Mikhail Kukushkin

Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray ground out a painful opening win at the Montreal Masters on Wednesday as the second seed marshalled his resources for a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Flavio Cipolla.

French underdog Jeremy Chardy sprang a post-Olympic surprise on his third-seeded countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) defeat on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Toronto Masters.

Novak Djokovic began the post-Olympic switch from Wimbledon grass to North American hardcourt on Tuesday, with the Serb top seed admitting he's unsure how well he will compete this week at the Toronto Masters.

Weekend Washington winner Alexandr Dolgopolov returned to earth on Tuesday as the Ukrainian was knocked out of the Toronto Masters in the first round by Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-1.

Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda enjoyed their first ever victories at Wimbledon on Tuesday as the Japanese stars produced dominant displays to surge into the second round.

Japan's Kei Nishikori set his sights on emulating his historic run to the Australian Open quarter-finals after the 19th seed marked his return from injury with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in the Wimbledon first round on Tuesday.

Rafael Nadal began his title defence at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who had defeated the king of clay two years ago in Thailand.

Rafael Nadal emerged a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Jarkko Nieminen with no obvious discomfort to his troublesome left knee as the Spaniard began his quest for a record eighth title at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

Rafael Nadal emerged a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Jarkko Nieminen with no obvious discomfort to his troublesome left knee as the Spaniard began his quest for a record eighth title at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

Andy Murray made a winning return to clay and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrated his 27th birthday with a win as both seeds reached the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.

Andy Murray sprang to life on Tuesday as the Scot began his clay-court season with a 6-0, 6-3 hammering of Serb Viktor Troicki to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Mardy Fish fought back from two sets to one down to beat Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7 and give the United States a 1-0 lead over Switzerland in their Davis Cup World Group opener on Friday.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic repulsed a tenacious fightback from Lleyton Hewitt to join last year's finalist Andy Murray in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday.

Five-time champion Serena Williams crashed to one of her worst ever grand slam defeats and Japan's Kei Nishikori stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on a day of major shocks at the Australian Open on Monday.

Andy Murray said he would need to hit the practice courts to retain his sharpness after his "boring" stroll into the quarter-finals following an injury retirement at the Australian Open on Monday.

Five-time champion Serena Williams crashed to one of her worst ever grand slam defeats and Japan's Kei Nishikori stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on a day of major shocks at the Australian Open on Monday.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Andy Murray breezed into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday after Mikhail Kukushkin retired due to injury in their third set.

Five-time champion Serena Williams crashed to one of her worst ever grand slam defeats and Japan's Kei Nishikori stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on a day of major shocks at the Australian Open on Monday.

Andy Murray said he would need to hit the practice courts to retain his sharpness after his "boring" stroll into the quarter-finals following an injury retirement at the Australian Open on Monday.

Five-time champion Serena Williams was sent crashing out of the Australian Open by little-known Russian Ekaterina Makarova on Monday, as Andy Murray had no trouble reaching the quarter-finals.