Novak Djokovic made a winning return following a month-long injury layoff, beating Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters yesterday.
Djokovic had not played a match since losing to Stan Wawrinka at the US Open, pulling out of last week’s China Open with an elbow injury.
The top-seeded Serb was rusty in his comeback in Shanghai — double-faulting four times and making 18 unforced errors with only 13 winners — but he had no trouble dispatching an even more erratic Fognini, who racked up 40 unforced errors of his own.
In other matches, former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro faded down the stretch against 11th-seeded David Goffin, dropping serve in the 11th game of the third set and losing 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The Argentine, on his own comeback from a series of career-threatening wrist injuries over the past several years, was trying to maintain the momentum that saw him win the Olympic silver medal in Rio de Janeiro and reach the US Open quarter-finals last month.
“In the end of the match, I make mistakes with my forehands and in important moments, and I think he took all the chances to win the match,” Del Potro said.
“But for me, it has been a great season. [I’m] trying to do a good comeback after many injuries. This is just a match,” he added.
Nick Kyrgios made a quick turnaround after capturing his third title of the year at the Rakuten Japan Open on Sunday, defeating Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4.
“I was just feeling very tired today. Didn’t have the greatest sleep last night and obviously got in late the day before,” the 12th-seeded Australian said. “It was just tough.”
Two other seeded players fell in the first round — No. 10 David Ferrer, who lost to Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), and No. 14 Richard Gasquet, who was beaten by Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4.
Dimitrov is coming off a runner-up finish at last week’s China Open.
Bernard Tomic retired from his match against 15th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut while trailing 6-3, 3-0 with an abdominal pain he said was exacerbated by his run to the China Open doubles final last week.
TIANJIN OPEN
AFP, BEIJING
Asian No. 1 Zhang Shuai yesterday crashed out of the Tianjin Open in the latest home-turf blow to the Chinese star.
Zhang withdrew from her match against unseeded compatriot Peng Shuai, who is to proceed to the second round without hitting a ball.
“I have some pain in the waist and knee,” the Tencent Sports Web site quoted Zhang as saying at a news conference.
“It’s the second time I’ve had to pull out of the Tianjin Open because of injury in three years, which is very disappointing,” she added.
The home soil loss is Zhang’s second in a week after she was defeated in the quarter-finals of Beijing’s China Open.
In another Tianjin upset, the US’ Shelby Rogers, ranked No. 66, dispatched third-seeded world No. 19 Elena Vesnina of Russia 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 in a tight match.
Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig saw off Japan’s Kurumi Nara in a swift two-set victory.
Meanwhile, the US’ Alison Riske — who won the tournament in 2014 — beat Timea Babos of Hungary 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to secure a second-round berth.
China has hosted an increasing number of WTA tournaments as it seeks more clout in the game.
The Tianjin Open carries a total prize purse of US$426,750, according to the WTA’s Web site.
GENERALI LADIES LINZ
AP, LINZ, Austria
Defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Monday eased past Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-4, 6-1 in less than an hour on the opening day of the Generali Ladies Linz.
The fifth-seeded Russian, who improved to 4-0 against Sevastova, conceded just nine points on her serve and denied her 31st-ranked opponent any break points.
Earlier, Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands slumped to her sixth straight opening-round defeat, losing to Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4, 6-2.
In Bertens’ first match since taking a month off, the French Open semi-finalist used a break to go up 4-3 in the opening set, but lost nine of the next 11 games and dropped her serve six times.
Bertens, who is ranked 23rd and was seeded sixth, has failed to win a match since reaching the final in Gstaad, Switzerland, in July.
In other first-round play, Misaki Doi of Japan beat Johanna Larsson of Sweden 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 and Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland defeated eighth-seeded Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-4, 6-2.
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