American quartet shine in Shanghai

Four American players pulled off upsets at the Shanghai Masters yesterday. A fifth wasn’t so lucky.

Sam Querrey, Mackenzie Mcdonald, Bradley Klahn and Taylor Fritz all posted first-round wins, while Frances Tiafoe lost his match.

Perhaps the most surprising win came from the 81st-ranked Mcdonald, who defeated 14th-seeded Milos Raonic 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

“Definitely my biggest win to date,” said Mcdonald, a qualifier into the main draw. “I thought I played great tennis and I could feel all the improvements I’ve had over the last few months and was happy I could put it together tonight.”

Klahn, also a qualifier and making his first appearance in Shanghai, defeated talented Aussie Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Querrey upset ninthseeded Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4, while Fritz beat Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6. The pair will face each other in the next round. Tiafoe, however, lost to Matthew Ebden 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

In other matches, tenthseeded Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Gael Monfils 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 and 13th-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia defeated wild-card entry Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The 20-year-old Tsitsipas is one of the fastest rising players on tour. He started the season ranked No 91 and is currently sitting at No 15.