World number one Novak Djokovic beat ATP Finals alternate Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(1) 4-6 6-1 in their Green Group clash on Thursday and advanced to the semi-finals after Jannik Sinner edged Holger Rune 6-2 5-7 6-4 in the evening match.

Russian Zverev put on a powerful display to see off world number two.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion needed just one win or a defeat for young rival Carlos Alcaraz in order to secure top spot in the ATP rankings for 2023 and prevailed in a three-hour Green Group clash with spirited debutant Rune.

The 36-year-old Djokovic eclipsed his previous record set two years ago as the tournament's oldest champion, capturing his 40th Masters 1000 title and stretching his winning run to 18 matches.

Novak Djokovic rallied to defeat Andrey Rublev 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 in a gripping Paris Masters semi-final on Saturday, earning a shot at a record-extending seventh title in the final against Grigor Dimitrov.

"It's very tough seeing children, babies dying every day," she said.

Djokovic will spearhead Serbia at the tournament from December 29-January 7 in Sydney and Perth as he builds towards the defence of his Australian Open title.

The world number two said he had been "out of my mind" during his semi-final match against Jannik Sinner in the Chinese capital, which the Italian won 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the second round of the China Open with an imperious 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Sofia Kenin on Sunday.

Eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova claimed her first title of the season and second overall with a comprehensive 7-5 6-1 win over world number four Jessica Pegula in the Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo on Sunday.

Chinese tennis trailblazer Zhang Zhizhen claimed the nation's first men's singles gold medal at the Asian Games in nearly 30 years on Saturday, riding a wave of crowd support to beat Japan's Yosuke Watanuki 6-4 7-6(7) in Hangzhou.

Newly crowned world number one Aryna Sabalenka said Friday she is "super motivated" to finish the year in top spot as she prepares to compete in the China Open in Beijing.

Djokovic and Alcaraz have split their four meetings on tour and the veteran hoped they would continue having matches.

Federer will be present at this year's edition in Vancouver where a celebration is planned on Friday to mark the first anniversary of his final competitive match.

"I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics. In that sense, I think he (Djokovic) has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable," Nadal said in an interview with AS published on Wednesday

"I said that possibly 2024 was my last year, I maintain that, but I can not confirm it 100 percent because I do not know," Nadal told Movistar.

A tearful Andy Murray dedicated his Davis Cup win on Friday to his grandmother after missing her funeral to play in the tie against Switzerland.

The world number one eased to a 6-3, 6-4 success to give his country an unassailable 2-0 lead in Valencia after Laslo Djere's earlier 6-4, 6-4 win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Alcaraz pulled out of the final group stage after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open semi-finals, saying he needed a rest.

Romania's former world number one Simona Halep said on Tuesday that she would appeal to sport's highest court against the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) decision to ban her for four years after two separate anti-doping rule violations.