Murray wins Shanghai opener

SHANGHAI, OCTOBER 7

Former world No.1 Andy Murray recovered from a slow start to beat Argentine qualifier Juan Ignacio Londero 2-6 6-2 6-3 in the Shanghai Masters opening round today. 

Murray, who is competing in Shanghai for the first time since his title run in 2016, improved after being broken twice in the opening set by Londero. The three-time Grand Slam champion claimed the second set after converting break points in Londero's first and last service games, before switching gears to take control of the match in the decider. Murray sealed a crucial service break in the sixth game with a booming forehand winner and went on to set up a second round meeting with 10th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini. 

The Scot is looking to build his form on the Asian swing this season after undergoing career-saving hip surgery in January.  He worked his way to a first quarterfinal appearance of the season in Beijing last week, where he lost to eventual winner Dominic Thiem.  "I got better as the match went on — I had to start going for my shots a bit more," said the 32-year-old, who was awarded a wildcard entry to the tournament. 

Canadian Denis Shapovalov dropped two points on his first-serve as he eased past American Frances Tiafoe 6-4 6-2.  Shapovalov will next face newly-crowned Tokyo champion Novak Djokovic, who has won their previous two meetings this season. — AFP

Djokovic No. 1 

Paris: Andy Murray climbed over 200 places in the new ATP rankings released today while Novak Djokovic extended his lead over Rafael Nadal at the top. The Scotsman is on the comeback trail after career-saving hip surgery, reached the quarterfinals of the China Open where he lost to eventual winner Dominic Thiem. The run lifted the 32-year-old 214 places from 503 in the world to 289. AFP