Stefanos Tsitsipas advances to the second round at the Shanghai Masters

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, defeating qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-3, 7-5 in a first-round match. Tsitsipas, who peaked at No. 3 in rankings in 2021, had to win two qualifying matches to reach the main draw at last week's Japan Open, where he lost in the second round. Previously, Tsitsipas suffered a fourth-round loss at the U.S. Open to eventual finalist Ben Shelton.

After falling to No. 87 mid-year, the two-time major finalist has climbed back to No. 43. Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic was set to play Matteo Arnaldi in a later first-round match. Tomic, 33, is making a significant ranking move, his first ATP 1000 main draw appearance in seven years. The former world No. 16, who has faced numerous off-court issues, secured his spot with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan's Timofey Skatov in the final round of qualifying.

Tomic, currently ranked 185, has won 19 of his past 26 matches. Top-seeded players like Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz received first-round byes and will not play until the weekend or later. Meanwhile, top-ranked Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Shanghai tournament due to a right knee injury and will take the rest of the season off.