TENNIS ATP SHANGHAI – Andy Murray made a winning debut at the Shanghai Rolex Masters with a 6-1 7-5 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili. World Number 553 Chuhan Wang surprisingly beat Fabio Fognini with 7-5 6-4 Diego Sampaolo
Murray broke three times, including the first game, to cruise to a easy 6-1 in a one-sided first set. The 2013 Wimbledon champion committed the first of his three double faults in the second set to drop serve After Gabashvili got a second break in the second set, Murray faced a tough challenge when he went down 3-5 Murray drew level to 5-5 before breaking serve again in the 12th to clinch the 7-5 win in the third set.
“I started the match well. He wasn’t in much of a rhythm at the beginning. At the start o the second set, I played a sloppy game on my serve. He gained some confidence from that and and started playing better. He was timing the ball a lot better in the second set. I just had to find a way through in the end. I used smart tactics at the end of the set. It was a good start for me but there is some work to be done”, said Murray.
Murray set up a second round-match against Jerzy Janowicz who rallied from a set down to battle past Edouard Roger-Vasselin with 3-6 7-5 7-6 (8-6). Murray and Janowicz will meet for the second consecutive week after the first round in Beijing where the Dunblane player recovered from a set down.
Chinese wild card Chuhan Wang, who is ranked World Number 553, upset World Number 17 Fabio Fognini with a 7-6 6-4 win in front of his home supporters in his first appearance in a Master 1000 Tournament.
The home player played a solid match from the baseline, especially with his forehand. The first set went down to the tie-break where Wang got a mini-break to take a 3-1 lead. Fognini made a costly double fault at 2-4. Fognini clawed his way back to 4-5 but he faced two set points after a backhand error. Wang closed out the tie-break on his second set point.
Wang got a early break in the second set. Fognini broke straight back but made two double faults to drop his serve again. Wang hit a backhand down the line to seal a well-deserved win with 6-4.
Wang, who lost in the first round of the Beijing qualifying, fended off four of the five break point chances he faced. The home player set up a second round match against Malek Jaziri in the second round and could meet Stan Wawrinka in the third round. Wawrinka’s rival in the second round will be Gilles Simon who fought back from a set down to beat Guillermo Garcia Lopez with 3-6 6-0 6-1.
Wang’s win was a real surprise considering that he achieved his best results this year when he reached two semifinals at Futures Tournaments.
Fognini has lost his fifth consecutive match. He has won just one match since he reached the quarter final at the Cincinnati Master 1000 Tournament.
Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic, who knocked out US Open champion Marin Cilic, beat Yen Hsun Lu 7-6(6) 6-3. Karlovic hit 24 aces and dropped just nine points on serve. He will face either Tomas Berdych or Richard Gasquet.
Canadian Vasek Pospisil overcame Santiago Giraldo in three sets with 6-2 6-7(5) 6-1. Giraldo saved two match points in the 10th game of the second set which came down to the tie-break where Giraldo rallied from a 2-5 deficit by winning five consecutive games to force the match to the third set. Pospisil wrapped up the match as Giraldo made a double fault.
Mikhail Youzhny converted three of his four break points and dropped just 10 points on serve in his 6-4 6-1 win over this year’s Roland Garros semifinalist Ernests Gulbis. Youzhny will face Ivan Dodig who beat Pablo Cuevas 7-5 6-2.
Rafa Nadal will face his compatriot Feliciano Lopez in his second round match in Shanghai. Lopez fought back from a set down after losing a tough tie-break with 14-12 to battle past Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 6-3 6-4. Lopez fired 19 aces. However, there a question mark on Nadal who is suffering from appendicitis. Nadal began feeling pain on his abdomen last Saturday, the day after losing to Martin Klizan in the Beijing quarter finals. The next day he went to to the hospital where the doctors confirmed he had the early stages of appendicitis. Nadal chose to try treatment with antibiotics rather than undergo surgery.
“I am not going to go for surgery. That’s great news for me today. That’s why I am practising here for 45 minutes and trying to play tomorrow but obviously I am not in my best condition”, said Nadal.
Martin Klizan, who upset Nadal in the quarter final in Beijing, continued his good period of form beating Sam Groth 7-6(1) 6-1.
