Shanghai Masters: Medvedev, Tsitsipas start campaign with victory

Daniil Medvedev began his campaign with an resounding victory against Thiago Seyboth Wild at the Rolex Shanghai Masters Friday.

The 28-year-old former US Open champion got his revenge over the Brazilian with a 7-5,7-5 victory in the second round after Seyboth Wild had stunned Medvedev in the first round of Roland Garros last year.

“I’m happy I managed to stay composed in tough moments. He had a break in both sets. I managed to put on a lot of pressure and both times it worked at 5-all,” said Medvedev, who is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin and next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

“I love Shanghai and I feel the people love me back. I enjoy it a lot so I want to stay as long as possible here.”

Medvedev will next meet 29th-seeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the third round and is seeded to meet Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

Earlier, Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the third round after defeating the former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori 7-6(6), 6-4, and earning his 200th hard-court victory.

The 26-year-old Greek lost to Nishikori in the Montreal second round in August, but he came back stronger this week to tie the score in their ATP meetings at 2-2 and go to 5-0 in the Shanghai opening rounds. In the tie-break in the opening set, the Greek saved one set point. Tsitsipas will take against Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the third round.

Aleksandar Vukic, an Australian qualifier, won convincingly to record his greatest victory to date. The 28-year-old, who trailed his first serve by just six points, defeated eighth seed Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4. In crucial situations, Vukic hit the ball with assurance and adopted an aggressive stance on the court to counter the Norwegian.

Vukic saved all three of his break point opportunities and held on to win both sets. He will now take on 30th seed Tomas Machac. Vukic had lost the previous four of his previous five games at all levels going into Shanghai.