Novak Djokovic was "not really in the mood to speak" after suffering a jarring early defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters, but insisted he would bounce back.

The 35-year-old world number one was playing his 50th main-draw match at the tournament, but it did not go to plan as he lost 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Italian Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.

Djokovic's post-match reaction exposed huge frustration, with his first competitive outing in over a month ending at the last-16 stage.

He was forced to miss the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments last month, being denied permission to enter the United States due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.

Hopes he had of a long run on the Monte Carlo clay have been scuppered, but the Serbian has plenty of time to find form in time for the French Open, which begins on May 28.

Defeat marked the first time Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals in a tournament since last year's Monte Carlo event, when he lost his opening match to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The loss to Musetti included an argument with the umpire over a line call, while Djokovic also smashed a racket in frustration at one point.

"The feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly," Djokovic said. "But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that's it.

"You always hope for the good day in the office, but I know I'm not playing so great and he's playing very well, so I knew it was going to be a tough match.

"I don't think it's catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because I lost the match. It's not a great day for me, so I'm not really in the mood to speak."

Djokovic is a two-time former winner of the ATP 1000 event but has not reached the semi-final stage since 2015, the year he was last champion.

He continues his clay campaign at a low level tournament next week in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Musetti moved on to face fellow Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Victory over Djokovic made Musetti the first Italian man to beat the world number one in Monte Carlo since 1973, when the ATP rankings began.

Lorenzo Musetti stunned Novak Djokovic to seal a "dream" victory and a quarter-final spot in the Monte Carlo Masters.

Falling to a 4-6 defeat in the first set, Musetti responded to win 7-5 in the second and 6-4 in the third following a rain delay.

The 21-year-old overcame the world number one in a mammoth two-hour, 54 minute encounter and capitalised on weak serves from the Serbian – breaking his opponent eight times en route to a career high victory.

Emotions were high for Musetti, who said afterwards: "I am struggling not to cry. It is an emotional win because it was a really long match. Three-hour match and suspended by rain.

"It was not easy conditions because it was a little bit windy and cold. Not like we used to play in the recent days. I am really proud of myself and I can see on the screen. I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me."

Musetti's reward is a clash with Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, who trailed Hubert Hurkacz by a set and a break before rallying to a 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 triumph – sending him into the last-eight in six of the seven events he has played this season.

Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev earned a 50th tour-level win on clay with a 7-6 (6-4) 6-2 victory over Karen Khachanov, who was his doubles partner earlier this week before the pair suffered elimination against Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.

Rublev will meet German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff in the next round, who secured a major upset earlier in the day by eliminating world number four Casper Ruud.

A 6-1 7-6 (10-8) victory earned Struff his first top 10 win since June 2021, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in Halle, and advances to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since Cincinnati in 2020.

WTA tournaments will return to China later this year after being suspended since late 2021 due to concerns around the safety of player Peng Shuai.

Peng posted claims on Chinese social media site Weibo in November 2021 that she had been sexually assaulted by the former Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, before disappearing from public view and later denying making the allegations in a video interview posted by a Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper.

The situation led to widespread concern for Peng's wellbeing, initiating the #WhereIsPengShuai campaign, with the WTA going as far as suspending Chinese tennis tournaments.

The organisation called on the Chinese authorities to investigate the matter, but has now accepted that those requests "will not be met".

"We've been in this for 16 months and we are convinced that at this point our requests will not be met," chief executive Steve Simon said to BBC Sport.

"To continue with the same strategy doesn't make sense and a different approach is needed. Hopefully, by returning, more progress can be made."

He added: "We've achieved some assurances from people that are close to Peng that she's safe and living with her family in Beijing.

"We do also have some assurances that there won't be any issues with our players and staff while they are competing in China. And hopefully we have received some respect for the stance we took.

"We haven't seen anyone else take a stance such as we did. There hasn't been any other sporting leagues or any business that have. We took that strong stance, we stand behind it."

The final two months of the season will be "very similar" to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to Simon, when eight tournaments were played in China from the start of September.

The 10-year deal for the season-ending WTA Finals to be held in Shenzhen will also resume.

Daniil Medvedev marched past Lorenzo Sonego at the Monte Carlo Masters to secure a tour-leading 30th win of the 2023 season.

The third seed overcame the Italian 6-3 6-2 to clinch a spot in the round of 16 alongside compatriots Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov – marking just the third time in the Open Era that three Russians have reached that stage at Monte Carlo.

Medvedev will face Alexander Zverev, who clinched his spot with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut earlier in the day, in the next round.

"We've had some tough matches. We played for the first time maybe seven years ago on the ATP Tour, and in juniors maybe 12 years ago," Medvedev said of Zverev.

"I remember I beat him once in a final on clay in juniors, but it’s going to be a different story.

"I saw him in the first two matches, he seemed to be in good shape. I'm just going to have to be at my best."

Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner claimed a 6-0 3-1 victory over Diego Schwartzman, who retired in the second set, to take his total of wins in 2023 to 22, with only Medvedev having more.

There was also a win for Taylor Fritz, who overcame Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (12-10) 6-2, while qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff registered an upset with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Alex de Minaur.

Novak Djokovic returned to action with an "ugly" win over Ivan Gakhov in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.

The world number one was competing for the first time in five weeks after missing the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open due to being unable to enter the United States.

Djokovic, who has since been cleared to compete in the US Open later this year, faced a spirited challenge from world number 198 Ivan Gakhov but advanced 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

Gakhov broke his somewhat rusty opponent in the seventh game, but Djokovic hit back instantly as the opening set went to a tie-break.

The Serbian appeared rattled at various points, but an unforced error from Gakhov paved the way for Djokovic to open up some day light and take the opener.

The second set went the way of serve until the fifth game, when a double fault from Gakhov gave his opponent the chance to capitalise and see out the win.

"It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "I haven't played my best, particularly in the first set. 

"And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions.

"It's different practising and then playing an official match on clay, where I guess no two bounces are the same. It's always quite unpredictable what's going to happen. 

"But all in all, I'm just pleased with the way I held my nerves I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win."

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced to the last 16 with a walkover win over Benjamin Bonzi, who retired with a wrist injury when 4-1 down in the opening set.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev had a tougher time of things against Jaume Munar as he recovered from a set down to progress 4-6 6-2 6-2

Hubert Hurkacz was the other seeded player in action on Tuesday and defeated Jack Draper 6-3 6-7 (7-3) 7-5.

Stan Wawrinka mounted an impressive comeback victory on his return to action at the Monte Carlo Masters, but Andy Murray went out in straight sets.

The pair, both three-time grand slam winners, enjoyed contrasting fortunes in their first-round matches against Tallon Griekspoor and Alex de Minaur.

Wawrinka, who has not played since Indian Wells last month, saw off the Dutchman in a 5-7 6-3 6-4 triumph, but Murray was routed by the Australian in a 6-1 6-3 loss.

"It was really important to stay calm with myself," Wawrinka said. "In the first round you need to find your game. I am happy to get through. It was important to fight until the end."

Roberto Bautista Agut saved a match point in the second-set tie-break as he fought back to overcome Filip Krajinovic to prevail 5-7 7-6 (12-10) 6-1.

Dominic Thiem is also through following a 6-1 6-4 win over Richard Gasquet but 11th seed Cameron Norrie is out after suffering a 6-3 6-4 loss to Francisco Cerundolo.

World number five Ons Jabeur secured her first title of the season on Sunday with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victory over Belinda Bencic in the Charleston Open final.

Jabeur, 28, enjoyed the best campaign of her career in 2022 as she reached the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open, but she was sidelined due to knee trouble following this year's Australian Open.

The Tunisian returned with early exits at both the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, meaning she came into Charleston without consecutive wins since early January.

But she looked right back to her best at the WTA 500 event, not dropping a set the entire tournament.

After beating Lesia Tsurenko, Caroline Dolehide, Anna Kalinskaya and Daria Kasatkina to reach the final, Jabeur had to respond to early adversity against Bencic as the Swiss secured a break in the opening game of the first set.

Down 5-4 in the opener, Jabeur broke back at the last opportunity to keep the set alive, and after falling 6-4 behind in the tie-break she rattled off the next four points in a row to steal it.

The second set was all about making the most of her chances, as Jabeur only had three break-point chances compared to Bencic's five, but she was able to convert all three while Bencic could only snag two.

The final was a rematch from last year's Charleston Open title match, where Bencic prevailed over Jabeur in three sets, and it is Jabeur's first title since the German Open in June, where she again had to overcome Bencic in the final.

Jabeur now leads their head-to-head 3-2 in matches played at WTA Tour level.

Casper Ruud clinched his 10th career ATP title with a straight-sets victory over Miomir Kecmanovic in Sunday's Estoril Open final, while Roberto Carballes Baena won the Grand Prix Hassan II.

Having enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022, Ruud was bidding for his first trophy success of 2023 in Portugal, and the world number five made a flying start to his clash with Kecmanovic.

Ruud wrapped up the opener in just 36 minutes, taking control with a huge forehand winner to break in just the third game.

The Norwegian navigated two three-set contests in order to reach the showpiece, and it looked like another of his matches may go the distance when Kecmanovic recovered to force a second-set tie-break.

However, a dipping backhand saw Ruud secure the second of two crucial mini breaks, and he took the first of his three championship points to cap a fine week with silverware, sealing a 6-2 7-6 (7-3) win.

Elsewhere, Carballes Baena won just his second career title, triumphing on the clay in Marrakesh where he beat Alexandre Muller 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

France's Muller showed no signs of being overawed on his first final outing as he took the opener in impressive fashion, but Carballes Baena edged a tie-break in the second before dominating the decider.

Carballes Baena's triumph – recorded in just under three hours – gave him his first title since the 2018 Ecuador Open, which also came on his favoured clay surface.

Second seed Ons Jabeur secured a berth in a second successive Charleston Open final after triumphing 7-5 7-5 in a tight battle with third seed Daria Kasatkina.

Jabeur trailed a break in both sets but won in 109 minutes, aided by a three-hour rain delay at 5-3 down in the first frame allowing her to re-group.

The Tunisian had been a double break down at 4-1 in the first set, with Jabeur breaking Kasatkina when she served for the set at 5-2.

Jabeur's progress means she has reached her 11th WTA level final, this marking her first since the 2022 US Open which she lost to Iga Swiatek.

Jabeur lost last year's Charleston final to Belinda Bencic and the two may face off again in this year's decider, with the Swiss fourth seed leading top seed Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-6 (2-4) before rain forced their semi-final to be postponed until Sunday.

Bencic looked to have blown a 5-2 first-set lead, failing to serve out the opening frame before Pegula squared it up. But Bencic held serve, then broke Pegula to love to claim the lead.

There were breaks in the opening two games of the second set before it went to serve, until rain intervened with Pegula having a slight advantage in the tiebreaker.

Play will resume on Sunday not before 1:30pm local time, with the final scheduled for Sunday evening.

Second seed Tatjana Maria advanced to her second straight Copa Colsanitas final in Bogota, winning 6-3 6-4 over Briton Francesca Jones.

Maria will face either Peyton Stearns or Kamilla Rakhimova in Sunday's final.

Top seed Frances Tiafoe won two matches in a day to progress into the Houston Open semi-finals, while five other seeds bowed out on a busy Saturday of action.

Persistent rain this week in Houston meant the past three days of play have not been completed forcing a massive pile-up of matches on Saturday with the conditions clearing up.

Tiafoe took on Steve Johnson in the morning, winning 6-2 6-4 in the second round, before toppling Australian sixth seed Jason Kubler 6-4 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

The American, who only had a break of two and a half hours between his two matches, said: "I haven’t played two matches in one day in a long time.

"I thought it was unbelievable how I was able to come out here and play so well."

Tiafoe will take on Dutchman Gijs Brouwer in the last four after he got past fourth seed John Isner 6-4 7-6 (7-4), before taking down fifth seed J.J. Wolf 6-3 6-4.

Second seed Tommy Paul was another fancied American to bow out on Saturday, losing 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 to German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the second round.

Hanfmann progressed to the semi-finals where he will face Argentinian eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, with the German getting past Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-2 6-1.

Machac had bundled out American seventh seed Marcos Giron 6-4 6-4 in the second round.

Etcheverry progressed with victories over Australia's Max Purcell and Chile's Cristian Garin, winning the latter 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 in more than two and a half hours.

Casper Ruud defeated Quentin Halys in a third-set tie-break to reach the final of the Estoril Open, where Miomir Kecmanovic awaits after defeating Marco Cecchinato.

The number one seed, competing in his first semi-final of the season, prevailed 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2) in Portugal to move within one match of a 10th singles title.

Ruud broke his opponent's serve in the opening game and saw out the first set, but Halys – competing in his first ATP Tour semi-final – hit back in the second to prolong the match.

Both men held as the contest went the distance, but Ruud's quality told as he raced 3-0 ahead in the deciding tie-break and did not look back as he set up a final with Kecmanovic.

World number 40 Kecmanovic needed a little over an hour to beat sixth seed Cecchinato, who had surprised Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the previous round.

Kecmanovic, aiming to add to his only previous singles success in Kitzbuhel three years ago, held serve throughout to claim a 6-3 6-1 win over the 2018 French Open semi-finalist.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the final seeded player fell at the Grand Prix Hassan II as Dan Evans was defeated 2-6 6-4 6-2 by Roberto Carballes Baena.

Carballes Baena has now eliminated three seeded players and will face Alexandre Muller in Sunday's final after the Frenchman saw off Pavel Kotov in straight sets.

Muller edged a first-set tie-break and proved too strong in the second as he saw out a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 victory in Marrakesh.

Tennis great Boris Becker has emerged from a spell in prison as "a stronger, better man", having been "humbled" by his conviction for concealing assets last year.

Six-time grand slam singles champion Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in jail last April, having been found guilty of concealing £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts when he was declared bankrupt in 2017.

The German was released after serving eight months of his sentence in December and was subsequently deported from the United Kingdom.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Becker said he had learned valuable lessons from his stint inside, where his legendary tennis achievements counted for nothing. 

"Whoever says that prison life isn't hard and isn't difficult I think is lying," Becker said. "I was surrounded by murderers, drug dealers, rapists, people smugglers… by dangerous criminals.

"You fight every day for survival. Quickly you have to surround yourself with the tough boys, as I would call it, because you need protection.

"If you think you're better than everybody else then you lose. It doesn't matter that I was a tennis player. The only currency we have inside is our character and our personality. That's it, you have nothing else.

"You don't have any friends at first – you're literally on your own and that's the hard part. You have to really dig inside yourself about your qualities and your strengths but also your weaknesses."

Becker – who was previously a regular on the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon – reportedly cannot return to the UK until October 2024.

Having worked as a commentator with Eurosport in Germany for the Australian Open earlier this year, Becker is eager to rebuild his reputation. 

"I'm usually good in the fifth set – I've won the first two sets, I've lost the next two and I'm planning to win that," he said.

"It certainly humbled me, it made me realise that whether you're called Boris Becker or Paul Smith, if you break the law, you get convicted and you get incarcerated, that goes for everybody.

"I never expected the good and I certainly didn't expect the bad but I'm a survivor, I'm a tough cookie. 

"I've taken the penalties, I've taken the incarceration but I've also taken the glory and if anything this made me a stronger, better man. With my decisions in the future you can see whether I have learned from it or I didn't."

The stage is set for a star-studded final weekend at the Charleston Open as top four seeds Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Daria Kasatkina and Belinda Bencic all advanced to the semi-finals on Friday.

It is the first time since the 2012 Stuttgart Open that all four top seeds reached the final four in a WTA 500 event.

Pegula, the top overall seed and the only remaining American, used her commanding serving game to overwhelm 12th seed Paula Badosa 6-3 7-6 (8-6).

She ended up winning 80 per cent of her accurate first serves – compared to 57 per cent for Badosa – and it resulted in the Spaniard producing just one break point opportunity in the match, which she could not take.

Pegula will meet fourth seed and Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic next after her relatively comfortable 6-3 6-3 triumph against Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Switzerland's Bencic needed just 80 minutes to get the job done, creating 12 break point chances compared to Alexandrova's two, while winning the first three games of each set.

After coming into the tournament without consecutive wins since early January, reigning Wimbledon and US Open finalist Ons Jabeur looked back to her best in a dominant 6-0 4-1 (retired) drubbing of Anna Kalinskaya.

Jabeur is yet to lose a set in Charleston, and she will try to keep that the case when she faces Daria Kasatkina in her semi-final.

Kasatkina earned her spot in the final four with Friday's only three-setter, emerging victorious 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2 against Madison Keys in just over two and a half hours.

Only one match was able to be completed on Friday at the Houston Open as organisers announced they would try to protect the playing surface for a busy weekend of action.

It was the third day in a row that has been washed out due to persistent rain, but after completing their first set on Wednesday, and their second set on Thursday, Max Purcell was allowed to finish off his 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Daniel Altmaier.

It was the final first-round matchup yet to conclude, although there is still a second round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final to schedule in limited time before the ATP Tour rolls on.

The tournament's top seed, Frances Tiafoe, is yet to play a match yet after receiving a first-round bye, and it is the same case for second seed Tommy Paul.

In a statement, tournament director Bronwyn Greer said: "We want to ensure that our courts are in the best possible condition to complete our tournament this weekend, and with that in mind we have decided to forgo play today with the exception of that first-round match that is deep into the third set."

Casper Ruud is through to the final four of the Estoril Open after a routine 6-3 6-0 victory against defending champion Sebastian Baez on Friday.

The number one seed dominated his Argentine opponent from the moment the first set went to 3-3, winning nine-straight games from there to ease to victory.

Ruud did need to save four break points in the second game of the second set, but his ability to hold serve seemed to end any resistance that Baez could muster.

The Norwegian will face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the semi-finals after his own straight-sets triumph over Dominic Thiem

Halys reached his first ever ATP Tour semi after recording a 6-1 6-4 win over the former world number three in just one hour and 19 minutes.

The other semi-final will see Miomir Kecmanovic take on Marco Cecchinato after the latter stunned third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.

The world number 96 claimed a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) victory in the first meeting between the pair to set up a last-four clash with Kecmanovic, who saw off sixth seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles with a comfortable 7-5 6-2 win.

Elsewhere, Dan Evans is the only seed remaining in the Grand Prix Hassan II as he reached the semi-finals by cruising to a 6-3 7-5 triumph over world number 201 Andrea Vavassori in Marrakech.

Evans will face Roberto Carballes Baena next after the Spaniard toppled fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 2-6 6-2.

Second seed Lorenzo Musetti was beaten by Alexandre Muller 6-3 1-6 6-4 in a topsy-turvy encounter, and the Frenchman will now face Pavel Kotov in the final four after the Russian defeated Christopher O'Connell in a thriller, 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-3).