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.

Alycia Parks will compete in her first ever WTA singles final after setting up a showdown against top seed Caroline Garcia at the Lyon Open.

The American beat Maryna Zanevska 6-3 7-6 (7-4) on Saturday, hitting 35 winners and 13 aces on the way to victory.

Parks has risen through the ranks in the last year, and explained how a laid back attitude has been the secret to her success in France.

"I think the key was just staying focused, and taking my time out there," Parks said after her win. "Every time I got ahead of myself, I would kind of lose points, so I would tell myself to slow down.

"This whole week, I'm kind of relaxed this week and just kept playing my game and doing me."

The 22-year-old will face Garcia on Sunday after she eased to a 6-2 6-2 win against Camila Osorio in just an hour and 12 minutes.

At the Thailand Open, Lesia Tsurenko will take on China's Zhu Lin in the final after the Ukrainian came past top seed Bianca Andreescu.

The Canadian retired hurt in the second set, though Tsurenko already led 7-5 4-0.

"The way [Andreescu was] playing every point, like she has an idea in every point, so of course she's an amazing player," Tsurenko said. "It was a big challenge for me to handle this, and I was just saying to myself that I have to keep fighting, and this is probably the main key that worked today for me."

Zhu defeated compatriot Xinyu Wang 6-2 6-4 to advance to Sunday's final.

Bianca Andreescu survived a wobble near the finish line to reach the Thailand Open semi-finals and edge a step closer to a long-awaited title.

The Canadian had a stellar campaign on hard courts in 2019, winning tournaments at Indian Wells and Toronto before topping those with a US Open triumph, denying Serena Williams a 24th singles grand slam in what would be the American's last major final.

Injuries and inconsistency have blighted progress since then, and there have been no more trophy celebrations, but Andreescu is still only 22 and believes she has a lot of winning still to do.

She was cruising at 6-0 5-1 against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in Friday's quarter-final, before her opponent found inspiration and took the second set to a tie-break.

Andreescu was not to be denied, though, closing out a 6-0 7-6 (7-3) victory, and it will be another player from Ukraine next, with Lesia Tsurenko earning a shot at the top seed after a 6-1 6-1 drubbing of German sixth seed Tatjana Maria.

Addressing the fightback from Kostyuk, Andreescu said: "I don't think I started playing bad in the second set, I think she just raised her level a little bit. She's always a tough opponent. I definitely wasn't expecting anything easy."

On her own ambitions, Andreescu said: "I'm hoping to win the tournament, I really believe in myself."

The other semi-final in Hua Hin will be an all-Chinese battle between Zhu Lin and Wang Xinyu after they saw off Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek and Britain's Heather Watson respectively.

At the Lyon Open, French top seed and home favourite Caroline Garcia fended off Italian Jasmine Paolini 7-5 7-5 and faces a semi-final against Colombian Camila Osorio, who had a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory against 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova.

American Alycia Parks, who won two WTA 125 tournaments in December while many players were enjoying an off-season, has brought that form to this week's event. The 22-year-old, ranked 79th in the world, scored a 7-5 6-2 win against seventh seed Danka Kovinic and will face Maryna Zanevska next after the Belgian had a 3-6 6-1 6-2 win against Russian fifth seed Anastasia Potapova. 

Nick Kyrgios has avoided a criminal conviction after pleading guilty to a charge of assaulting an ex-girlfriend.

Kyrgios, the ATP world number 20, was sentenced at a magistrates' court in Canberra on Friday.

The 27-year-old admitted to pushing his ex, Chiara Passari, to the ground during an altercation in January 2021.

However, magistrate Beth Campbell spared Kyrgios a criminal conviction, noting he had been: "A young man trying to extricate himself from a heightened emotional situation".

Ms Campbell said Kyrgios "acted in the heat of the moment" and chose to deal with him "in the same way I would deal with any young man in this court", adding he is a "young man who happens to hit a tennis ball particularly well".

In a post on his Instagram story after the ruling, Kyrgios said: "I respect today's ruling and I'm grateful to the court for dismissing the charges without conviction. I was not in a good place when this happened and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret.

"I know it wasn't OK and I'm sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused.

"Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming. But I've found that getting help and working on myself has allowed me to feel better and to be better.

"I can never thank Costeen [Hatzi, his girlfriend], my family and friends enough for supporting me through this process. I now plan to focus on recovering from injury and moving forward in the best way possible."

The court heard Kyrgios pushed Ms Passari to the ground after she had prevented him from driving away during an argument on January 10, 2021.

Kyrgios' lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith explained last year's Wimbledon finalist had been attempting to de-escalate the situation by calling a taxi and had sworn at Ms Passari and told her to leave, before moving her away from the car.

It was agreed that Kyrgios said "I'm serious, I'm going to..." as he then pushed Ms Passari in the shoulder. Ms Passari said she felt some pain and also grazed her knee.

Kyrgios subsequently apologised.

Mr Kukulies-Smith told the court that there was "a relationship between the mental health and the offending", though noted Kyrgios no longer suffers to the same extent.

Psychologist Sam Borenstein told the court that Kyrgios, who missed this year's Australian Open due to injury, had "recurrent" mental health issues, including depression, suicidal ideation and insomnia, that were nevertheless improving.

Caroline Garcia came from a set behind to beat Alison Van Uytvanck and progress to the quarter-finals of the Lyon Open on Thursday.

The French top seed looked to be in trouble as Belgian Van Uytvanck eased to the first set, before Garcia found her feet to come back and overwhelm her opponent 2-6 6-0 6-1.

She will face Jasmine Paolini in the last eight after the Italian took just over an hour to dispose of Erika Andreeva 6-2 6-3.

Second seed Zhang Shuai is out though after falling to another Belgian in Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-0.

Fifth seed Anastasia Potapova will face Zanevska next after her 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Clara Burel, while seventh seed Danka Kovinic is also through after beating Anna Bondar 4-6 6-2 6-3.

At the Thailand Open, top seed Bianca Andreescu had no problems against Anastasia Zakharova, easing through to the quarter-finals 6-2 7-5.

The Canadian will face Marta Kostyuk next after the Ukrainian fifth seed defeated Nao Hibino 6-3 7-6 (9-7).

Sixth seed Tatjana Maria also progressed 6-0 6-4 against Dayana Yastremska, as did Heather Watson as she fought hard to see off Han Na-lae 6-3 5-7 6-4.

It was a bad day for seeds at the Lyon Open, with Petra Martic and Mayar Sherif both crashing out in the round of 16 in France.

Fourth seed Martic made a good start against American opponent Alycia Parks on Wednesday, only to lose 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

Sixth seed Sherif was more convincingly beaten as she fell to Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3 6-2.

Noskova will face Camila Osorio in the quarter-finals after the Colombian came out on top in a tight clash with Jule Niemeier 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

In the two remaining first-round matches, Jasmine Paolini defeated Rebeka Masarova 6-3 6-2, while Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck will face top seed Caroline Garcia in the last 16 after beating Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-4.

At the Thailand Open, it was not much better for seeded players as Anna Kalinskaya and Linda Fruhvirtova both exited on Wednesday.

Fourth seed Kalinskaya was overwhelmed 6-0 in the opening set against Lesia Tsurenko, only to win a tie-break in the second.

The unseeded Ukrainian ultimately won out, though, sealing a 6-0 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 victory to reach the quarter-finals.

Eighth seed Fruhvirtova also managed to level after falling a set behind, and also could not find the win as the 17-year-old was beaten by Tamara Zidansek 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The Slovenian will face Zhu Lin in the last eight after her straight-sets win over Jang Su-jeong, but there was one win for a seed as Xinyu Wang (seventh seed) beat Mirjam Bjorklund 6-3 6-3.

Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open despite playing with a three-centimetre hamstring tear, according to tournament chief Craig Tiley, who paid tribute to the Serbian's resolve and drive.

Having missed last year's opening grand slam due to being deported for breaching Australia's border rules relating to his COVID-19 vaccination status, Djokovic returned in January and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final to claim a record-tying 22nd men's singles major on Sunday.

The feat, which drew him level with Rafael Nadal, was made all the more remarkable by an apparent hamstring problem that hampered the 35-year-old throughout the tournament.

Some critics suggested the extent of Djokovic's injury was exaggerated, but Tiley defended him.

"A lot of the challenges around Novak is that he gets a bad rap," he told SEN Sportsday. "But at the end of the day, I don't think anyone can question his athleticism.

"This guy, he had a three-centimetre tear. [The scans and] the doctors are going to tell you the truth. There was a lot of speculation about whether it was true or not.

"It's hard to believe what they can do with those kinds of injuries. He's remarkable, to deal with it extremely professionally."

Ten of Djokovic's 22 grand slam titles have come in Melbourne alone, outlining his impressive dominance at the event.

Tiley does not see the Serbian ever being overhauled when it comes to his impact there, adding: "He's so focused on everything he does, with every single minute of the day. That's what he eats, what he drinks, when he does it, how he does it.

"There's no breakdown or mental breakdown in anything that he does. He's been through a lot and to win 10 Australian Opens, I don't think that’s ever going to be repeated.

"Over the last 15 years – he tells me it's 14 years because he missed last year – it's such a remarkable achievement.

"He'll hold a significant place in the history of the Australian Open."

Heather Watson stunned second seed Yulia Putintseva at the Thailand Open as the British player scored an impressive first-round win.

The 30-year-old Watson lost in qualifying for the recent Australian Open, having made the singles main draw for 11 consecutive years, but she is already beginning to make up for the Melbourne disappointment.

Kazakh Putintseva is ranked 44th in the world, while Watson has slipped to 160th, but the Guernsey native has been as high as 38th in her career and won four titles on the WTA Tour.

She showed there is still a hunger to succeed, edging a tight contest 5-7 6-4 7-5 (7-5) to make Putintseva the biggest early casualty.

Top seed Bianca Andreescu had no such trouble against Watson's compatriot Harriet Dart, as the Canadian went through a 6-3 6-4 winner.

Czech 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, seeded eighth and at a career-high 51st in the WTA rankings, overwhelmed American veteran Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3 6-1.

Fellow seeds Marta Kostyuk, Anna Kalinskaya and Tatjana Maria also came through their opening tests at the tournament in Hua Hin.

At the Lyon Open, French top seed Caroline Garcia fended off Czech Tereza Martincova 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in round one, delighting a home crowd.

Champion at the WTA Finals at the end of last season, Garcia surprisingly lost in round four of the Australian Open to unseeded Pole Magda Linette, who went on a fairy tale run to the semi-finals.

Garcia said of Tuesday's win over Martincova: "It was a tough match. She's a great player. She's already played great battles against top players, and it's a first round, so you really never know what is going to happen."

Second seed Zhang Shuai beat American Madison Brengle 6-3 6-2, but eighth seed Anna Blinkova bowed out, retiring when 4-0 behind in a deciding set against fellow Russian Erika Andreeva.

Alexander Zverev will not face disciplinary action from the ATP following its investigation into allegations of domestic abuse against him.

The two-time ATP Finals winner became the subject of an investigation in October 2021 after claims the prior year by ex-partner Olya Sharypova.

The sport's governing body hired an external private investigation company to look into the allegations, which Zverev has denied.

Now, after it was deemed there was "insufficient evidence" to substantiate the claims, it has been confirmed the German will face no further action.

"Based on a lack of reliable evidence and eyewitness reports, in addition to conflicting statements by Sharypova, Zverev and other interviewees, the investigation was unable to substantiate the allegations of abuse," the ATP said.

While no action is to be taken, the ATP added it would reevaluate its decision "should new evidence come to light, or should any legal proceedings reveal violations of ATP rules".

Zverev, who reached the 2020 US Open final and won men's singles gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, achieved a career-best peak of number two in the world rankings last season.

An ankle injury at the French Open against Rafael Nadal ended his campaign and he only made his return to competitive action earlier this month, with a second-round exit at the Australian Open.

He took further legal action against Sharypova last year, as well as an online publisher, after further allegations of abuse were made, while lending his support for a domestic violence policy to be introduced by the ATP.

Garbine Muguruza and Alize Cornet both fell at the first hurdle at the Lyon Open on Monday, going down to Linda Noskova and Camila Osorio respectively.

Having gone out in the first round at the Australian Open earlier this month, former world number one Muguruza did the same in France, suffering a resounding 6-1 6-4 defeat to 18-year-old Czech qualifier Noskova.

Third seed Cornet did not fare much better on home soil, capitulating after drawing level with Osorio as the Colombian triumphed 6-4 4-6 6-1.

The other seeds in action on day one at the WTA 250 event avoided the same fate, with fifth seed Anastasia Potapova beating Marina Bassols Ribera 4-6 6-1 6-2 and fourth seed Petra Martic fighting back to edge her two-hour battle with Kristina Mladenovic 3-6 6-3 7-5.

At the Thailand Open in Hua Hin, third seed Wang Xiyu was beaten in an all-Chinese meeting with Zhu Lin, while Wang Xinyu triumphed in straight sets against Joanne Zuger and Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko eliminated Ysaline Bonaventure.

Rafael Nadal has congratulated Novak Djokovic on the "amazing achievement" of matching his record tally of 22 grand slam titles by winning the Australian Open on Sunday.

Djokovic and Nadal share the record for the most major tournaments won by a male player after the 35-year-old beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) at Melbourne Park.

The Serbian superstar also returned to the top of the rankings by being crowned Australian Open champion for a record-extending 10th time.

Djokovic and Nadal will head to the French Open in May eyeing major triumph number 23.

Spaniard Nadal, who will be out for around eight weeks due to a hip injury he aggravated during a second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald in Melbourne, posted on Instagram: "Amazing achievement Nole @djokernole Many congrats to you and your team!

"Well deserved. Enjoy Nole!"

Swiss great Roger Federer, a winner of 20 major titles before retiring last year, also saluted Djokovic in an Instagram story on Sunday: "Incredible effort, again! Many congratulations." 

The legendary Margaret Court leads the way with 24 major singles titles, while Serena Williams racked up 23 in her incredible career.

Roger Federer hailed Novak Djokovic's 10th Australian Open title as an "incredible" feat as the Serbian joined Rafael Nadal on 22 singles grand slams.

Although Federer became the first man to reach 20 majors when he took the 2018 Australian Open title, the Swiss great could not add to that tally before retiring last September and has been overtaken by his two greatest rivals.

With Nadal struggling to stay fit and build up form, it appears Djokovic is the most likely man to add to his haul and finish his career as the outright most successful man in grand slam history.

"Incredible effort, again! Many congratulations," Federer wrote in an Instagram story, acclaiming Djokovic's straight-sets win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic's Professional Tennis Players Association co-founder Vasek Pospisil described the Serbian as the tennis "man of steel". Fellow ATP Tour stars Denis Shapovalov and Holger Rune also sent messages of praise on social media to Djokovic, as did Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt.

Novak Djokovic has been tipped by Nick Kyrgios to win at least 28 grand slams and become the most successful singles player in tennis history.

The prediction came after 35-year-old Djokovic reached 22 major triumphs on Sunday by landing the Australian Open title for a 10th time.

He now holds a share of the men's singles record with Rafael Nadal, but Djokovic made it clear after his latest big-stage success that he feels capable of collecting many more top-tier trophies.

Kyrgios is ostensibly a rival and was beaten by the Serbian in last year's Wimbledon final, but the Australian has also become one of Djokovic's greatest admirers.

In the wake of Djokovic beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Melbourne Park final, Kyrgios posted on Twitter: "Haha I told you. We created a monster. Well done @DjokerNole [Djokovic].

"Sat on my couch and enjoyed the entire show. He will get to 28 slams easy."

Kyrgios was also impressed by Djokovic emerging post-match in a jacket emblazoned with '22', a reminder of when Roger Federer had '15' on his top after winning Wimbledon in 2009 to take the outright lead in the men's grand slam race.

Federer burst past Pete Sampras, who had previously held the record for the most men's singles majors, but Djokovic and Nadal have since overtaken the Swiss, who retired last September after 20 slam successes.

The French Open in May and June could see an almighty tussle for the title as 14-time Roland Garros champion Nadal hunts another victory in Paris, while Djokovic bids to dethrone him and go to 23 singles slams, the same number as Serena Williams won.

Australian Margaret Court won more singles majors than anybody, with 24, but Kyrgios sees Djokovic soon overhauling that number.

Looking at his sartorial choice, Kyrgios saluted Djokovic's audacity, writing: "The jacket with 22 on it is elite energy, haha I love it…. NEED MORE."