No Shanghai surprise /Djokovic too strong for Shapovalov
Defending champion Novak Djokovic made a strong start to his Shanghai Masters campaign with a straight-sets victory over Denis Shapovalov.
Djokovic arrived in China having put worries about a shoulder problem behind him by winning the ATP title in Tokyo last week and he was in excellent form in a 6-3, 6-3 win against Shapovalov to reach the third round. There he will play 16th seed John Isner, who was a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
The upturns in form for Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas continued, with the two men posting near identical results.
Tsitsipas had previously described Felix Auger-aliassime as the toughest opponent he had ever faced but he finally got a first win over the Canadian teenager, beating him 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3).
Zverev, meanwhile, continued his pursuit of a qualifying spot for the ATP Finals with a 7-6 (13), 7-6 (3) victory over Jeremy Chardy.
Fourth seed Dominic Thiem continued his winning run after lifting the trophy in Beijing last week with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
On a good day for the seeds, there were also wins for Karen Khachanov, Roberto Bautista Agut, Matteo Berrettini, Andrey Rublev and David Goffin, who faces Roger Federer in the third round.
On the WTA Tour, American teenager Coco Gauff sealed a place in her first quarter-final at that level when Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova retired in the final set of their second round match at the Upper Austria Ladies’ Linz.
Kozlova was suffering with a left lower leg injury.
After getting into the main draw following the withdrawal of sixth seed Maria Sakkari, Gauff beat Stefanie Voegele on Tuesday on what she called her “lucky day”.
She needed all of her skills to battle back against the Ukrainian No 4 on Centre Court yesterday. From a set and a break down at 6-4, 3-2, Gauff won four of the next five games to force a final set, and claimed eight of the first nine points of the decider before Kozlova could no longer continue, with the scoreboard at 4-6, 6-4, 2-0 in favour of the 15-year-old.
“I just want to continue to use these matches to improve. My dad told me he saw improvements even since the US Open,” Gauff told the WTA website. “Right now, it’s all about matches for me, and getting as many matches under my belt, as much as possible. I feel fresh and eager to do well.”