Rafael Nadal would "welcome" seeing Novak Djokovic play at future grand slam tournaments if he is granted permission to do so unvaccinated against COVID-19.

World number one Djokovic has courted controversy for his views on being jabbed and was last month deported from Australia on the eve of the Australian Open.

Djokovic has confirmed he is willing to miss future slams after stating he was prioritising his right to choose what to put into his body above his sporting ambitions.

In Djokovic's absence, Nadal became Australian Open champion and now has 21 titles – the most for a male player.

Nadal believes that any further omissions from Djokovic would only be harmful to the Serbian's chances of history not the slams themselves, but he would have no issue with his rival playing in the sport's biggest tournaments.

Speaking ahead of his return to the ATP Tour in Acapulco, Nadal said: "It will affect Novak's [grand slam] history if he can't play.

"It will affect him, not the grand slams themselves. Whoever wins the most slams – it will be what it will be. Everyone takes their own decisions and must live with them.

"In that sense, hopefully the pandemic subsides and we stop having so many deaths around the world and this horror ends, and we can return to normality – not for Novak but for the world in general.

"There are many people that have suffered, but if Novak can play the grand slams unvaccinated, then he is welcome."

Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev in an epic Melbourne showpiece to become the first man to 21 slams, but he says the achievement has not changed his life.

"Absolutely nothing has changed having 21 slams, I won't lie to you," he added.

"From 20 to 21 there is not a very large difference. Life goes on exactly the same. The only thing that has changed is that now I play tennis, which a few months ago I couldn't.

"I am very happy for everything that happened in Australia, it was very unexpected, especially before the tournament started. In my life, nothing has changed. No title is going to change what is important in my life, which are other things.

"Already, at 35 years old, I have a lot of experiences behind me, of successes and bad moments and these sensations already help me to live in a more calm and different way."

Novak Djokovic says he will play at whatever tournament will have him as he gears up to make his return to the ATP Tour.

The men's world number one has not played a competitive match since early December and was last month deported from Australia on the eve of the Australian Open.

That decision was a result of Djokovic opting not to join the majority of his tennis peers in getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and amid controversy over how he handled getting the virus himself in December.

Speaking to the BBC in a recent interview, Djokovic stated he was prioritising his right to choose what to put into his body above his sporting ambitions and confirmed he is willing to miss further grand slams if necessary.

With COVID restrictions still in place in many countries, Djokovic acknowledges his options to play are limited.

"I just have to follow the rules. You know, whatever tournament that I'm able to play, I will be trying to get to that country and play the tournament," Djokovic said ahead of facing Lorenzo Musetti in round one of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

"Obviously, I'm not intending to play the full schedule and that wasn't also my intention, as you brought it up and my goal prior to this season or the season before, and I was trying to aim to play my best at the grand slams and some of the 1000 events we have, of course, and playing for my country, those were the biggest motivations that I had in terms of the scheduling. 

"Right now, the situation is obviously different for me. So, I really can't choose right now. It's really about where I can go and play. So, wherever I have an opportunity, I'll be using probably that opportunity and going to play because this is what I do, it's what I love to do still. 

"And I have support from my family and my team is still there with me and that's what's important for me because obviously it was not easy for anyone in my surroundings to go through these kinds of circumstances and situations that we have been through.

"But it's very exciting to have everyone together here with me. And in Dubai, we're back on the tour and then we'll play this tournament and we'll see how it goes further down the line."

Several stars backed the decision for Djokovic to be barred from playing in Melbourne, with most noting that he had not followed the rules in order to do so.

But the Serbian says he has been received warmly ahead of his return to the ATP Tour.

"I haven't seen too many players, but the players that I've seen have been positive and welcoming," he added.

"And it's nice to see obviously. I can't say that was the case in Australia. It was a little bit strange, but here it's well so far."

Carlos Alcaraz declared he is "a boy who dreams big" after the 18-year-old landed the Rio Open title and outlined his plans to dominate men's tennis.

A teenager going places, Spaniard Alcaraz was set to shoot up to a career-high ranking inside the ATP top 20 on Monday on the strength of his successful week in Brazil.

He was too strong for Argentina's Diego Schwartzman in what turned out to be a one-sided final, with Alcaraz a 6-4 6-2 winner over an experienced and classy opponent.

It made him the youngest winner of an ATP 500 tournament, since the 2009 creation of that category. Such events rank below the importance of the Masters 1000 tournaments but remain prestigious, and it is one step at a time for now for Alcaraz towards lofty targets.

Alcaraz said: "My ambitions are to be number one in the world, a winner of grand slams, a winner of Olympic medals... I am a boy who dreams big."

This clay-court success whets the appetite for what Alcaraz might achieve on the surface over the coming months. He won the Umag tournament in Croatia on clay last July but will likely be targeting the likes of Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Monte Carlo and even Roland Garros for similar success this year.

It was in Rio two years ago that Alcaraz first won an ATP main-draw match.

"Two years later, winning the tournament means a lot to me," Alcaraz told a news conference. "When I came here for the first time, I came to continue enjoying myself, to learn from the best. This time I had high expectations and I came thinking that I could win, that I am a candidate.

"I am super happy to have won my first ATP 500. It has been a week full of emotions and to be able to win this final has been a great joy for me."

Alcaraz was gutted to miss last year's Davis Cup finals after testing positive for COVID-19, but the powerful teenager is on a mission to maximise his talent in 2022.

He went toe to toe with Matteo Berrettini in the third round of the Australian Open, coming from two sets down to force a decider against last year's Wimbledon runner-up, only to lose out on a tie-break.

This time, Berrettini was among his victims on the road to the title in Rio.

Alcaraz said after Sunday's win, according to Spanish newspaper AS: "The expectations that people have of me are high, and I appreciate that they see that I can be the best in the world, but both my team and I know how difficult it is.

"I think I'm on the right path and if I don't deviate from it and keep doing things well, it won't be guaranteed, but I will have opportunities."

Teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz made history as he defeated Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to claim the Rio Open title.

The 18-year-old became the youngest winner of an ATP 500 event since the creation of the category in 2009, clinching a 6-4 6-2 victory in one hour and 26 minutes.

Alcaraz, set to climb into the world's top 20 for the first time, captured his second tour-level title after triumphing at last year's Croatia Open.

The Spaniard won five out of six break points, including a crucial one at 4-4 on his way to taking the opening set.

Third seed Schwartzman – champion in Rio in 2018 – was appearing in his second successive final, having reached the showpiece in Buenos Aires last week.

But the Argentinian was unable to compete with the powerful seventh seed on clay, the surface on which Alcaraz could do major damage in the coming years.

Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie landed his third ATP Tour title after beating Reilly Opelka 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-4) in the Delray Beach Open showpiece.

Top seed Norrie had endured a torrid start to the 2022 season, which began for him with four successive defeats.

Meanwhile, Opelka was seeking a second title in as many weeks following his triumph at the Dallas Open.

The American had won six out of six tie-breaks on his way to victory in Dallas, and a further four this week.

But despite the big-serving second seed hitting 25 aces against Norrie, taking his tournament tally to 81, and 46 winners, a total of 33 unforced errors proved costly.

Although he was denied all five opportunities to break as both sets went to a tie-break, Norrie's service game remained solid throughout and just seven unforced errors underlined his strong performance.

Belinda Bencic made a painfully sharp exit from the Qatar Open as she was beaten 6-4 3-6 6-3 by rising star Clara Tauson.

The Olympic champion was the highest-profile casualty on day one, losing to a player making her main-draw debut in a WTA 1000 event.

Only the second Danish player to appear in Doha, after former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, the 19-year-old Tauson came from 4-2 down to take the opening set, before Bencic levelled up.

But Tauson was not to be denied. The world number 33 gained a crucial break in game four of the decider, before winning 12 of the last 13 points on her serve to set up a second-round clash with third seed Paula Badosa.

"It was a very tough match," said Tauson, who hit seven aces. "I know Belinda is playing very well, so I had to play my best today, and I did sometimes. 

"I have my confidence, but every match is really tough at this level, so I'm doing my best."

Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka survived a scare to scrape past Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 5-7 6-2 7-5.

The 12th seed, who is aiming to become the first player to lift this trophy three times, recovered from two breaks down in the decide before rescuing match point at 5-4 down and eventually scrambling over the line.

Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Bencic and Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open, built on her early-season momentum by seeing off Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-5 6-4.

Ninth seed Jessie Pegula – a quarter-finalist in the season's opening grand slam – beat doubles world number one Katerina Siniakova in straight sets, while former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin lost in three sets to fellow American Ann Li.

Andrey Rublev was crowned champion at the Open 13 Provence after downing Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5 7-6 (7-4) in the final.

Auger-Aliassime defeated Rublev in Rotterdam last week on the way to securing his maiden ATP Tour title, though all of their past meetings had required a deciding set.

Canadian Auger-Aliassime immediately broke Rublev, but the world number seven battled back to eventually claim the first set after a tense 56-minute opening exchange.

The pair twice exchanged breaks in the following set, with Rublev failing to serve out for the match at 5-4 before saving a set point at 5-6 down.

Rublev rallied from that point onwards, however, claiming his ninth tour-level triumph after a second set tie-break.

The Russian will look to become just the third man in the tournament's 30-year history to win the singles and doubles titles in the same edition when he takes to the court with Ukraine's Denys Molchanov in the doubles final.

Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz secured a spot in the Rio Open final after knocking off top seed Matteo Berrettini followed by countryman Fabio Fognini on Saturday.

Several quarter-finals were squeezed into Saturday's schedule alongside evening semi-finals following Friday's ranout, forcing Alcaraz to play twice along with Diego Schwartzman who also progressed to Sunday's decider.

Alcaraz first defeated top seed and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Berrettini in three sets, triumphing 6-2 2-6 6-2 in two hours and two minutes.

The 18-year-old Spanish seventh seed, who reached last year's US Open quarter-finals, backed that up with a straight-sets win over Fognini, 6-2 7-5.

"It means a lot to me," Alcaraz said post-match. "I surprised myself to be able to win two matches in a row in the same day. It's tough to win one match, two is even tougher."

Third seed Schwartzman got past fellow Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in a two-hour-and-two-minute semi-final, having won through earlier in the day 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4 against Pablo Andujar.

The top two seeds will meet in the Delray Beach Open final in Florida after wins by Cameron Norrie and Reilly Opelka on Saturday.

First seed Norrie got past American fourth seed Tommy Paul 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 16 minutes. Norrie had endured a slow start to the calendar year, but will now play for a third ATP Tour title.

Second seed Opelka had a tougher outing, needing three hours to overcome John Millman 7-6 (10-8) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4). In a match which only saw two breaks of serve,

Opelka, who won last week's Dallas Open title, sent down 16 aces and won 82 per cent of his first serve.

Andrey Rublev will hope to gain revenge on Felix Auger Aliassime when they meet in the final of the Open 13 Provence.

Rublev lost in three sets to Auger Aliassime in the semi-finals in Rotterdam this month and they set up a reunion with victories in Marseille on Saturday.

A third successive win over a French opponent booked world number seven Rublev's place in the final as he saw off Benjamin Bonzi in three sets.

Bonzi, playing in his first Tour-level semi-final, threatened an upset, but Rublev raised his game in the final set to secure a 6-3 4-6 6-3 win.

"[Coming into] this week I was really motivated," Rublev said afterwards. "I was so excited to compete, to try to play at a good level, to win some matches and it's my first final of the season so I''m really happy and we will see what happens tomorrow [Sunday].

"It was super tough. Benjamin is playing really great this year, he beat great players this week and I'm happy to be in the final."

Auger Aliassime, fresh off winning his maiden ATP Tour crown in Rotterdam, progressed to another final with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) defeat of Roman Safiullin.

The Canadian needed two hours and 27 minutes and a pair of tie-breaks to see off the world number 163 but can now look forward to a 10th career final.

Jelena Ostapenko secured the fifth WTA title of her career with a dominant victory against Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday.

Ostapenko eased to a 6-0 6-4 win in just 65 minutes, which is expected to take her up to number 13 in the rankings, the first time the former world number five will have been in the top 20 since October 2018.

An impressive week for the Latvian has seen her beat Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, and Simona Halep on her way to the final, and she never looked like slipping up here.

It was consistency that made the difference, with Ostapenko winning 63.6 per cent of points on her first serve, but also an impressive 58.3 per cent on her second.

She took the first set in just 23 minutes, with her serve allowing her to zip through games with ease as Kudermetova had no answer to it, or indeed her returns.

The Russian recovered well in the second set and earned an early break, but things soon swung back to take Ostapenko to 5-3 and serving for the title. Kudermetova managed to break, only for her opponent to do the same to seal the win.

Roberto Bautista Agut ended his title drought by gaining revenge over Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final of the Qatar Open on Saturday.

Basilashvili beat Bautista Agut in the championship match in Doha last year, but the Spaniard came out on top on this occasion, winning 6-3 6-4.

The experienced second seed had not won a tournament since he was crowned Qatar Open champion in 2019, before repeating that feat with a straight-sets success.

Bautista Agut came from a break down in both sets to win the 10th ATP title of his career at the expense of the third seed from Georgia.

The 33-year-old world number 16 dropped only one set this week en route to getting his hands on another trophy.

He said: "It was a really tough final. This year we played without wind, which was much better for me.

"It was not easy to recover after a really tough battle yesterday [in a semi-final win over Karen Khachanov], but I think I did a good job today.

"It is my 10th ATP Tour title and I am very happy."

Top seed Cameron Norrie is through to the semi-finals of the Delray Beach Open after beating Sebastian Korda in three sets.

Norrie eventually overcame the American fifth-seed after a final set tie-break, winning 6-2 1-6 7-6 (7-4).

The Brit's tenacity was key, saving seven of 10 break points, and he will now face another American, Tommy Paul, in the final four in Florida after he beat qualifier Stefan Kozlov 6-3 6-1.

The other semi-final will be contested between Reilly Opelka and John Millman after they bested Adrian Mannarino and Grigor Dimitrov respectively.

Opelka was taken to a third set by his French opponent before winning 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-1, hitting 19 aces on his way to victory.

Millan proved too good for third seed Dimitrov winning 6-4 6-4 in an hour and 34 minutes where the Australian's return was a highlight.

At the Rio Open, rain washed out many of the scheduled matches on Friday, with Diego Schwartzman against Pablo Andujar and Miomir Kecmanovic against Francisco Cerundolo both cancelled.

Matteo Berrettini and Thiago Monteiro were finally able to finish their round of 16 match at 11.35pm local time, with the Italian securing victory 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3.

He will play seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz who overcame Federico Delbonis 6-4 7-6 (7-1) after their match was pushed back, starting not long prior to midnight local time.

Roberto Bautista Agut followed two sprints with a gruelling slog as he battled past Karen Khachanov to reach the final of the Qatar Open.

Spanish second seed Bautista Agut had dashed past Andy Murray and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the loss of just three games in Doha, but Khachanov proved far more obdurate.

After a slow start, eventually Bautista Agut picked up the pace and emerged a 2-6 6-3 7-5 winner in two hours and 24 minutes of toil, earning a shot at Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili in Saturday's final.

Bautista Agut praised Russian Khachanov for making him scrap for the win.

"He was playing very fast," said Bautista Agut, quoted on the ATP website. "He was playing very solidly, he was defending very well and he hit many unbelievable passing shots. I had to play incredibly well tonight. I enjoyed tonight so much."

Third seed Basilashvili is the defending champion this week and made light work of France's Arthur Rinderknech, tying up a 6-4 6-2 victory.

In Marseille, Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was stunned by Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in the Open 13 quarter-finals. World number 163 Safiullin had a staggering 13 break points against the under-performing Tsitsipas serve, and although 11 of those were saved, the two that were not decided the match.

Safiullin, for his part, faced one break point and saved it on the way to a 6-4 6-4 victory. He made his presence felt at the ATP Cup in Australia at the start of the year and, although results have been disappointing since, the 24-year-old is doing well again in France this week.

Next for Safiullin will be last week's Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime, who saw off Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 6-3 6-4 in the last match of the day. After losing his first eight finals on the ATP Tour, Auger-Aliassime may well be closing in on a second title in eight days.

Saturday's other semi-final will see Russian second seed Andrey Rublev tackle Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who reached the last four of a main-tour event for the first time by crushing Aslan Karatsev 6-1 6-3.

Rublev dug deep to edge out French wildcard and former top-10 player Lucas Pouille 6-3 1-6 6-2.

Jelena Ostapenko will meet Veronika Kudermetova in the Dubai Tennis Championships final after defeating Simona Halep 2-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-0 on Friday.

Ostapenko, who is the world number 21, stunned Halep in their first meeting in the 2017 Roland Garros final to win her first Grand Slam before the Romanian exacted revenge in Beijing later that season.

In their first meeting since that last-four clash, Halep raced out the blocks to wrap the first set in just 27 minutes as she converted both break-point opportunities to take an early lead.

However, Ostapenko responded emphatically in the following set, claiming a 3-0 advantage before eventually levelling things up after a one-sided tie-break separated the pair in the second.

Ostapenko carried her momentum in the deciding set as she made a blistering start, with Halep unable to win a single game as the 24-year-old secured victory in an hour and 36 minutes.

Kudermetova awaits the Latvian in the final after Marketa Vondrousova was forced to withdraw from her last-four match due to a right adductor injury.

The pair have not met before on the WTA Tour but boast identical records at the start of the 2022 season, with both winning eight of their matches and losing three.

Favourites Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov joined top seed Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals of the Delray Beach Open after victories on Thursday.

With Norrie having already set up a quarter-final against last year's runner-up Sebastian Korda, the Briton was joined in the last eight by the second and third seeds. 

Grigor Dimitrov defeated Mitchell Krueger to mark his first appearance since a disappointing second-round exit at the Australian Open in style.

The Bulgarian won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, with Serena and Venus Williams watching on from the crowd in far from ideal conditions in Florida.

"It's always very tough [in your opening match], especially playing the last match on," Dimitrov said.

"I've been here for a week already and I was eager to get out there and play. Today was just a match I had to get through. Very tough conditions: rain, wind, cold, hot. It is what it is, and you've got to deal with it."

Opelka, who won the tournament in 2020, went the distance against fellow American Jack Sock, eventually prevailing 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. 

He will face Adrian Mannarino in the last eight, after the Frenchman's 6-4 2-6 7-5 defeat of Brandon Nakashima. Dimitrov will play Australian John Millman.

At the Rio Open, only two of the four scheduled matches were completed due to rain.

Qualifier Miomir Kecmanovic dispatched sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-4, while Francisco Cerundolo overcame Roberto Carballes Baena.

Top seed Matteo Berrettini's clash with Brazilian Thiago Monteiro was pushed back to Friday, while Carlos Alcaraz will resume his match against Federico Delbonis in a strong position in the first set.

Denis Shapovalov crashed out of the Qatar Open after losing in straight sets to France's Arthur Rinderknech in their quarter-final on Thursday.

The top-seeded Canadian lost in just an hour and 20 minutes as Rinderknech sealed a 6-4 6-4 victory to seal his place in the semi-finals in Doha.

Shapovalov struggled throughout, making nine double faults and having to face 10 break points, of which he managed to save eight.

Rinderknech will now face Nikoloz Basilashvili after the Georgian fought back to beat Marton Fucsovics 1-6 6-3 7-5.

The other semi-final will see Karen Khachanov take on Roberto Bautista Agut, with the Russian also coming from a set down in beating Marin Cilic 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Bautista Agut followed up Wednesday's 6-0 6-1 victory against Andy Murray by again winning comfortably against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, scoring a 6-1 6-1 success.

The number two seed won 74 per cent of points when landing his first serve as he sealed victory in an hour and 17 minutes.

At the Open 13 in Marseille, Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime increased his winning streak to six matches after beating French veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 to head through to the quarter-finals.

"It was a special moment," Auger-Aliassime said after his win. "When the match was coming to the end, I knew it was going to be a special moment, a full-circle moment. He was my top idol growing up and I saw myself in him at times."

Auger-Aliassime will play world number 49 Ilya Ivashka next, while top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas also went through after a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) win against Hugo Gaston. The Greek star will play Russian Roman Safiullin in the last eight.

Ninth seed Benjamin Bonzi beat fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 6-3 and will go up against Aslan Karatsev in the next round, while Lucas Pouille overcame Radu Albot 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2) and will tackle Andrey Rublev next.