Shanghai
Sixth seed Ben Shelton’s comeback from a left shoulder injury ended in disappointment at the Shanghai Masters on Friday. Playing his first match since the U.S. Open, Shelton was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Belgian player David Goffin in the second round.
The match was briefly halted due to rain, but once play resumed, Goffin broke Shelton’s serve and maintained control. Shelton, who had been sidelined for five weeks, admitted earlier in the week that he was focused on qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin, beginning November 9. Currently ranked sixth in the points race, only the top eight players qualify, and this loss may hurt his chances.
“This is the first time I’ve been in a good position to qualify for Turin at this stage of the season,” Shelton told the ATP Tour website before the match. “I still hope to collect more results and cross the line.”
In other second-round action, American Frances Tiafoe, seeded 25th, lost 6-7 (9), 6-2, 6-1 to Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann. Meanwhile, top seeds Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz were scheduled to play their openers later, as all higher-ranked players received first-round byes.
Elsewhere on the tour, Jannik Sinner, fresh off his China Open win in Beijing, was scheduled to begin his Shanghai campaign on Saturday. Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who recently defeated Fritz in the Japan Open final in Tokyo, announced he would skip Shanghai to recover from minor physical issues.