Alexander Bublik failed to bring an end to his woeful 2023 form on his return to the Open Sud de France.

Bublik's only career title to date came in Montpellier last year, but he will not defend his crown after losing in three sets to Gregoire Barrere in the first round on Wednesday.

That remarkable 6-4 6-7 (12-14) 7-6 (7-3) reverse represented Bublik's seventh loss in seven singles matches so far this season.

The 25-year-old, who has fallen to 50th in the rankings, has lost nine in a row going back to last year.

Bublik worked hard to stay in Wednesday's match in the second set, fending off three match points in the tie-break, but he could not show the same resilience in the decider as Barrere prevailed.

With the champion out, those hoping to take the title this week found life a little easier elsewhere.

Both Jannik Sinner and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina benefited from walkovers, albeit the Spaniard first had to dig in to level his match against Ugo Humbert, who had taken the opener 6-1.

Ons Jabeur is taking some time out to undergo "minor surgery", she revealed on Wednesday.

Jabeur reached the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open last season but was unable to build on that strong finish to 2022 at the start of this year.

The Tunisian exited the Australian Open in the second round, having complained of a knee injury.

Jabeur said after her defeat to Marketa Vondrousova she would need "time to recover and get healthier", and she has not been seen on the WTA Tour since.

The Qatar Open was due to see Jabeur's return next week, but an Instagram post has now confirmed she will miss both that tournament and the subsequent Dubai Tennis Championships.

"In order to take care of my health situation, my medical team have decided that I need to get a minor surgery in order to be back on the courts and perform well," she wrote.

"I will have to retire from Doha and Dubai, and this is breaking my heart.

"I would like to say sorry to all the fans out there in the Middle East that waited for this reunion.

"I promise I will come back to you stronger and healthy."

Marcos Giron survived a scare against qualifier Alex Rybakov in the opening round of the Dallas Open on Tuesday, escaping with a 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 6-1 victory.

One of the top seeds in action, Giron is ranked over 300 spots higher than Rybakov, but the underdog put up a serious fight and held up well in all key indicators.

Rybakov had 29 winners with only 17 unforced errors, and he had just two double faults to go with seven aces, but Giron was better in both categories. His talent shone through with 34 winners and 16 unforced errors, while he also had 10 aces and no double faults.

Also in Dallas, French eighth seed Adrian Mannarino secured a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 win against Steve Johnson, and he will now face Australia's Jordan Thompson following his 6-1 7-5 triumph over Denis Kudla.

Meanwhile, at the Cordoba Open, Argentina's Federico Coria was the top seed to advance after defeating Brazil's Thiago Monteiro 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-2.

There was less success for hometown seventh seed Pedro Martinez, who was eliminated 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-0 by Chile's Cristian Garin, while Federico Delbonis beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 7-6 (8-6) to earn a shot at second seed Francisco Cerundolo.

Bianca Andreescu fell to Yulia Putintseva in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open after making a swift return to action.

Andreescu, who has not won a title since her 2019 US Open success, looked to have returned to form at last week's Thailand Open, only to suffer an injury that forced her to quit her semi-final against Lesia Tsurenko while trailing in the second set.

The Canadian did not alter her schedule, however, and was back out on court to face Putintseva on Tuesday.

Despite twice leading by a break in the opening set, there was no repeat run to the latter stages for Andreescu, who went down 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

"I think the first set was a really physical set, we played really, really tough rallies," Putintseva said. "I was feeling a little bit more confident in the second set."

Andreescu's compatriot Leylah Fernandez was also eliminated, losing to Shelby Rogers, but both seeds in action – Beatriz Haddad Maia and Liudmila Samsonova – advanced, along with Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova.

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari headed through with a 6-1 7-6 (8-6) defeat of Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, but number two seed Ekaterina Alexandrova went down to Rebeka Masarova in three sets.

Marc-Andrea Huesler will face top seed Holger Rune in the second round of the Open Sud de France after coming through a battle with teenager Luca Van Assche.

Huesler arrived in Montpellier on a high from victories over German duo Alexander Zverev and Oscar Otte for Switzerland in Davis Cup qualifiers last weekend.

The left-hander saw off 18-year-old Frenchman Van Assche 6-3 3-6 6-3 and will get a chance to improve his perfect record against Rune to 3-0.

Italian Lorenzo Sonego sent eighth seed Benjamin Bonzi packing with a 6-4 6-3 win, while French-born American Maxime Cressy progressed with a 6-3 6-2 defeat of Antoine Bellier.

Arthur Rinderknech and Quentin Halys also advanced on home soil, along with Marton Fucsovics and Filip Krajinovic.

Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim Pegula is recovering from suffering a cardiac arrest last June, but "where she ends up is still unknown".

American tennis star Jessica Pegula, the world number four, provided an update on her mother's condition in a long Players' Tribune article on Tuesday.

The five-time grand slam singles quarter-finalist revealed her sister, Kelly, saved their 53-year-old's mother live by giving her CPR after their father woke up to her going into cardiac arrest nine months ago.

Kim, co-owner and president of both NFL franchise the Bills and NHL team the Buffalo Sabres, is back at home and doctors are "blown away" by her "miracle" recovery.

She is, however, suffering from significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues and the family have come to the realisation that she is unlikely to resume her roles with the Bills and Sabres.

Jessica revealed that three months before her mother fell ill, her sister had decided to learn CPR.

She wrote: "Kelly called me one day and said she was going to get her CPR certification as a requirement for a job she wanted. I said: 'No way, I have been meaning to do that but haven't gotten around to it.”

"She relayed to me how nervous she was about it and hoped she passed the class. I remember her telling us what she was doing in our family group chat, and my mom even responded: 'Nice Kells! Now if we have a heart attack, you can revive us.'"

She added: "Today, my mom is still in recovery, and although it is the same answer every time someone asks me, it is true, she is improving every day. She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues.

"She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond. It is hard to deal with and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her at all. The doctors continue to be blown away by her recovery, considering where she started, and her determination is the driving force of that."

Jessica was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open last month, having been considering whether she should call time on her career.

She stated: "Suddenly, I went from 'Let's celebrate top 10 in the world' to 'Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought?' 'Does my dad and family need help?' 'Maybe I should just go back to school and work for the family.'

"I am 28 and I take pride in being able to handle every situation thrown at me, but this was A LOT."

She was also hit hard by seeing Damar Hamlin collapse on the field while playing for the Bills last month.

"Then in January we came to some bizarre, messed-up, full circle moment." she wrote. "Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during the Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. My stomach sunk because it felt like the exact same thing all over again."

Last year's French Open women's doubles runner-up continued: "It has been a tough year, but at the same time I feel lucky and blessed. I am thankful she is still with us when other families may not have been so lucky.

"That she even had a chance at recovery when the first week in the hospital seemed so dim. Thankful for the doctors that aided in her recovery. Thankful that she is now home, that she gets to watch the Bills, Sabres and my tennis matches. She never watched my matches before, because she got too nervous. Now she watches all of them.

"Thank you to the Buffalo community for your patience. I know you have wanted answers and it took us a while to get there, but it finally felt like it was time. Thank you to everyone who has respected privacy and shown me and my family tremendous support throughout this ongoing journey."

Emma Raducanu will win more grand slams according to Monica Puig, but the ex-Olympic champion warns she must be given time to figure out what her game is going forward.

The Briton shot to tennis stardom with victory at the 2021 US Open, setting a record for the fewest majors played (two) before winning a title.

But a frustrating run of injuries and poor form across 2022, which also included numerous coaching changes, has seen her plummet to number 80 in the WTA rankings and fail to reach the third round of a slam since her famous triumph.

Puig, who won women's singles gold at Rio 2016, believes Raducanu still has the skill to reach the top again, but needs to focus on court matters first and foremost.

"I saw her many times courtside during the US Open when she did win that title and she is a very talented player," Puig told Sky Sports.

"Physically, she's still very young.

"She still needs time to develop and time to find out who she is as a tennis player, who she is as a person.

"I can sympathise with her because when I won the Olympics, it came out of nowhere. I can only imagine [what it was like] coming from the UK where something like that is so big."

Puig added: "Absolutely [she can still win grand slams]. She's still young. It's a matter of time.

"We're always seeing generational changes with players like myself and Serena Williams having now stepped away.

"She is going to be in that circle of names that are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

"She just needs to settle, find her ground and take the pressure and expectation off.

"Remember the reason why you started playing tennis in the first place. It's because of the love of the sport."

Jack Sock is through to the second round of the Dallas Open after prevailing 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 in a tough opening test against Ilya Ivashka.

Belarus' Ivashka is ranked over 50 spots higher than Sock, but he is in some torrid form, with Monday's loss his sixth in a row.

Sock snapped his own three-match losing streak, and he did so despite committing 10 double faults, coming up clutch in break point situations by saving 15 of Ivashka's 18 opportunities.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo booked a meeting with compatriot and top seed Diego Schwartzman after beating Pablo Andujar 6-4 1-0 (retired) in the first round of the Cordoba Open.

The rising Cerundolo now boasts a 13-1 record since the beginning of the new year, while it was Andujar's fifth loss in a row.

In an all-Spanish showdown it was Bernabe Zapata Miralles emerging victorious 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 against Roberto Carballes Baena, while Serbia's Dusan Lajovic defeated Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

The last match of the night saw Italy's Luciano Darderi handle France's Hugo Gaston 6-4 6-3, with Darderi now set to face fourth seed Sebastian Baez.

Teenage wildcard Arthur Fils claimed his first ATP Tour victory to knock three-time champion Richard Gasquet out of the Open Sud de France.

The 18-year-old Fils, half the age of his opponent, won the first-round match against his fellow Frenchman 7-5 7-5 in Montpellier.

Fils will face another battle between youth and experience when he takes on Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in round two.

The 163-ranked Fils served eight aces and broke Gasquet four times to move into the next round

Nikoloz Basilashvili will face either defending champion Alexander Bublik or Gregoire Barrere in the last 16 after beating Constant Lestienne 6-3 (7-3) 7-5 6-2 in Monday's other match.

Number five seed Jelena Ostapenko booked a place in the last 16 of the Abu Dhabi Open with victory over Danielle Collins in three sets on Monday.

Ostapenko, looking to add to the fifth career title she won in Dubai 12 months ago, edged an entertaining contest 7-5 1-6 7-5 in two hours and 19 minutes.

Fellow seeded player Anett Kontaveit was also victorious on the opening day of the tournament, but only after battling back to beat Zhang Shuai 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.

Marta Kostyuk saw off Sorana Cirstea 6-2 1-6 6-2, meanwhile, and will now face second seed Belinda Bencic in the next round.

Elise Mertens is also through to round two, where Veronika Kudermetova awaits, after dominating Martina Trevisan 6-0 6-2.

In the first main draw match at the Linz Open, Sofia Kenin let an early lead slip to lose 2-6 6-3 6-4 to Jule Niemeier.

Leading 2-0 from Day 1 of their Davis Cup Group II tie, Jamaica went on to win contest 3-2 at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston on Sunday.

After Rowland Phillips won his match over Krisjtian Tamm 6-1, 6-1 and Blaise Bicknell defeated Kenneth Raisma 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Saturday, the Estonian doubles team of Raisma and Jurgen Zopp pulled one back on Sunday when they defeated John Chin and Daniel Azar in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday.

However, things took a turn for the worst for the visitors in match four when Blaise Bicknell defeated Tamm by default to hand Jamaica an unassailable lead.

Blaise Bicknell won his tie-breaker against Tamm, who hit the centre-line judge out of frustration and picking up a default as a result effectively handing the Jamaicans the match.

The visiting team won some consolation when Johannes Seaman defeated Jacob Bicknell 6-1, 6-0 to end the tie 3-2 in favour of the Jamaicans.

Fast-rising American Alycia Parks pulled off a stunning victory over world number five and home favourite Caroline Garcia in the Lyon Open final on Sunday.

Playing her first final on the main WTA tour, Parks earned a 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 win against last season's WTA Finals champion.

The Atlanta-born world number 79 won two titles at lower-tier WTA 125 events in December, triumphing in Andorra and the French city of Angers while many players were enjoying an off-season.

Yet this week has been a step up from that level, and 22-year-old Parks capped her run to the final by taking down the top seed and darling of the crowd.

"This title means a lot to me," Parks said. "France has a special part in my heart right now."

A to-and-fro tie-break in the opening set eventually went Parks' way after a stray forehand from Garcia.

A painful fall when running to her right on the baseline meant Parks needed medical attention early in the second set, but she was able to carry on.

Garcia tried to rouse the crowd after clinging to her serve in the eighth game to stay on level terms, and there were unsporting cheers for a double fault from Parks at the start of the ninth.

Yet Parks was not knocked out of her stride, with the player who stood 199th on the rankings at this time last year completing the biggest win of her career when Garcia sent down a double fault on match point.

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."

Zhu Lin captured her first singles title on the WTA Tour with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Lesia Tsurenko in Sunday's Thailand Open final in Hua Hin.

Zhu, playing in her first Tour-level final at the age of 29, produced a polished display against the Ukrainian, who had toppled top seed Bianca Andreescu in the last four.

Tsurenko got off to a miserable start as Zhu broke in the first game, but she soon responded with a break of her own in a topsy-turvy opening set.

Six of the last seven games played in the opener resulted in breaks of serve, with Zhu coming out on top before taking charge in the second.

Zhu was in the ascendency after three successive breaks when she forced her first championship point with a big forehand winner to end an epic rally, though Tsurenko recovered to force yet another break as the momentum shifted again.

However, Zhu, who will move into the top 50 of the world rankings as a result of her successful campaign in Thailand, hit back once more before converting her third championship point with an emphatic forehand to seal her maiden title.

Singles victories from Rowland “Randy” Phillips and Blaise Bicknell gave hosts Jamaica a 2-0 lead over Estonia after day one of their group two Davis Cup tie at the Eric Bell National tennis Centre on Saturday.

The day’s first match of the tie saw Jamaica’s Rowland “Randy” Phillips dominate Estonia’s top ranked player Kristjan Tamm 6-1, 6-1 in just one hour to give the hosts the lead.

“Very solid and consistent on my part,” said Phillips on his performance after the match.

Phillips noted that he did not expect such a one-sided match on paper as he is currently ranked 1387 in the ATP rankings while Tamm is much higher at 663.

“It went a lot better than expected. He’s a tough opponent and maybe he didn’t play his best today but I took advantage of my opportunities,” he said.

“I think the atmosphere unsettled him. The crowd helped me out a lot and gave me energy,” he added.

With Jamaica hosting a Davis Cup tie for the first time since 2007, Phillips also spoke about what it meant to play at home.

“Extremely special. It’s a dream come true. Looking over and seeing my family and friends after points kept me locked in and focused for sure,” Phillips said.

With Phillips already in the win column, it was time for Blaise Bicknell, Jamaica’s highest ranked player at number 769 in the ATP rankings, to take the court against Kenneth Raisma who is ranked number 1640.

It was the Estonian who was in the ascendancy early, racing out to a quick 3-0 lead before taking the first set 6-4.

Bicknell was not done, however, and rallied to take the second set by a similar score before overwhelming his Estonian counterpart in the third, winning 6-0 and securing the lead for the Jamaicans heading into Sunday. The match lasted an hour and 46 minutes.

Jamaica has a chance to clinch the tie on Sunday when Phillips and Bicknell take on Raisma and Jurgen Zopp in doubles.

The 34-year-old Zopp, who retired from professional tennis in 2020, achieved a career high ATP ranking of 71 back in 2012 and reached the third round of the French Open in 2018.

The match gets underway at 1:00pm (2:00pm ECT) and can be viewed on the SportsMax TV YouTube channel.