Eighth seed John Isner was forced to dig deep to save three match points to win a second-round match containing three tie-breaks and keep alive his outside chance to qualify for next month’s ATP World Tour Finals.
Isner booked his place in the third round by beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-6 [7/3], 6-7 [8/10], 7-6 [9/7] in two hours and 45 minutes.
In a match featuring 45 aces and no service breaks, Anderson squandered match points at 6-4 and 7-6 in the third set tie-break.
‘Really we both served well,’ said Isner. ‘It’s one of the few times where I don’t think I was out served, but he served right up there with me as far as, you know, aces, percentages, whatnot.’
Japan’s Kei Nishikori cruised through his Shanghai Masters opener on Tuesday.
Nishikori, the number 14 seed, who became the first Japanese player to win the Japan Open on Sunday, eased past China’s Wu Di 6-2, 6-4 in his first round match.
‘Obviously, it’s not easy to play [so soon] after winning the tournament,’ said the 22-year-old, who is at career-high of number 15 in the rankings after his success in front of home fans.
‘But I had a good day today. I love to play here,’ added Nishikori, who reached the semi-finals in Shanghai last year before he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray of Britain.
In first-round action, French 15th seed Gilles Simon knocked out Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 6-2 and Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, the number 13 seed, battled past Albert Ramos of Spain 7-6 [7/1], 7-6 [7/5].
Seventh-seeded Juan Monaco was upset by fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-2. The 23rd-ranked Verdasco broke his opponent three times and hold serve throughout the match.
In other first-round matches, No. 12 Milos Raonic of Canada beat Marinko Matosevic of Australia 7-6 [4], 6-3.
The top three seeds Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Murray -- all open their campaigns on Wednesday after first-round byes for the top eight seeds.
NO. 1 TOUGH SPOT TO REACH, SAYS MURRAY
US Open champion Andy Murray admitted Tuesday that winning his first Grand Slam had been a huge relief but said reaching the world number one ranking would be tough in an era of such intense competition.
The 25-year-old’s victory in New York last month was Britain’s first men’s singles win in a major since the 1930s, and led to inevitable speculation about when the Scot would reach the top spot for the first time.
The Shanghai Masters defending champion, currently world number three behind Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, whom he beat in the US Open final, said he was focusing on each tournament and achieving consistency.
‘I hope it gives me some more confidence when I’m on the court,’ said Murray of his US Open triumph. ‘You know, that’s the one thing that I hope I would have got out of it.
‘I mean, I haven’t felt so different. I felt, yeah, a lot of relief. It was a big weight off my back at the time. So, you know, getting on the practice court, getting in the gym and stuff, has become a bit easier probably.
Murray said the top spot was a reward for playing good tennis throughout the whole season. ‘You need to focus more on the process and not so much just ‘number one.’ number one’.
Isner booked his place in the third round by beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-6 [7/3], 6-7 [8/10], 7-6 [9/7] in two hours and 45 minutes.
In a match featuring 45 aces and no service breaks, Anderson squandered match points at 6-4 and 7-6 in the third set tie-break.
‘Really we both served well,’ said Isner. ‘It’s one of the few times where I don’t think I was out served, but he served right up there with me as far as, you know, aces, percentages, whatnot.’
Japan’s Kei Nishikori cruised through his Shanghai Masters opener on Tuesday.
Nishikori, the number 14 seed, who became the first Japanese player to win the Japan Open on Sunday, eased past China’s Wu Di 6-2, 6-4 in his first round match.
‘Obviously, it’s not easy to play [so soon] after winning the tournament,’ said the 22-year-old, who is at career-high of number 15 in the rankings after his success in front of home fans.
‘But I had a good day today. I love to play here,’ added Nishikori, who reached the semi-finals in Shanghai last year before he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray of Britain.
In first-round action, French 15th seed Gilles Simon knocked out Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 6-2 and Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, the number 13 seed, battled past Albert Ramos of Spain 7-6 [7/1], 7-6 [7/5].
Seventh-seeded Juan Monaco was upset by fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-2. The 23rd-ranked Verdasco broke his opponent three times and hold serve throughout the match.
In other first-round matches, No. 12 Milos Raonic of Canada beat Marinko Matosevic of Australia 7-6 [4], 6-3.
The top three seeds Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Murray -- all open their campaigns on Wednesday after first-round byes for the top eight seeds.
NO. 1 TOUGH SPOT TO REACH, SAYS MURRAY
US Open champion Andy Murray admitted Tuesday that winning his first Grand Slam had been a huge relief but said reaching the world number one ranking would be tough in an era of such intense competition.
The 25-year-old’s victory in New York last month was Britain’s first men’s singles win in a major since the 1930s, and led to inevitable speculation about when the Scot would reach the top spot for the first time.
The Shanghai Masters defending champion, currently world number three behind Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, whom he beat in the US Open final, said he was focusing on each tournament and achieving consistency.
‘I hope it gives me some more confidence when I’m on the court,’ said Murray of his US Open triumph. ‘You know, that’s the one thing that I hope I would have got out of it.
‘I mean, I haven’t felt so different. I felt, yeah, a lot of relief. It was a big weight off my back at the time. So, you know, getting on the practice court, getting in the gym and stuff, has become a bit easier probably.
Murray said the top spot was a reward for playing good tennis throughout the whole season. ‘You need to focus more on the process and not so much just ‘number one.’ number one’.