Tsitsipas Fights Past Coppejans to Reach Shanghai Second Round as Hurkacz Books Djokovic Showdown

Stefanos Tsitsipas took another step in his long road back on Thursday, defeating qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the Shanghai Masters. The two-time major finalist, who once stood at No. 3 in the world in 2021, has endured a difficult two years. He slipped as low as No. 87 earlier this season and arrived in Shanghai at No. 43 after falling in qualifying at last week's Japan Open. Thursday's win over the Belgian was solid rather than spectacular, but it keeps his momentum alive following a fourth-round run at the US Open, where he lost to eventual finalist Ben Shelton. Tsitsipas now meets 18th-seeded Luciano Darderi in the second round. Elsewhere on Thursday, big-serving Hubert Hurkacz needed 19 aces to dismiss James Duckworth 6-3, 7-6(4), earning a marquee second-round clash with No. 10 seed Novak Djokovic, who captured his 102nd career title in Beijing on Tuesday. There was also a notable qualifying success story: Bernard Tomic, the former world No. 16 whose ranking once sank to 825, reached an ATP 1000 main draw for the first time in seven years before falling 6-3, 6-1 to Matteo Arnaldi. The top seeds — Djokovic, US Open champion Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz — all received first-round byes and begin their campaigns over the weekend.