SHANGHAI — Two-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas beat qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-3, 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters first round on Thursday, continuing his slow climb back up the ATP rankings. Tsitsipas reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in 2021. He lost in qualifying at last week’s Japan Open. At his previous tournament, the U.S. Open, he lost in the fourth round to eventual finalist Ben Shelton. After slipping to No. 87 mid-year, Tsitsipas has worked his way up to 43. He next faces 18th-seeded Luciano Darderi. Big-serving Polish player Hubert Hurkacz had 19 aces in a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win against James Duckworth and next plays No. 10 seed Djokovic, who won the China Open on Tuesday for a 102nd career title. Bernard Tomic, a former world No. 16 whose ranking dropped to as low as 825 four years ago, qualified for an ATP 1000 main draw for the first time in seven years. He lost his first-round match to Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-1. The top seeds including Djokovic, U.S. Open champion Alexander Zverev and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz received first-round byes and were not scheduled to play until the weekend or later. No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew from Shanghai this week when he announced he was taking the rest of 2026 off due to a right knee injury. The Associated Press
