+ A
A -
DPA
London
World number one Novak Djokovic eased through to the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.
Djokovic is aiming for his 34th Masters title in China, which would close the gap on Rafael Nadal, who leads with 35 titles.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev earlier overcame a tough test in a 7-6 (15-13), 7-6 (7-3) victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. Zverev, who is the defending ATP Finals champion, has still not qualified for the November tour-ending event in London with three of eight places remaining.
In his third meeting with Djokovic this year, Shapovalov misfired a backhand to give the 16-time major winner a break at 5-3 before he confidently served out the first set. The four-time Shanghai champion stormed to two breaks in the second set as a Shapovalov forehand sailed long to end a one-sided affair in 70 minutes.
Djokovic will next play John Isner on Thursday after the American bested France’s Lucas Pouille 7-5, 6-3.
The 22-year-old Zverev was 5-3 down in the first tie-break and missed five set points until Chardy wilted with an error at 14-13. He stumbled in the second set to give Chardy a break at 3-2 but his 32-year-old opponent couldn’t serve successfully to tie the match at 5-4, as Zverev broke back to enter a second tie-break. The contest was over when Zverev raced into a 4-1 lead before securing his third round place in 1 hour 48 minutes.
Zverev will come up against Andrey Rublev next after the Russian 21-year-old dismissed Australia’s John Millman 6-2, 6-0.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas kept up his chances of qualifying for London with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3) hard-fought win over Canadian teen Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Speaking about the possibility of making his ATP Finals debut, Tsitsipas said: “I know that in order to see my name among the [big] titles, I’m going to have to go through a lot of pain and a lot of hype and struggle.”
He added: “I’m honestly excited. I’m excited. I’m excited by the idea of trying to get there.”
Matteo Berrettini, currently 10th in the race rankings, is also in the running after the Italian progressed to the third round by defeating Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-3. He will face a fellow race contender Roberto Bautista-Agut next after the Spaniard dispatched American Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-5.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over another American Taylor Fritz. Belgium’s David Goffin is through after Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin retired through injury at 6-2, 3-0. Goffin will meet second-seeded Roger Federer in round three.
London
World number one Novak Djokovic eased through to the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.
Djokovic is aiming for his 34th Masters title in China, which would close the gap on Rafael Nadal, who leads with 35 titles.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev earlier overcame a tough test in a 7-6 (15-13), 7-6 (7-3) victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. Zverev, who is the defending ATP Finals champion, has still not qualified for the November tour-ending event in London with three of eight places remaining.
In his third meeting with Djokovic this year, Shapovalov misfired a backhand to give the 16-time major winner a break at 5-3 before he confidently served out the first set. The four-time Shanghai champion stormed to two breaks in the second set as a Shapovalov forehand sailed long to end a one-sided affair in 70 minutes.
Djokovic will next play John Isner on Thursday after the American bested France’s Lucas Pouille 7-5, 6-3.
The 22-year-old Zverev was 5-3 down in the first tie-break and missed five set points until Chardy wilted with an error at 14-13. He stumbled in the second set to give Chardy a break at 3-2 but his 32-year-old opponent couldn’t serve successfully to tie the match at 5-4, as Zverev broke back to enter a second tie-break. The contest was over when Zverev raced into a 4-1 lead before securing his third round place in 1 hour 48 minutes.
Zverev will come up against Andrey Rublev next after the Russian 21-year-old dismissed Australia’s John Millman 6-2, 6-0.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas kept up his chances of qualifying for London with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3) hard-fought win over Canadian teen Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Speaking about the possibility of making his ATP Finals debut, Tsitsipas said: “I know that in order to see my name among the [big] titles, I’m going to have to go through a lot of pain and a lot of hype and struggle.”
He added: “I’m honestly excited. I’m excited. I’m excited by the idea of trying to get there.”
Matteo Berrettini, currently 10th in the race rankings, is also in the running after the Italian progressed to the third round by defeating Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-3. He will face a fellow race contender Roberto Bautista-Agut next after the Spaniard dispatched American Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-5.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over another American Taylor Fritz. Belgium’s David Goffin is through after Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin retired through injury at 6-2, 3-0. Goffin will meet second-seeded Roger Federer in round three.
