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Tennis Tracker: Djokovic crashes out in Bosnia, Alcaraz cruises through in Barcelona

Novak Djokovic, who has been struggling with a elbow issue, was beaten by fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic
Novak Djokovic, who has been struggling with a elbow issue, was beaten by fellow Serbian Dusan LajovicReuters
A host of big names in both ATP and WTA are taking to the courts today, all looking to progress to the final four of their respective competitions. World number ones Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek are playing their quarter-final matches today in Banja Luka and Stuttgart as well as other top 10 players eyeing their tournaments' glory.

21:39 CET - Iga Swiatek (21) has not had it her own way against Karolina Pliskova (31), but despite losing the first set 6-4, she was able to take control and win the next two 6-1, 6-2. 

20:53 CET - Dan Evans (32) has rounded off play in Barcelona with a battling victory over Francisco Cerundolo (24). The Brit lost the first set 6-2, but did not let that faze him winning the next two 7-5, 6-3.

20:43 CET - Play has come to a close in Banja Luka as Miomir Kecmanovic (23) has bearten Jiri Lehecka (21) 7-5, 6-0. Whilst we wait for our last two results, here is today's ATP Flashmoment of the day.

ATP Flashmoment of the day
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19:40 CET - Another weekend on the court for Ons Jabeur (28) after she saw off Beatriz Haddad Maia (26) 6-3, 6-0 to earn a semi-final match against either Iga Swiatek (21) or Karolina Pliskova (31), who have just started the final match of the day in Stuttgart.

Jabeur - Haddad Maia highlights
Flashscore

19:06 CET - Play has wrapped up in Munich where Botic Van De Zandschulp (29) has dispatched Marcos Giron (29) in straights sets - 7-6, 6-3 - to set up a semi-final match against Taylor Fritz (25).

18:42 CET - World number one Novak Djokovic (36) is out in Banja Luka. The Serbian has been beaten by compatriot by Dusan Lajovic (32), with the world number 70 victorious by a scoreline of 6-4, 7-6. 

Djokovic - Lajovic highlights
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Dusan Lajovic post-match interview
Flashscore

Elsewhere, after already playing a set-and-a-half of tennis today, Dominic Thiem (29), has been knocked out in Munich by Taylor Fritz (25) in 92 minutes, with the American winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.

18:30 CET - World number two Carlos Alcaraz (19) made it to the final four of the Barcelona Open after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (23) 7-6, 6-4. Alcaraz is set to face the winner between Francisco Cerundolo and Daniel Evans who play later on this afternoon.

Alcaraz- Davidovich Fokina highlights
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Carlos Alcaraz post-match interview
Flashscore

17:53 CET - Anastasia Potapova (22) has knocked out Stuttgart's fourth seed and world number five Caroline Garcia (29) in straight sets for one of the bigger shocks of Friday's tennis. The Russian rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, to set up a contest against Aryna Sabalenka (24). 

16:44 CET - Monaco's beaten finalist, Holger Rune (19), has cruised past Cristian Garin (26) 6-2, 6-4 in Munich to progress into the final four. 

16:05 CET - Andrey Rublev (25) is one of the most in-form players on tour right now and he is showing no signs of slowing down after winning 7-5, 6-3 against Damir Dzumhur (30) in Banja Luka.

14:57 CET - Over in Germany, Dominic Thiem (29) continues his resurgent form with a three-set victory over Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler (26), winning out 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. The Austrian will be back on court later today when he takes on Taylor Fritz (25).

On the WTA Tour, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka (24) beat long-time friend Paula Badosa (25) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 - watch the highlights from Stuttgart now.

Sabalenka - Badosa highlights
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Aryna Sabalenka post-match interview
Flashscore

14:33 CET - We have our first result from Barcelona where Stefanos Tsitsipas (24) has beaten Alex De Minaur (24) 6-4, 6-2 to head into the weekend's action. Check out the highlights now.

Tsitsipas - De Minaur highlights
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Stefanos Tsitsipas post-match interview
Flashscore

13:53 CET - The first set of matches just ended as the morning Serbian clash ended with the triumph of Alex Molcan over Laslo Djere with 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 result after a two-and-a-half hour game. In Munich, the match between Christopher O'Connell and Flavio Cobolli took the same amount of time and saw the Australian progress thanks to a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory.

13:51 CET -  The night session at the French Open will be brought forward by half an hour this year, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said on Friday.

"It will start at 20:00 CET with an interactive show and the first point will be played at 20:30," she told a news conference.

Last year, players entered the Court Philippe Chatrier to warm up at 20:45 CET, and the scheduling drew criticism due to the lack of public transportation in the event of a late finish.

The Paris metro stops running around 1:15am.

Organisers were also criticised for scheduling mostly men's matches in the flagship match of the day, and Mauresmo would not commit to putting on more women's matches this year.

"It's difficult to project before the draw," she said.

Read the full story here.

12:03 CET - World number eight Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Barcelona Open due to injury, allowing Lorenzo Musetti to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament where he will face the winner between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex De Minaur.

8:28 CET - Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (23) suffered an injury setback ahead of the French Open after she retired with a lower back issue in her last 16 match against Beatriz Haddad Maia (26) at the Stuttgart Open on Thursday.

The Kazakh player won only one game in the opening set and called for a medical timeout in the second when she was 2-1 down, the women's tour said

After play resumed, Haddad Maia won another game before Rybakina decided to retire trailing 6-1 3-1. The Brazilian will face third seed Ons Jabeur in the quarter-finals later on Friday

Read the full story here.

8:25 CET - The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recommendation to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international competition as neutrals is "confusing" because Ukraine is still under attack, tennis world number one Iga Swiatek (21) said.

The IOC sanctioned Russia and Belarus after Moscow launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but is now eager to see athletes come back across all sports and have a chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Russia says it is prosecuting a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Russian and Belarusian tennis players have been competing on the tours and at the other Grand Slams as neutrals since March last year.

"Right now the situation is pretty complicated because at the beginning of the war there weren't many decisions one way. At first they (Russian and Belarusian athletes) were kind of banned in other sports, not in tennis," Swiatek told reporters on Thursday.

Read the full story here.

7:00 CET - Novak Djokovic clashes with compatriot Dusan Lajovic in the afternoon. He was victorious over Van Assche in the previous round.

Djokovic-Van Assche highlights
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An hour later world number two Carlos Alcaraz faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a local match-up in Barcelona. The teenager managed to reach the quarter-finals after defeating Roberto Bautista-Augut.

Alcaraz-Batista-Augut highlights
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Alcaraz post-match interview
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The Catalan city is set to witness more mouth-watering matches as world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas will also have his time on clay today as he is opposed by Alex De Minaur, the Greek defeated Denis Shapovalov yesterday.

Tsitsipas - Shapovalov highlights
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Tsitsipas post-match interview
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Before that, however, Jannik Sinner challenges Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the semis. Meanwhile, in Munich, Monte Carlo finalist Holger Rune faces Cristian Garin

Moving slightly to the west is the Stuttgart Open where world number two Aryna Sabalenka faces Paula Badosa in an exciting match-up before Iga Swiatek faces Karolina Pliskova, the world number one had to brush Qinwen Zheng off yesterday to remain in the competition.

Swiatek - Zheng highlights
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Swiatek post-match interview
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Other top 10 names include also Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur also looking to get to the semi-finals as they take to the court this afternoon.

All of this and more today, stay tuned as we bring you all the latest from the tennis world.