in the final.

At the Open 13 Provence, number one seed Hubert Hurkacz is through to face Alexander Bublik in the semi-finals, with both also having to come through three-set matches in a deciding tie-break.

Hurkacz was finally able to overcome Mikael Ymer 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) before Bublik defeated Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 3-6 7-6 (8-6).

Third seed Alex de Minaur was shocked by Benjamin Bonzi, who broke the world number 23 four times on his way to a 6-2 6-4 victory to avenge his third-round defeat at the Australian Open.

Bonzi will meet qualifier Arthur Fils in the final four after the French 18-year-old beat former world number three Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-3 to reach a second straight tour-level semi-final.

Daniil Medvedev had no problems against Grigor Dimitrov as he eased into Sunday's Rotterdam Open final.

The former world number one took just 82 minutes to win 6-1 6-2, converting six of 13 break points against his Bulgarian opponent.

Medvedev rises back up to 10th in the world rankings after the win, and will go ninth if he can claim the title.

"It was an amazing match," Medvedev said after his victory. "The score [looks] easy, but the match was not. I felt physically like I was playing five sets.

"It would be amazing [to win the tournament]. Every time I come here, and I think it is my fifth time here, everywhere there are photos of the winners and their names.

"I don't remember who won it first time, but then Arthur Ashe won it [twice]. Then [John] McEnroe, [Bjorn] Borg, [Stefan] Edberg, and I'm like, 'Well, that tournament has a history for sure'. To add my name there would be amazing, but for this I need to play well in the final."

That final will be against Jannik Sinner after the Italian overcame spirited home wildcard Tallon Griekspoor.

It was Sinner's impressive serve that saw him through 7-5 7-6 (7-5), not facing a single break point, and ruthlessly taking the only one he carved out all match to take the first set.

He kept his nerve to see out a second set tie-break, and now has the chance to follow up last week's Open Sud de France title with another in Rotterdam.

Pablo Carreno Busta was a surprise first-round casualty at the Rotterdam Open after falling to Richard Gasquet on Monday.

World number 16 Carreno Busta, the seventh seed at the ATP 500 event in the Netherlands, took the first set with ease but fell to a 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 defeat against Frenchman Gasquet.

Veteran Gasquet, ranked 45th in the world, will next meet Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss overcame Alexander Bublik in dominant fashion with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph.

Grigor Dimitrov recorded a 6-1 6-3 victory over Aslan Karatsev in just 59 minutes to set up a potential second-round tie with fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who must first get past Roberto Bautista Agut.

Qualifier Gregoire Barrere was another straight-sets winner, defeating David Goffin 6-0 7-6 (7-3).

The Frenchman, who is ranked 71st in the world, could meet third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the next round if the Canadian overcomes Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.

Novak Djokovic recognised his ongoing hamstring troubles are "not ideal" but said in "high-level professional tennis you have got to find a way".

The Serbian beat number 27 seed Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday, despite clearly feeling the hamstring injury that hampered him in his second-round match.

Djokovic was particularly struggling in the first set, though was able to win a tense tie-break 9-7, before going on to win the second and third sets 6-3 6-4 in a match that lasted over three hours.

"I went up and down with my leg, at times it was feeling good and at times not so good, so I had to handle that," Djokovic told Eurosport after the victory.

"Also Grigor is in form, played well for over three hours and three sets, I can't even imagine if I'd lost one of those sets what the length of the match [would have been].

"[I was] just fortunate to find the right shots in the right moments, I thought the double break in the third would be enough but from that moment he was locked in, he didn't miss much, he made me play, made me run all over the place, he read my serves very well, so it was just an incredible battle in the end."

Djokovic received a medical timeout at the end of the first set, which seemed to do the trick as he looked more comfortable in the second, and he broke twice early in the third before a brief Dimitrov fightback, which was ultimately in vain.

"It's movement," he clarified about the injury. "A specific movement that just triggers so I prayed that it doesn't happen, but it happened in the match so I had to deal with it, I had to call the physio and get the pills in my system and it helps so far.

"Not ideal but somehow finding a way. This is high-level professional tennis and you've got to find a way."

The fourth seed faces Australian Alex de Minaur in the fourth round.

Novak Djokovic is through to the fourth round at the Australian Open after beating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, but he was made to work for it.

The number four seed was troubled by the hamstring injury carried over from his second-round win against Enzo Couacaud in the first set before winning it on a tie-break.

Djokovic seemed back to normal as he won the second set, but exchanged several breaks of serve with Dimitrov before finally sealing a 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 6-4 win.

The Serbian broke in the first game, but Dimitrov showed admirable grit not to drop serve again, saving set points at 5-3 down before breaking back as Djokovic served for the set.

Despite being visibly hampered by his hamstring, Djokovic saved three set points himself, one of which came in the tense tie-break, before prevailing, the effort it took seeing him briefly collapse to the floor after executing a cross-court volley to seal an opener that lasted 77 minutes.

A medical timeout before second set seemed to make a difference as he continued to trouble the Bulgarian's serve, eventually breaking in the sixth game and going on to take a two-set lead.

Djokovic broke in the first and third games of the third set as Dimitrov began to realise the Serbian's injury issues were not going to be a factor, and although he won a break back, he gave it away to love in the very next game.

The determined 27th seed broke back again before finally holding his serve, but when Djokovic managed to reach his first match point after another long rally, the pair waved to the crowd for noise as they cheered the efforts of both competitors, with Djokovic finishing it off at the first attempt to book a last-16 clash with home hope Alex de Minaur.

Data slam – Unforced errors cost Dimitrov 

There were some impressive rallies throughout the contest, but while the aggressive approach from Dimitrov brought 53 winners, it also led to 50 unforced errors, several of which were on key points.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Dimitrov – 53/50
Djokovic – 28/22

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Dimitrov – 15/4
Djokovic – 11/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Dimitrov – 3/8
Djokovic – 5/12

Rafael Nadal's United Cup campaign began with defeat against Cameron Norrie as Great Britain established a 2-0 lead over Spain in Group D.

The 22-time grand slam winner surrendered a first-set lead before going down 3-6 6-3 6-4 against the world number 14, who secured his first victory in five meetings.

Norrie, who became only the second Briton after Andy Murray to beat the Spaniard, set the tone for his team, with Katie Dart also coming from behind to deny Nuria Parrizas Diaz 3-6 6-1 6-2 later on.

Meanwhile, Germany's Alexander Zverev lost in straight sets on his return to ATP action, going down 6-4 6-2 to Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, who went 2-0 up in the tie after Marie Bouzkova defeated Jule Niemeier 6-2 7-5.

World number one Iga Swiatek got Poland off to a flying start against Kazakhstan in Brisbane with a commanding 6-1 6-3 victory over Yulia Putintseva, but defeat for Daniel Michalski against Timofey Skatov leaves the Group B tie finely poised.

Brazil enjoyed a flawless start against Norway in Group E. Beatriz Haddad Maia was a 6-4 6-2 winner over Malene Helgo, and Felipe Meligeni Alves overcame Viktor Durasovic 6-3 6-3.

The spoils were shared between Belgium and Bulgaria in Group A with Alison van Uytvanck beating Isabella Shinikova, before David Goffin was seen off by Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 7-5.

Croatia closed the day with a pair of victories against Argentina in Group F as Donna Vekic and Borna Coric defeated Maria Carle and Francisco Cerundolo respectively.

Stefanos Tsitsipas opened his United Cup campaign with a comeback victory over Grigor Dimitrov in Perth.

ATP world number four Tsitsipas is one of the headline names in action at the event, which is acting as a warm-up tournament for the Australian Open.

After going a set down to his Bulgarian opponent in his first game of the inaugural tournament, Tsitsipas hit back with a strong second set before holding his nerve in a tense tie-break in the decider, securing a 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win.

Tsitsipas's team-mate Despina Papamichail continued Greece's strong start, also coming from a set down to beat Isabella Shinikova 3-6 6-4 6-1.

Great Britain opened with a pair of victories, Cameron Norrie and Katie Swan earning straight sets triumphs over their Australian counterparts in Sydney.

Norrie, who was initially set to play Nick Kyrgios prior to the Wimbledon finalist's withdrawal due to an ankle injury, eased to a 6-3 6-3 victory over Alex De Minaur, while Swan defeated Zoe Hives. 

The United States are also taking a 100 per cent record into day two of the tournament, after Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys overcame Jiri Lehecka and Marie Bouzkova respectively, while France pair Arthur Rinderknech and Alize Cornet got off to winning starts against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo and Maria Lourdes Carle.

In Brisbane, Swiss hope Belinda Bencic secured a 7-6 (7-0) triumph over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and Beatriz Haddad Maia, the Brazilian world number 15, dispatched Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-0.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz was stunned in the Swiss Indoors Basel semi-finals as Felix Auger-Aliassime set up a final clash with Holger Rune.

Auger-Aliassime saw off the US Open champion in just 82 minutes as he won 6-4 6-3 to take his unbeaten run to 12 matches.

The Canadian was in irresistible form on Saturday, with his shot placement in decisive moments proving far more consistent and lethal than his counterpart, hitting 23 winners to Alcaraz's eight.

Twenty-two-year-old Auger-Aliassime is still fighting to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time and victory in Sunday's final will move him up to sixth in the rankings having won each of his two previous tournaments in Antwerp and Florence.

"It's amazing," Auger-Aliassime said. "I never expected it, when I was in Florence three weeks ago, or after the US Open. I'm just really happy that all my work is coming together.

"I've always believed that I can play this way, that I can be consistent in that way, but one thing is to believe and the other is to actually do it. It's nice to feel that way, it's nice to come out on the court and win that many matches in a row. So hopefully this is just the beginning of seeing me play this way."

Rune awaits after the Dane beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (10-8) despite being 6-2 down in the second-set tie-break. He will move into the top 20 for the first time as a result of that win.

The final of the Vienna Open will be contested by Daniil Medvedev and Denis Shapovalov, who came through their respective semis in straight sets.

Top seed Medvedev was exceptional against Grigor Dimitrov, with the Russian's serve proving especially important in his 6-4 6-2 win.

Medvedev won 87 per cent of points on his first serve to leave Dimitrov frequently struggling for momentum, and the former world number one recognised that impact.

"The serve is probably the most important shot in tennis," he said. "I was lacking it a little bit this season, I was doing too many double faults. Sometimes in important moments my serve could have been a little bit better. I was working a lot with my coach to try and find this rhythm [again], and so far I'm serving good here. I'm really happy about it and that's also why I'm playing so good."

Shapovalov ultimately romped to an impressive win over Borna Coric.

A tight first set was followed by the Croatian getting bageled as Shapovalov won 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 to reach his second final of the year.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz is through to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel after easing past Pablo Carreno-Busta in straight sets.

Alcaraz took just under an hour and 40 minutes to overcome his fellow Spaniard and friend 6-3 6-4, getting 67 per cent of his first serves in and winning 77 per cent of those.

Carreno-Busta struggled to keep the US Open champion at bay, facing 12 break points in all, and although he saved nine of them, his defiance was ultimately in vain.

"It is difficult to play against a friend like Pablo," Alcaraz said on-court after his win on Friday. "Every day we go and have dinner, lunch, together. Every week and we train together, so it is difficult to play against him.

"I also support him and want him to win every match. On court, there are no friends. You have to be focused and go for the match and that is what I did."

Alcaraz will face third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final four after the Canadian defeated Alexander Bublik 6-2 6-3.

The other semi-final will see Roberto Bautista Agut play Holger Rune after the Spaniard beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5 7-6 (7-5) and the Danish teenager defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.

In Austria, top seed at the Vienna Open Daniil Medvedev beat Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 to advance to the last four, where he will play Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian overcame Marcos Giron 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The winner of that contest will face either Denis Shapovalov, who beat Dan Evans 6-3 6-3, or Borna Coric after the Croatian came through against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5).

Grigor Dimitrov crashed out of the Stockholm Open to the unseeded Jiri Lehecka in a three-set thriller on Tuesday, as Botic van de Zandschulp also fell at the first hurdle at the European Open.

Dimitrov, seeded sixth in the Swedish capital, came up short against Lehecka, who seized a surprise 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-5) win, his first on the ATP Tour since July.

Victory for Alex de Minaur was far more predictable, a 150th at tour level coming courtesy of a straight-sets defeat of Benjamin Bonzi.

In Antwerp, Dominic Stricker handed Van de Zandschulp a swift exit, winning 6-2 6-4 to stay on Lehecka's coat tails in pursuit of a place at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Stricker's reward for this win will be a second-round encounter with French veteran Richard Gasquet, who knocked out three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka on Monday.

At the Napoli Cup, fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic saw off wildcard Flavio Cobolli with ease, but others found life rather tougher.

Respective seventh and eighth seeds Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Adrian Mannarino fell to Nuno Borges and Pedro Cachin.

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.

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.

Dominic Thiem defeated J.J. Wolf to set up a showdown with top seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open.

Thiem showed signs of returning to his best with runs to the last eight or better in three tournaments in July, but the 2020 US Open winner was in danger of falling at the first hurdle in North Carolina when he lost the first set against the American wildcard.

But Thiem, a debutant in the competition, bounced back, and after a long rain delay he prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 7-6 (8-6), and he will now face Dimitrov, who is seeking a first trophy since 2017.

The Austrian had to save two match points during a last-set tie-break, and said afterwards: "First of all I'm super happy to get that win, [my] first win on hard courts since a very long time, since March 2021, I guess.

"It was not easy at all today with the rain delay, coming back out there at 11:15 p.m. It was very late. I had trouble [getting] into the match again.

"But luckily I raised the level a little bit in the third-set tie-break and compared to Kitzbuhel, where similar stuff happened with the rain, the luck was on my side today."

Second seed Botic van de Zandschulp also learned of his last-32 opponent on Monday, with Tallon Griekspoor beating fellow lucky loser Taro Daniel 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

Last year's beaten finalist Mikael Ymer ensured a safe passage through, meanwhile, thanks to a 6-2 6-3 victory against Federico Coria.

Australia's James Duckworth also advanced with a 4-6 6-3 7-5 (7-5) comeback win over compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, while Kyle Edmund saw off Michail Pervolarakis 6-2 7-5.

Sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili was a big-name exit, as he went down to Thiago Monteiro.

A spirited fightback from Nick Kyrgios saw the Australian beat second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Halle Open on Wednesday.

Kyrgios suffered a disappointing semi-final defeat to Andy Murray in Stuttgart last week, but looked greatly improved against Tsitsipas as he recovered from a set down to win 5-7 6-2 6-4.

It was the second serve of both men where Kyrgios shone, winning 76 per cent (28 of 37) of points on his second serve, and 58 per cent (23 of 40) on his opponent's.

"Stef is one of the best players in the world at the moment and he's going to have some amazing results and I'm sure many, many grand slams," Kyrgios said following his win.

"I don't know if I can say the same for me, but I'm happy to still be able to produce this level with the tournaments I play. It is a testament to how hard I do work when I'm not playing."

He will face Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals after the Spanish sixth seed beat Sebastian Korda 6-4 0-6 6-3.

Elsewhere, Hubert Hurkacz will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight after defeating Ugo Humbert 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, while the Canadian also won in straight sets against Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (9-7) 6-1.

The one remaining first round match saw number one seed Daniil Medvedev beat David Goffin 6-3 6-2 to set up a second round clash with Ilya Ivashka.

At the Queen's Club Championships, sixth seed Denis Shapovalov was eliminated by Tommy Paul 6-4 2-6 6-4, with the American now scheduled to face Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round.

It means that six of the eight seeds in west London were knocked out in the first round, with Matteo Berrettini and Marin Cilic the only remaining seeds. The latter sealed his place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday with a 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Alexander Bublik.

Cilic will play Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori in the last eight after he beat home favourite Jack Draper 6-2 7-6 (7-2).

The best contest of the day came between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Alex de Minaur, with the former coming from behind to win 4-6 6-4 7-5 to set up a quarter-final with Botic van de Zandschulp, who beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.