The top seeds were all victorious in Thursday's action at the Atlanta Open, with John Isner prevailing 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 7-6 (7-3) in an all-American showdown against Ben Shelton to close the day's play.

Isner, 37, relied as he usually does on his trusty serve to get the job done in tiebreakers, winning the match despite not breaking Shelton's serve a single time.

The second seed won 85 per cent (60-of-71) of his successful first serves, while Shelton was similarly stout, converting 83 per cent (50-of-60).

Isner will meet fellow American Jenson Brooksby in the quarter-finals after he came back from an early break to defeat Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-4.

The biggest differentiating factor between the two players was Brooksby's effectiveness off his second serve, winning 61 per cent (14-of-23) of those opportunities compared to just 22 per cent (four-of-18) from McDonald.

Fourth seed Alex de Minaur defeated fellow Australian James Duckworth 6-4 6-4 in a competitive match, but De Minaur simply created more chances for himself, with five break point opportunities while Duckworth had two.

De Minaur will play France's Adrian Mannarino after he defeated American Andres Martin 7-5 6-3.

Mannarino's main advantage was with his return game, securing four breaks of serve while dropping his own serve only once.

Maxime Cressy will face Alexander Bublik in the final of the Hall of Fame Open after beating four-time champion John Isner on Saturday.

Cressy will play his third championship match of the year on Sunday following a 6-2 4-6 6-3 defeat of his fellow American in Newport.

The 25-year-old fired down 22 aces and won 82 per cent of points behind his first serve, breaking three times to move into the final.

Cressy had a stroke of luck for the only break of the deciding set, when he lobbed a shot just over the net and it bounced back onto his side to leave Isner 5-3 down. He then served out the match to end Isner's 10-match winning run in this event.

Bublik sealed his place in the final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Jason Kubler.

Third seed Bublik did not face a break point and broke the Australian three times, sealing his victory in an hour and nine minutes.

There will be an all-Argentinian final at the Swedish Open between Francisco Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez.

Baez produced an upset, securing his first win against a top-10 opponent with a 6-2 6-4 defeat of second seed Andrey Rublev in Bastad.

Cerundolo got the better of Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-2, ensuring he will face his compatriot for the first time at tour-level.

Dominic Thiem declared he is "definitely back" after reaching the Swedish Open quarter-finals, while Hall of Fame Open favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out in the second round. 

Thiem earned his first tour-level win in 14 months by downing Emil Ruusuvuori on his Bastad debut, before reaching his first quarter-final of the season by overcoming Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.

The Austrian battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded Bautista Agut, picking up his first top-20 win since beating Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in 2020.

Sebastian Baez, who defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets, awaits in the next round and former world number three Thiem is ready for the task.

"The win against Emil gave me confidence that I can compete against the best players in the world and today against Roberto," said Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion.

"He is always such a tough opponent. I was expecting and hoping it would be a close match. Then when I won the first set in the tie-break I said 'Hey, I can win today.' 

"I had the belief until the end of the match and the third set was really good. It is a process. I beat Ruusuvuori and today I beat Bautista Agut.

"Two really top opponents, so if I can beat them I am definitely back. I am into the quarters of a really strong tournament, so I am happy. It is a process, but I am going the right way."

Second seed Andrey Rublev was made to work for his 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-2) victory over Federico Coria and will meet Laslo Djere, who defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime resumed his match with Jason Kubler in Newport that was suspended due to bad light on Wednesday with a slight advantage but fell to a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) second-round loss.

That marked a first top-10 victory for Kubler, continuing his fine 2022 season that saw him achieve his best major result at Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round at the All England Club.

Fourth seed Maxime Cressy is yet to drop his serve at the tournament but needed to survive a first-set scare against fellow American Steve Johnson to triumph 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-4.

Second favourite John Isner will meet Cressy in the semi-finals after battling past fifth seed Benjamin Bonzi 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5).

Casper Ruud was a surprise second-round loser as the Swedish Open defending champion fell to Francisco Cerundolo, while the favourites battled through at the Hall of Fame Open.

Ruud, a French Open finalist and defending champion in Bastad , lacked his usual composure as world number 39 Cerundolo broke him three times to win 6-4 3-6 7-5 on Wednesday.

That marked a first top-10 career victory for Cerundolo after defeating world number five Ruud, guiding him to his first quarter-final appearance at the tournament.

"I'm feeling amazing, I'm really happy," said Cerundolo, whose previous best result was beating world number 24 Gael Monfils. "It's amazing getting my first Top 10 win. It's been the best year so far in my career.

"He's a French Open finalist and was the defending champion here, so it was a big challenge for me and I'm happy to go through."

Aslan Karatsev awaits in the quarter-finals Cerundolo after downing Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-2 6-4.

Fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta survived a first-set scare to defeat 2016 champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.

The victory was Carreno Busta's 250th tour-level triumph and he will next face third favourite Diego Schwartzman, who overcame Elias Ymer in straight sets.

Third seed Alexander Bublik was made to work for a 6-3 3-6 6-2 second-round victory over Jack Sock in Newport and Andy Murray edged past Wimbledon doubles champion Max Purcell.

Murray needed almost two-and-a-half hours to get the better of Purcell, eventually triumphing 4-6 6-2 6-1 to tee up a last-eight meeting with Bublik.

Fourth favourite Maxime Cressy had little trouble in beating fellow American Mitchell Krueger 6-3 6-4 and will next face Steve Johnson, who progressed past seventh seed Jiri Vesely with a walkover.

Benjamin Bonzi, ranked as fifth seed in the United States, eased past Christopher Eubanks in straight sets, while James Duckworth triumphed 7-5 3-6 6-2 over Quentin Halys.

John Isner joined the list of favourites who made the third round in routine fashion, beating Peter Gojowczyk in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (8-6), before top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime faced some adversity against Jason Kubler following the Australian's strong run into the fourth round of Wimbledon.

Auger-Aliassime has a slight advantage, leading 6-4 3-6 6-5 before play was suspended due to poor light. When play resumes, Kubler will serve with a chance to force a third-set tiebreak.

Another big-serving display from John Isner at Wimbledon means he now has the most ATP Tour aces on record.

Ivo Karlovic – one of only two tennis stars taller than the giant Isner – had set the benchmark with 13,728 across his career, the most since aces were first tracked in 1991.

But Isner has chipped away at that total over the course of this week at the All England Club.

The American's 54 aces in five sets against Enzo Couacaud in the first round made him the first player to pass 50 in a grand slam match since he had last done so versus Steven Johnson at the 2020 US Open.

And there were a further 36 in an epic second-round win over Andy Murray, leaving Isner just four short of matching Karlovic and five away from passing him.

Against Jannik Sinner, in Friday's third round, Isner raced past his target, tallying 12 aces in the first set alone.

It is a record Isner is likely to own for some time, with 43-year-old Karlovic absent from the ATP Tour this year and playing only six main-draw matches in 2021.

Roger Federer is third on the list, way back on 11,478.

Andy Murray's Wimbledon journey has ended in the second round despite a spirited fightback against John Isner in a four-set thriller.

The three-time grand slam champion - two of which have come at SW19 - will not add a fourth to his collection after he was downed by the big-serving American 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 on Centre Court on Wednesday.

Yet the 35-year-old did not go down quietly against the number 20 seed, forcing a tie-break in the third set to prevent a straight-sets win for his opponent before ultimately fading in the fourth.

For Murray, it marks the earliest exit of his Wimbledon career, having previously always reached the third round at senior level.

Despite never dropping more than two games behind Isner across the contest, the Scot was crucially never able to break serve. 

Isner sent down a stunning 36 aces, including three in succession in the final game of the match to put him on the brink of victory, before a neat backhand over the net sealed the deal.

Andy Murray said he intends to make the most of every appearance on Centre Court after recovering from one set down to beat James Duckworth in his Wimbledon opener.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray took two hours and 43 minutes to record a 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over the Australian, maintaining his record of having never fallen at the first hurdle in SW19.

Murray is making just his second Wimbledon appearance since 2017 and is looking to better last year's run to the third round, where he suffered a straight-sets reverse against Denis Shapovalov.

Having endured a spate of injuries and undergone two hip surgeries since his last Wimbledon triumph in 2016, the 35-year-old said he will enjoy every opportunity he gets to play in front of a home crowd on Centre Court.

"It's amazing to be back out here again with a full crowd after the last few years, amazing atmosphere," he said.

"Obviously I'm getting on a bit now, so I don't know how many more opportunities I'll get to play on this court. I want to make the most of every time I get to come out here now.

"I'm glad I managed to get through and hopefully I'll get another match on here in a couple of days."

After fighting back to beat the world number 74, Murray expressed his hope he could grow into the tournament as he advances. 

"I thought I did well to rebound after the first set, he likes playing on the grass, he's come back from a hip surgery himself in January and was playing very well," he added.

"Once I started to find my returns a little bit more as the match went on, I felt a bit more comfortable and did well to get through.

"Naturally, there's always nerves and pressure and butterflies and stress and all of those things before the first match, it was a longer build-up for me than usual because of the ab injury I had after Stuttgart [where Murray finished as runner-up earlier this month].

"I've done a lot of practising here, I've been at the venue a lot in the last couple of weeks so yeah, it was great to get out here, get a win under my belt and hopefully I'll play better from here on in."

Murray will face big-serving American John Isner in the second round on Wednesday, having won each of the duo's eight previous head-to-head meetings.

Hubert Hurkacz sent down 21 aces in his first-round match at Wimbledon, enough to raise €2,100 for the people of Ukraine but not enough to reach the second round.

The seventh seed, who was a semi-finalist at the All England Club last year, promised on the eve of the championships to donate €100 in aid for every one of his aces.

"Hope my serve works well," Hurkacz wrote on Twitter, and it certainly did across five sets against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Having averaged 11.6 aces per match this season – his 452 the third most on the ATP Tour – Hurkacz had 21 to just three double faults in an effective serving display on Monday.

Unfortunately, Davidovich Fokina was still able to pull off an early upset, narrowly advancing 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 5-7 2-6 7-6 (10-8).

This was the third top-10 win of Davidovich Fokina's career but the first on grass, with his previous two such victories both coming at the Monte-Carlo Masters (vs Matteo Berrettini in 2021 and versus Novak Djokovic in 2022).

While Hurkacz will not add to his ace tally, John Isner undoubtedly will.

He had a remarkable 54 in his five-set win against Enzo Couacaud – as many as Hurkacz managed across six matches in his 2021 run to the last four.

The last player to record 50 or more aces in a grand slam match had also been Isner, against Steven Johnson at the 2020 US Open.

Rafael Nadal accepts he will have to perform better than he did against John Isner if he is to overcome "dangerous" opponent Denis Shapovalov at the Internazionali d'Italia.

The world number four's bid for an 11th title in Rome got off to a strong start on Wednesday as he saw off big-serving Isner 6-3 6-1 in a time of 76 minutes.

Isner twice missed the chance to break Nadal in the seventh game of the opening set and the Spaniard took control from that point on in the second-round match.

Nadal, who has won this tournament in three of the past four years, identified that hold of serve as a key point in the contest.

"The beginning of the match was not good for me," he said in his on-court interview. "He had some chances on the return and had two break points. 

"He had two not difficult balls so I was in his hands at that moment. I was lucky that he missed those shots and then I was able to break. 

"Then the match changed, of course. With the first set on the board, and having the break in the first game of the second set, everything changed."

Nadal will now face Shapovalov in a repeat of last year's last-16 encounter, which the record 21-time grand slam winner edged in three sets.

He recovered from a set down and saved two match points before beating the Canadian 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) en route to lifting the title in the Italian capital.

And Nadal, who was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz on clay in last week's Madrid Open quarter-final, is not expecting an easy task this time around.

"Last year was a joke, the match that I saved here against him," said Nadal of his next opponent. "I was super lucky. I know how dangerous he is, I need to play well. 

"I need to play better than today, but after a while without being on court it is another victory and I have the chance again to play against one of the best players in the world.

"I need to build things again after a tough stoppage and that's what I am trying now. I just need to stay with the right attitude, and let's see if I am able to make that happen."

Alexander Zverev also booked his place in the last 16 on Wednesday thanks to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 victory over Sebastian Baez.

Last week's Madrid Open runner-up was given a tough time of things by in-form Baez, but ultimately came through unscathed to stay on course for more silverware.

There were victories for John Isner and Dan Evans as the Madrid Open got up and running on Sunday.

Big-serving American Isner overcame Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 and will face either Cameron Norrie or Kwon Soon-woo in the round of 32.

Isner is joined in the next round by Evans, who eased past Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-4 to set up a last-32 meeting with either Roberto Bautista Agut or Jenson Brooksby.

Fellow Briton Jack Draper also enjoyed a straight-sets victory, edging out Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-3 to book a clash with number six seed Andrey Rublev, who received a bye.

Monday's action will see wildcard Andy Murray face Dominic Thiem and 10th seed Jannik Sinner take on Tommy Paul.

American Reilly Opelka defeated compatriot John Isner 6-3 7-6 (9-7) to win a history-making final of the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston.

In a clash between two of the tour's elite servers, and two of the tallest men to ever play professional tennis, break points were hard to come by, and even harder to convert, as Opelka saved all eight opportunities he faced, while Isner saved four out of five.

That one break decided the first set, as 6ft 10in Isner fought back from 40-0 down to force deuce, but the fourth break point of the game was converted by 6ft 11in rival Opelka.

The ATP said their respective heights made it the tallest tour final in the Open Era.

In a match that was always likely to be decided by whoever served best, Opelka had five aces to Isner's two in the first set, while Isner also had the only double fault.

Isner was much stronger in the second set, creating seven break-point opportunities, but he just could not win the important points as Opelka's serve repeatedly got him out of trouble.

Isner then had three opportunities at set point in the tie-break to force a decider, but it was Opelka's day, as he saved all three and converted his first chance at match point.

After dropping a set in his first-round match against Mitchell Krueger, Opelka was perfect the rest of the tournament, beating Gijs Brouwer and Nick Kyrgios in straight sets on his way to the final.

Reilly Opelka and John Isner will meet in the US Men's Clay Court Championship final in Houston, after they claimed semi-final wins on Saturday.

Opelka kept up his strong early-season form with an imposing 6-3 7-5 victory over Nick Kyrgios in the first semi-final, getting the job done in just one hour and nine minutes.

Opelka slung down 18 aces to 11 from Kyrgios and faced only one break point across the contest.

The 24-year-old Opelka won a title in Dallas in February and followed up with a run to the Delray Beach final, with a third trophy match of the season now awaiting him.

The American world number 18 said he admired the "intangibles" from Kyrgios that "you can't teach."

"He's got one of the best serves in the world and when he turns it on he can come up with some shots that not many guys outside the top 10 can," Opelka said in his on-court interview.

Opelka enjoyed the high-tempo match with Kyrgios, who typically wastes no time between points.

"I prefer to play at that speed rather than, for example, Rafa [Nadal] where it's 50-55 seconds between points," Opelka said.

"It's a totally different speed here and I thought I did a good job managing the whole tempo of the match. I put a lot of returns into play and I came up big with my second serve."

He will face 2013 Houston champion Isner, who came from a set down to defeat defending champion Cristian Garin 4-6 6-3 6-4.

The 36-year-old's serve improved as the match went on and ultimately propelled him to victory, facing four break points in the opening set, one in the second and none in the decider.

Isner also served 17 aces on his way to the final, and won 80 per cent of points on his first serve.

"It's never easy when you have to come back from one set down," he said. "My serve certainly helped me out a lot. I didn't have to hit too many balls there in the end, and I didn't want to.

"I'm so happy to be in the final again here. At my age you never really know when you can get back to a final of a tournament like this."

World number 18 Reilly Opelka is through to the semi-final of the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston after defeating qualifier Gijs Brouwer 6-3 7-5.

The giant American, who measures in at six-foot-11, was terrific in the opening set, winning 84 per cent of his successful first serves (16-19) and allowing no break point opportunities.

The second set was much more competitive, as Brouwer broke first to go up 3-1, but Opelka answered instantly and then grabbed the match-winning break when 6-5 up to avoid a tie-breaker.

Opelka will face a fresh Nick Kyrgios in the semi-final after the Australian was gifted a walkover win against Michael Mmoh due to injury.

In a clash between two top-five seeds, world number 29 Christian Garin got the better of world number 13 Taylor Fritz 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3.

What made Garin successful in the first and third sets was his return game, winning more than half of his return points in those sets combined (26-51).

Fritz had chances to get back into the game, but Garin saved 11 of 14 break point opportunities, including six of seven in the deciding third set.

Garin will play American John Isner in the semi-final after Isner triumphed in a three-set battle against Frances Tiafoe 6-4 2-6 6-3.

Isner's trademark serve was inconsistent, and abandoned him in a grim second-set performance, winning just 11 of 21 service points on his way to getting broken twice to allow Tiafoe to force the match into a third frame.

In Isner's two successful sets, he won more than 80 per cent of his first serves (35-41), and allowed no break point opportunities in the third.

Taylor Fritz saw his way past Alejandro Tabilo to advance to the quarter-finals at the US Men's Clay Court Championships, winning 6-1 6-4 on Thursday.

Fresh off his maiden ATP 1000 title at Indian Wells and fourth-round run in Miami, the American world number 13 needed just 62 minutes to win in straight sets, in his first clay court match for the season.

Fritz's serve was not particularly secure, though, with the unseeded Tabilo converting on only one of six break point attempts. Fritz was more efficient and assertive when opportunities presented on the other hand, taking two of three break point chances on Tabilo's serve while winning 12 out of 19 points returning on his second serve.

Despite the Chilean world number 100 fighting back to 4-4 from 3-0 down in the second set, Fritz steadied to close out the match.

"I felt like tonight was going to be a really tough match, given he's done really well on clay," Fritz said post-match. "It was my first match [on clay]. I'm pretty happy with how I played. I can't complain, I got out of that pretty solid."

Fritz will now face another Chilean, fifth seed and defending champion Cristian Garin, who came back from a set down to defeat Jordan Thompson 3-6 6-3 6-3.

Entering the Houston event on a five-match losing streak, Garin has come from behind in back-to-back matches to win.

Sixth seed Frances Tiafoe also went the distance on Thursday, earning a 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-4) win over Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas.

With neither garnering break point chances in the third set, Tiafoe finally created breathing room by winning four straight points at 2-2 in the deciding tie-break, before closing out the match.

It sets up an all-American quarter-final with John Isner, who defeated Steve Johnson 6-7 (1-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in Thursday's final game.

Rafael Nadal did it tough against Reilly Opelka on Wednesday, eventually winning his way through to the quarter-finals at the Indian Wells Masters.

Nadal displayed an abundance of tactical nous, nullifying the American’s big hitting and service game to emerge the 7-6(6-3) 7-6(7-5) winner.

Along with a 76 percent first-serve rate, Opelka hit more winners with 26 for the match, but the 35-year-old Spaniard was able to grind out points from the baseline with his trademark heavy topspin. As a result, Nadal’s winner/unforced error differential was +14 in comparison to Opelka’s +1.

"He is one of the toughest opponents on tour," Nadal said post-match. "It is very tough to control his weapons with his serve and forehand.

"I think I played my best match of the tournament so far today. I am very pleased with how I was able to win the match, with two difficult tie-breaks. This victory means a lot to me."

The highest ranked player left in the draw, Nadal will now face Nick Kyrgios, who progressed to the quarter-finals after Jannik Sinner withdrew with illness.

Matteo Berrettini made a shock exit, meanwhile, losing 6-3 6-7(5-7) 6-4 to unseeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

The Italian world number six was put under constant pressure, with Kecmanovic targeting his backhand and hovered the baseline to close the angles on serve.

The 22-year-old’s only other top 10 victory came against Alexander Zverev, also the world number six then, at Cincinnati in 2019. He will now face Taylor Fritz, who defeated Alex de Minaur 3-6 6-4 7-6(7-5).

Also on Wednesday, Grigor Dimitrov edged past John Isner 6-3 7-6(8-6). In his unique style, the Bulgarian 33rd seed came up with the shot of the day, flicking a forehand pass across the visibly stunned Isner.

He will face Andrey Rublev, who defeated Hurbert Hurkacz 7-6(7-5) 6-4. In Wednesday’s other results, Carlos Alcaraz Garfia comfortably defeated Gael Monfils 7-5 6-1, while Cameron Norrie accounted for Jenson Brooksby 6-2 6-4.