Ben Shelton marked his 24th birthday on Friday by moving into the third round of the Shanghai Masters, defeating Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6 (6). This ATP 1000-level tournament follows Shelton's appearance for the U.S. in the Davis Cup, where he lost both of his singles matches after withdrawing from the Laver Cup team event.
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Top seed Alexander Zverev, who had previously defeated Shelton in the U.S. Open final, also progressed, winning against Chinese wild card Wu Yibing 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Novak Djokovic, fresh from winning the China Open for his 102nd career title, was scheduled to face Hubert Hurkacz in a night match. Ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur advanced via walkover after opponent Alex Molcan retired due to an undisclosed injury. De Minaur had recently retired with an adductor injury during the China Open final against Djokovic.
Additionally, qualifier Rei Sakamoto triumphed over 23rd-seeded Andrey Rublev with a score of 6-4, 6-4. Jannik Sinner, ranked first, withdrew from the tournament this week, citing the need to take the remainder of 2026 off due to a right knee injury. Djokovic mentioned his intention to reach out to Sinner regarding his injury-affected season.