Novak Djokovic is yet to drop a set at the Tel Aviv Open as he reached the final with a 6-1 7-6 (7-3) success over Roman Safiullin.

The Serb broke his Russian opponent twice as he cruised to the opening set, and though Safiullin took the 21-time grand slam champion to a tie-break in the second, Djokovic's class showed as he won the tie-break 7-3 to ensure his place in Sunday's decider.

It was far from plain sailing for Djokovic, who conceded the tension in the second set was hard to handle.

Djokovic said: "I think it was a very competitive match, especially in the second set.

"I must say I was quite emotional on the court today in the second set, there was a lot of tension, and that was also due to his aggressive style of tennis. Big serves, and when he has time, he's so solid from the forehand and backhand corner.

"I knew that I had to stay very strong, and that he was definitely going to raise his level in the second set, which happened. I was serving for the match and played a couple of loose points, but credit to him for fighting back. It was an enjoyable evening on the court for sure."

Marin Cilic secured his spot as Djokovic's final opponent with a comfortable straight sets triumph over Constant Lestienne.

The Croatian second seed served 14 aces as he eased to victory in under two hours, winning 11 out of his 12 first-serve points en route to a 7-5 6-3 win.

Holger Rune is into the Sofia Open final after Jannik Sinner was forced to retire through injury with the Dane leading 5-7 6-4 5-2.

Sinner won the opening set but lost the second, and with Rune just one game away from winning the match, the top seed chose to retire with ankle pain, putting an end to his hopes of winning three straight titles in Sofia.

Rune will face Marc-Andrea Huesler in the final, after the world number 95 upset fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti.

The first set went to a tie-break as neither could find a break of serve, though Musetti found two in the tie-break to help him to a 5-1 lead.

However, the Italian surrendered the next six points as Huesler pulled off an incredible comeback to take the first set.

The second set was another tight affair as both held serve after serve, but Huesler finally found a crucial break to prevail 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.

Novak Djokovic sealed his place in the final four at the Tel Aviv Open after beating one of his "best friends" Vasek Pospisil on Friday.

The Serbian was made to work hard by his Canadian opponent, particularly in the first set, but eventually won 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Djokovic was particularly impressive on his second serve, winning 70 per cent of them, only four per cent less than his first serve success rate, and he hit just eight unforced errors compared to Pospisil's 21.

"It was a great, positive win," Djokovic said afterwards. "Vasek is one of my best friends on the Tour. We have known each other for many years. It is never easy playing someone you respect so much and like so much, but we are both professionals and wanted to win the match and you can see that.

"I think the level of tennis was really high. Especially towards the end of the first set and the second set. Credit to him for fighting. It's great to see him back."

The number one seed will play Roman Safiullin in the semi-finals after the Russian beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-4 6-1.

Constant Lestienne came through a tight contest with Maxime Cressy, winning 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-3), and will face number two seed Marin Cilic in the other semi after the Croatian was handed a bye following Liam Broady's withdrawal prior to their match.

At the Sofia Open, Jannik Sinner remains on course for a third successive title at the tournament, setting up a final-four encounter with Holger Rune after easing past Aleksandar Vukic 6-2 6-3, with Rune eventually dispatching Ilya Ivashka 6-2 5-7 6-4.

The other semi-final in Bulgaria will see Lorenzo Musetti take on Marc-Andrea Huesler after both won their respective quarter-finals against Jan-Lennard Struff and Kamil Majchrzak.

Novak Djokovic cruised past Pablo Andujar to reach the quarter-finals of the Tel Aviv Open on Thursday, showing no signs of rustiness on his first Tour-level outing since July.

Djokovic had not featured in an ATP-level match since his final victory over Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon, having been forced to miss the US Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

But the Serbian needed little time to find his feet in Israel, winning the first seven games of the match and breaking the Spaniard's serve four times en route to a 6-0 6-3 victory.

Speaking on court afterwards, Djokovic said: "Fantastic atmosphere here tonight, thank you very much. I like the court, it's very intimate and it's very loud. 

"The crowd here is very passionate about the sport, about tennis and I'm really, really happy to be here and to perform here in front of you, so thank you for your support."

The 21-time grand slam winner will face Canada's Vasek Pospisil in the last eight after he beat home hopeful Edan Leshem 6-3 6-2.

Two of Djokovic's fellow seeds fared less well, however, with Diego Schwartzman and Botic van de Zandschulp both being ousted after three-set contests.

Third seed Schwartzman failed to capitalise on a third-set match point in his 6-3 2-6 7-6 (9-7) loss to Arthur Rinderknech, while Britain's Liam Broady teed up a clash with Marin Cilic by beating Van de Zandschulp 6-4 4-6 6-3.

The Sofia Open also saw a couple of seeds fall to surprise defeats on Thursday, although Jannik Sinner avoided any drama in his 6-3 6-4 win over Nuno Borges.

Sinner now has a perfect 10-0 record at the event, which he won in both 2020 and 2021, and will face Australia's Aleksandar Vukic for a place in the final four.

Holger Rune also progressed to the last eight, though he was forced to rally after losing the opener against Lorenzo Sonego, but Pablo Carreno Busta and Oscar Otte were both dumped out.

Second seed Carreno Busta fell to a 6-3 3-6 6-2 reverse against Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler, who will face Poland's Kamil Majchrzak in the quarter-finals after he came back to beat Otte 4-6 6-2 6-4.

Holger Rune saw off a spirited challenge from Tim van Rijthoven to progress to the second round of the Sofia Open on Tuesday, while a pair of seeds suffered surprise exits at the Tel Aviv Open.

Rune – the fifth seed for the tournament in Bulgaria – required two tie-breaks to clinch victory in his first meeting with Van Rijthoven on the ATP Tour, eventually claiming a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) win.

After the match, Rune expressed his relief at avoiding a third set, saying: "I didn't want to go to three sets. If it [had happened], I was going to fight for sure and try to take it in three, but I'm very happy to finish in two."

Meanwhile, eighth seed Oscar Otte beat Dragos Nicolae Madaras 6-3 6-2, and Portugal's Nuno Borges overcame Mirza Basic in three sets to tee up a meeting with defending champion and top seed Jannik Sinner.

In Tel Aviv, seeds Aslan Karatsev and Tallon Griekspoor fell at the first hurdle with three-set reverses to Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Vasek Pospisil, respectively. 

Etcheverry rallied after Karatsev took a second-set tie-break in comprehensive fashion to post a 6-2 6-7 (0-7) 6-4 win, while lucky loser Pospisil stunned Griekspoor for a 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 triumph.

Fifth seed Botic van de Zandschulp fared better, however, dispatching Joao Sousa 6-2 6-3 after producing a top-class display of serving.

The Dutchman will meet Britain's Liam Broady in the next round after he recorded a straight-sets win over Hamad Medjedovic.

Stanislas Wawrinka edged closer to a first ATP Tour title in five years after edging Mikael Ymer in a thriller to reach the Moselle Open semi-finals.

On the same day fellow countryman Roger Federer would hang up his racquet at the Laver Cup, Wawrinka was forced to go all the way by his opponent in Metz, eventually winning 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-5).

The three-time grand slam champion, whose injury struggles and form have seen him tumble to 284 in the world rankings, served up seven aces to Ymer's two, and made no double faults.

Victory moves him into the last four, where he will meet seventh seed Alexander Bublik after the Kazakh saw off Holger Rune in another three-set encounter with a 6-3 5-7 6-4 win.

Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz is also through to the semi-finals after making quick work of home favourite Arthur Rinderknech, winning 6-3 6-2.

The world number 10 will face Lorenzo Sonego next after the Italian also came through his quarter-final in straight sets against Sebastian Korda.

Daniil Medvedev succumbed to second-round defeat against Stan Wawrinka at the Moselle Open on Thursday, while Hubert Hurkacz coasted past Dominic Thiem.

World number four Medvedev fell to a 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 loss against three-time major winner Wawrinka, who will next meet Mikael Ymer after his straight-sets win over home favourite Gregoire Barrere.

Second seed Hurkacz did not experience such struggles against Thiem as the Pole cruised to a 6-3 6-4 as he served 12 aces in a dominant performance in Metz.

Hurkacz will face Arthur Rinderknech in the next round after the Frenchman battled to a 7-6 (13-11) 6-3 triumph over fifth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Alexander Bublik, the seventh favourite in France, was also made to work for his progress to the quarter-finals, downing Emil Ruusuvuori 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3.

Fourth seed Holger Rune awaits Bublik after Benjamin Bonzi retired due to injury when 6-4 4-1 down against the Dane.

Lorenzo Sonego coasted through his second-round clash to defeat Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to tee up a last-eight clash with Sebastian Korda.

Dominic Thiem started his bid for a second Austrian Open title with a comfortable triumph over Alexander Shevchenko.

Thiem, a 2019 winner at the tournament in his home country, prevailed 6-4 6-2 in Kitzbuhel.

He will next face compatriot Sebastian Ofner as he seeks a first title since his grand slam breakthrough at the US Open in 2020.

Ofner came from a set down to beat former world number seven Richard Gasquet 1-6 7-5 7-5.

Meanwhile, seventh seed Pedro Martinez saved six out of six break points en route to a 7-6 6-3 victory over Chilean Nicolas Jarry.

At the Croatia Open in Umag, Bernabe Zapata Miralles set up a round of 16 meeting with third seed Holger Rune by beating Croatian Dino Prizmic, who retired when facing a 6-4 3-0 deficit.

Alex Molcan is safely through to the next round after defeating Duje Ajdukovic, while French 23-year-old Corentin Moutet cruised to a straight-sets victory over sixth seed Daniel Altmaier.

Carlos Alcaraz was made to come from a set down but finally overcame Nicola Kuhn in the first round of the Hamburg European Open.

The highly rated Spanish teenager eventually downed the German wildcard 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-3).

Kuhn, ranked 259 in the world, was aggressive early on against Alcaraz, and was rewarded with the first set.

But the 19-year-old – playing as top seed in an ATP Tour event for the first time – rallied to ease through the second set, before being made to work much harder to clinch the win on a tie-break.

Alcaraz will now play Filip Krajinovic in the second round after the Serbian also won in a third-set tie-break against Sebastian Baez 6-1 4-6 7-6 (8-6).

Three seeded players crashed out on Tuesday in straight sets, with third favourite Diego Schwartzman losing against Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5 6-4, sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili beaten by Aslan Karatsev 6-4 6-0, and eighth seed Holger Rune going down 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 to Tallon Griekspoor. 

Fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta eased through against Luca Nardi 6-2 6-1, while there were also wins for Fabio Fognini, who sealed his 400th career victory, as well as Daniel Elahi Galan, Borna Coric and Francisco Cerundolo.

At the Swiss Open in Gstaad, sixth seed Cristian Garin lost 6-3 6-4 to Yannick Hanfmann and seventh favourite Hugo Gaston fell to Dominic Thiem despite winning the first set, losing 1-6 6-1 7-6 (9-7).

Elsewhere, Frenchman Richard Gasquet beat Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5 6-4, while his compatriot Benoit Paire retired hurt when a set and a break down against Elias Ymer.

A tight game between Swiss pair Dominic Stricker and Marc-Andrea Huesler saw the former prevail 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4, and an all-Spanish affair was similarly close as Jaume Munar defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3 3-6 7-5.

There were also wins for qualifiers Juan Pablo Varillas and Nicolas Jarry against Lorenzo Sonego and Thiago Monteiro respectively.

Andy Murray stormed to a straight-sets win over Sam Querrey at the Hall of Fame Open in Rhode Island, while 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem earned his first victory in over a year in Sweden.

Murray needed less than an hour to record a 6-2 6-0 triumph over the big-serving American, setting up a last-16 meeting with Australia's Max Purcell.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray hobbled out of his last meeting with Querrey at the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2017, a defeat which marked the start of his injury woes.

But he produced a polished display on the grass to wrap up his eighth career win over the American on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Rhode Island, eighth seed James Duckworth battled to a 6-2 4-6 6-2 win over Liam Broady, and seventh seed Jiri Vesely raced to a 6-4 6-2 triumph against Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

Meanwhile, Thiem ended a 426-day wait for a Tour-level win by overcoming Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5) at the Swedish Open.

The Austrian, who has won 17 career titles, halted a run of 10 consecutive losses on the ATP Tour with his first triumph since he beat Marton Fucsovics at the last-32 stage of the Internazionali d'Italia in May 2021.

The 28-year-old expressed his delight at ending his drought in the aftermath, saying: "It's a long time. My last victory was in Rome in 2021, it feels like a different world somehow.

"Many, many things happened. It was tough, but it was also a very good experience I think, for life in general. I'm so happy that I got this first victory here today."

Thiem will face fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the last 16, while Sebastien Baez will take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after the former beat Fabio Fognini in straight sets.

The round of 32 did see two shock exits, however, with seventh seed Holger Rune succumbing to a 6-3 6-3 defeat against Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler, and Nikoloz Basilashvili being forced to retire at one set down against Hugo Gaston.

Also, Francisco Cerundolo beat Pedro Sousa to set up an enticing clash with top seed Casper Ruud.