Altmaier Survives Rune Scare in Shanghai to Book Shelton Showdown

Daniel Altmaier turned a nightmare start into one of the first big wins of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, rallying past Holger Rune 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 on Wednesday afternoon in the opening round. Rune, the Dane returning to top-level tennis after rupturing his Achilles last October, dominated the opening set and looked set to march through. Altmaier's fightback was built on nerve rather than rhythm: he trailed 4-3 in the decider before reeling off the final three games, converting the only break point of his match in the ninth game to close out a 2-hour, 15-minute contest. Statistically it was a strange one. Rune finished with more winners and fewer unforced errors, but Altmaier produced the shot of the match — a sweeping backhand pass to bring up match point. "There were a couple of points where I really had to fight," the German said afterward. "My confidence hasn't been the highest. It paid off in a really special moment today." The reward is a second-round clash with third seed Ben Shelton, the world No. 4, who is chasing qualification for the ATP Finals in Turin. Altmaier holds the edge in their rivalry: he beat Shelton in their only previous meeting on clay in Hamburg earlier this season.