Defending champion Angelique Kerber battled her nerves and blew a match point in the second set before finally overcoming Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the second round.
The top women's seeds continued to be scattered at Wimbledon on Wednesday, with Caroline Wozniacki's exit meaning five of the top eight were gone before the end of the third day.
World number five Juan Martin del Potro began his 2014 season with a win, albeit a scrappy one over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to advance to the quarter-finals of the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams face challenging early tests at the US Open following Friday's draws for the year's last Grand Slam starting on Monday.
Jack Sock became the first American to reach the last four of the ATP Finals in 10 years when he stunned world number three Alexander Zverev in a firecracker of a match on Thursday.
'Remarkable discipline for training, competition, sacrifice, perfection, a little crazy but a legend of a bloke. Bravo Andy'.
Nadal needed all his experience to keep Pouille at bay in the decider and the match looked to be heading for another tiebreak before he pounced to break Pouille's serve for the first time to go 6-5 up in the third.
It was Novak Djokovic's first match this year after his Australian Open hopes were dashed when he was deported following an 11-day saga revolving around his decision not to have a COVID-19 vaccination.
With the physical demands of modern-day tennis taking its toll the tournament will start without four of the top 11 in the ATP rankings including defending champion Stan Wawrinka who ended his season early with a knee injury.
Roger Federer made a comfortable start to his quest for a 100th title, despatching Fabio Fognini in straight sets to ease into the quarter-finals at the Paris Masters on Thursday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic's preparations for Wimbledon have been laid back in the extreme.
Top seed Roger Federer will challenge for a ninth Halle Open title after reaching the Wimbledon warm-up event final with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over rising Russian talent Karen Khachanov on Saturday.
Top seed Serena Williams made short work of Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Halep through but Stephens exits in Cincinnati
Greek tyro Stefanos Tsitsipas' dream run at the Rogers Cup continued on Friday as the teenager toppled defending champion Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in Toronto.
Ramkumar Ramanathan paid the price of not containing his unforced errors as he made a first round exit from the ATP Chennai Open while his compatriot and qualifier Vijay Sundar Prashanth also bowed out after a crushing defeat, on Tuesday.
Roger Federer held firm against a furious fightback from fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, edging his former apprentice 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 in a Melbourne Park classic to reach the final of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal continued his brilliant revival at the Australian Open to topple Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-4 on Wednesday and reach his first grand slam semi-final in three years.
Top seed Andy Murray could meet Roger Federer or Kei Nishikori in the third round, while Serena faces tricky Belinda Bencic in opening round
Defending champion Rafael Nadal progressed to the second round of the US Open after fellow Spaniard David Ferrer retired midway through the second set due to a calf injury.
Tennis must consider shortening matches in a bid to engage with a younger fanbase and avoid losing television viewers, according to former ATP Player Council president and doubles specialist Eric Butorac.
Sealing the match with a thumping serve, the 2014 US Open champion will bid for his second grand slam title against Friday's winner of Roger Federer and South Korea's rising star Chung Hyeon.
Badosa beats Fernandez; Swiatek, Halep storm into quarter-finals
Serena Williams launched a charm offensive on Sunday as she sought to broker a truce with Maria Sharapova and calm the storm surrounding comments she made about a rape victim.
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova averted an early exit on a sweltering day in Flushing Meadows. Updates from Wednesday's play.
Second seed Garbine Muguruza, bidding to add the Wimbledon crown to her French Open title, was sensationally beaten in the second round on Thursday by Slovakian qualifier Jana Cepelova 6-3, 6-2 in the shock of the tournament so far.
Rafael Nadal gave a much improved performance to advance into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday, dispatching Spanish compatriot and crowd favourite David Ferrer 6-3, 6-3.
Roger Federer boasted of his fitness, Maria Sharapova felt a bit rusty and Andy Murray berated himself but all three eased into the second week of the Australian Open with third round victories at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal extended his astonishing winning run on clay to 42 consecutive sets as he reached the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan on Friday. The defending champion will face David Goffin on Saturday after the Belgian beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2.
Olympic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray picked up where he left off in Rio by drubbing Argentina's Juan Monaco to take his place in the third round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Images from Day 7 at the US Open.
IMAGES of the all the action from Day 1 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Monday
Images from the second day's play of the 2016 French Open at the Roland Garros
Images from Day 4 of the 2023 Australian Open, at Melbourne Park.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the US Open in New York on Wednesday.
World number one Ash Barty delighted the Memorial Drive crowd by breezing through to the Adelaide International semi-finals with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sofia Kenin on Friday.
Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all picked up third round wins at the Western and Southern Open on Thursday to set up a star-studded last eight in Cincinnati.
It's French Open time! The tennis world's only clay court Grand Slam begins on Sunday and the best of the best will battle it out.
PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday.
Naomi Osaka eased into the second round of the Italian Open on Monday with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over former world number one Victoria Azarenka, on a day in which local favourite Roberta Vinci called time on her career.
