Shanghai Rolex Masters 2014: Daily Scores, Results and Draw Schedule

The 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters will be the second-to-last ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament on the schedule before the Finals in London, and with the Race To London really heating up, the Qizhong stadium is set to play witness to some high drama.

Novak Djokovich, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have already qualified for the big showdown at the O2 Arena, but with five more spots up for grabs, top players like Andy Murray and David Ferrer are on the outside looking in.

Rankings leader Djokovic is once again in fine form, stampeding to a fifth China Open title with a 6-0, 6-2 final win over Tomas Berdych. The Serb always plays well on Asian soil, having won 24 consecutive China Open matches, and even he had to concede everything is working for him right now, via BBC Sport:

"

It was probably my best performance in all the finals in my career. It was incredible, incredible.

It was 6-0 5-0 in under an hour. Everything I tried worked. To be proud of the performance is the least I can say of how I played.

"

Nadal played his first official singles match at the China Open since injuring his wrist, and while he moved as well as he did before the injury, the quarter-final exit highlighted a clear lack of match rhythm.

The Spaniard should improve with every stroke he makes, and Shanghai will provide him with an excellent opportunity to rediscover his form ahead of the final Masters 1000 in Paris.

Federer was greeted by hundreds of fans upon arrival in China, and the draw looks favourable for the Swiss legend, at least until the semi-finals. Federer may have a chance to win of Finals this season, but with Djokovic playing as well as he is right now, things won't come easy.

Draw and Schedule

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

Seeding

1: Novak Djokovich (SRB)

2: Rafael Nadal (ESP)

3: Roger Federer (SWI)

4: Stan Wawrinka (SWI)

5: David Ferrer (ESP)

6: Milos Raonic (CAN)

7: Tomas Berdych (CZE)

8: Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)

All seedings courtesy of atpworldtour.com.

For the full Shanghai Masters draw, click here.

The Race To London rankings can be found here.

Oct. 12 Roger Federer Battles to Victory

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

Oct. 12 Results

Men's Singles Final

[3] Roger Federer defeats Gilles Simon: 7-6(6), 7-6(2)

Men's Doubles Final

[1] Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan defeats Julien Benneteau & Edouard Roger-Vasselin: 6-3, 7-6(3)

Roger Federer produced a battling display to triumph in the final of the Shanghai Masters, overcoming a dogged Gilles Simon in two sets by a score of 7-6(6), 

The first set was an especially tense affair, with neither player really keen to take chances. Both players served conservatively—perhaps best illustrated by a measly total of five aces in the opening set—and looked to keep themselves in rallies. Ultimately, it looked as though it would come down to who would be the most clinical on the big points.

For a while that looked to be Benneteau, as he took the only break point yielded to him in the set to move clear early on. But when tasked with serving out the set, Federer—in the style of a 17-time grand slam winner—fought back. The third seed broke the Frenchman late on to wrestle back the momentum heading into the tie break, and from there, it was no surprise to see the Swiss take the first set.

The second began in a similar fashion, with neither player able to get their serve going and pick up a run of cheap points. The result was some draining rallies between the pair and a lot of very even games. Nonetheless, the mental fortitude of both players was on show, as they clung onto their serve for the first 12 games.

But on the balance of things, it was Federer who looked the most comfortable on serve. He was typically unflustered throughout and while it was a brutal contest for both players, it was the Swiss that had that extra vibrancy in his play in the latter stages of the second set. But Simon diligently hung on in there to take the second set to a tie-break; he actually let two set points slip in the latter stages.

Federer began the tie-break on the front foot, and once he established a two-point lead at 4-2, it was always going to be difficult for a weary Simon to battle his way back. The Swiss insouciantly manoeuvred his opponent around the court throughout the tie-break, and it was little surprise to see Federer run out as 7-2 winner in the tie-break.

The Swiss is looking in inspired form ahead of a vital end to the campaign. Now he has the ATP Tour Finals in London to look forward to, as well as a Davis Cup Final with his country, and going off this display—not to mention his virtuoso performance against Novak Djokovic in the semi-final—suggests he'll be well in the mix for grand slam titles in 2015.

Elsewhere, Bob and Mike Bryan were in typically imperious form in the the final of the men's doubles. The American pair cemented their place as the top pairing of the year for the tenth time ahead of this final, per Karim Zidan of stevegtennis.com, and they produced a display worthy of their No. 1 ranking.

The brothers were exceptional in the first set, boasting far too much for the French pairing of Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, eventually running out 6-3 winners. And while they were made to work a lot harder in the second set, there was always a sense that the No. 1 seeds were well in control of the match.

Oct. 11 Results: Roger Federer Sees off Novak Djokovic to Reach Final

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

Oct. 11 Results:

Men's Singles Semi-Finals

Gilles Simon defeats Feliciano Lopez: 6-2, 7-6

Roger Federer defeats Novak Djokovic: 6-4, 6-4

Men's Doubles Semi-Finals

Bill Bryan and Mike Bryan defeat Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea: 7-6, 6-4

Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin defeat Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez: 3-6, 6-4, 10-7

Roger Federer disposed of world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Saturday, taking down the Serb in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

Djokovic has been in the form of his life of late, but the Swiss used all of his experience and tactical nous to go through in impressively comfortable fashion.

Both players looked imperious on serve in the opening four matches, but the first chance of a break in the match saw Federer take control.

At 15-40, Djokovic saved one point, but a phenomenal Federer backhand saw him move ahead 3-2 and edge towards the opening set.

The world no. 1 tried with all of his might to break back, but the Federer service game was just too strong—summed up with a love game in the eighth to make it 5-3 before eventually closing the set out 6-4.

When the duo came out for the second set, we expected a backlash from the in-form Djokovic, but sadly, it never came.

The Serbian dropped his serve on set two’s opener as Federer raced into the lead, and it’s one he never surrendered as he rounded off the match in style by holding on in every service game to record another 6-4 victory.

We all expected Djokovic, in the form he’s in, to comfortably knock Federer out, but a complete role reversal just shows how professional the Swiss star is.

The victory was impressive enough, but the fact that he only one break point down the entire match makes it doubly so.

However, Federer needs to keep up his brilliance if he’s to find a way past Gilles Simon in Sunday’s final, with the Frenchman looking a dangerous underdog.

Besides, Federer himself has proved that sometimes matches don’t go according to the script, and it’s something he’ll be more than aware of on his chase for the title.

Frenchman Simon cruised into the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters in the first semi-final on Saturday, seeing off the challenge of Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.

Lopez came into the match off the back of a thriller with Mikhail Youzhny on Friday, and tiredness may have been the reason behind his sluggish start to the first set.

At 1-1, Lopez was broken by Simon in a very poor service game, before losing his serve once again two games later.

From then on, Simon was able to cruise through the opener, winning comfortably 6-2 with consecutive love games on serve to finish it off in style.

The second set was a different story altogether, though, as Lopez suddenly looked calm and assured on serve, despite a third-game blockbuster that saw 13 deuce points.

The pair exchanged blows without breaking to move into a tie-break, where normal service was resumed by Simon.

The Frenchman raced into a 4-0 lead before Lopez had even woken up from his second-set slumber, eventually closing it out 7-1.

It was nothing more than Simon deserved for a phenomenal performance, particularly with serve, and he now needs to bring that form into the final.

Oct. 10: Novak Djokovic Storms to Semi-Finals to Face Roger Federer

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Oct. 10 Results

Men's Singles Quarter-Finals

[1] Novak Djokovic defeats [5] David Ferrer: 6-4, 6-2

Feliciano Lopez defeats Mikhail Youzhny: 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

Gilles Simon defeats [6] Tomas Berdych: 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-0

[3] Roger Federer defeats Julien Benneteau 7-6(4), 6-0

Men's Doubles Quarter-Finals

Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea defeat [4] Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo: 6-4, 3-6, 10-7  

Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez defeat Lukas Rosol & Mikhail Youzhny: 7-6, 4-6. 6-0 

Recap

Novak Djokovic proved once again why he is the best player in the world as he cruised past David Ferrer on Friday, winning 6-4, 6-2.

The Serbian machine was not in his best form but still managed to comfortably beat his dangerous opponent, and will now face Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

Djokovic found his mark with 71 percent of his first serves, winning 84 percent of those points. Crucially he also saved both break points created by Ferrer, per ATPWorldTour.com.

Djokovic is now on an amazing 29-match undefeated streak in China, per Tennis.com, and he will look to make that 30 games in the semi-final.

The World No. 1 last lost here in 2010, when he was defeated by Federer in Shanghai.

Federer himself had a tricky opening to his match with Julien Benneteau—winning the first set via a tiebreak. But the legend stormed to a tremendous finish, defeating the Frenchman 6-0 in the final set.

Federer also had an altercation with the umpire, during which the Swiss accused the official of ignoring him over a questionable call. 

In the other quarter-finals, both unseeded players Feliciano Lopez and Gilles Simon progressed from their matches and will now face each other in the semis. 

Simon impressively beat sixth seed Tomas Berdych, winning the final set 6-0. Lopez was also in fine form, winning 86% of points on his first serve to advance.  

Oct. 9: Andy Murray Stunned by David Ferrer as Novak Djokovic Advances

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

Oct. 9 Results:

Men's Singles Round of 16

[1] Novak Djokovic defeats Mikhail Kukushkin: 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

[5] David Ferrer [11] defeats Andy Murray: 2-6, 6-1, 6-2

[3] Roger Federer defeats [14] Roberto Bautista Agut: 6-4, 6-2

Julien Benneteau defeats Jack Sock: 6-3, 6-4

[6] Tomas Berdych defeats Ivo Karlovich: 6-3, 6-4

Gilles Simon defeats Malek Jaziri: 6-2, 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny defeats Juan Monaco: 5-7, 6-3, 6-2

Feliciano Lopez defeats [13] John Isner: 6-3, 6-4

Men's Doubles Quarter Finals

Julien Benneteau & Edouard Roger-Vasselin defeats Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares: 3-6, 6-3, 10-7

Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan defeats Juan Sebastian Cabal & Robert Farah: 3-6, 6-4, 10-7

Men's Doubles Round of 32 

Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo defeats Santiago Giraldo and Scott Lipsky: 6-3, 3-6, 10-6

Recap

Andy Murray’s chances of breaking into the world’s top eight to secure a place in the ATP World Tour Finals were dealt a serious blow on Thursday as he was beaten in three sets by David Ferrer in the last 16 of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.

Murray produced a near perfect set of tennis to win the opener 6-2 and looked to have all the momentum in the last-16 match. His first serve percentage—often an issue for the Scot—was up at 76 per cent and Ferrer was constantly on the back foot.

However, the Spaniard rallied spectacularly to win the second set 6-1, returning everything that was thrown at him. Ferrer is known for his industry at the baseline, and he appeared to have more energy than his wilting opponent.

With both men looking for the win and with qualification to the Finals in mind there was a great deal on the line. It was Ferrer who eventually got the best of a tired Murray with two breaks in the final set, and he now moves above the two-time Grand Slam champion to ninth place in the Race to London.

Ferrer will face first seed and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals after the Serb came through a tough three-setter against Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin.

Djokovic won the opener fairly smoothly, holding his serve and eventually breaking his opponent late on in the set. However, Kukushkin came out firing in the second set, his first serve working magnificently as he barely gave Djokovic a chance for the break while claiming one himself.

Late on in the second, Djokovic broke back and looked to have claimed the momentum only for Kukushkin to win the set with some terrific returning.

An early break in the final and deciding set gave Djokovic the initiative and this time he did not give it up despite a spirited effort from his opponent. 

Elsewhere, Mikhail Youzhny battled back impressively from one set down to reach the quarter-finals courtesy of a victory over Juan Monaco.

World No. 7 Tomas Berdych eased his way into the quarter-finals with a straightforward two-set victory over Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic, while Julien Benneteau, Gilles Simon and Feliciano Lopez also progressed with aplomb.

In the final singles match of the night, No. 3 Roger Federer vastly improved upon his performance in the previous round against Leonardo Mayer. Federer had to fight off five match points to beat Mayer. On Thursday, he easily dispatched Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. to advance to the quarterfinals.

Oct. 8: Rafael Nadal Beaten as Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic Progress

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

Oct. 8 Results:

Men's Singles Round of 32

Jack Sock defeats [7] Kei Nishikori: 7-6[7], 6-4

Gilles Simon defeats [4] Stan Wawrinka: 5-7, 7-5, 6-4

[11] Andy Murray defeats Jerzy Janowicz: 7-5, 6-2

[5] David Ferrer defeats Martin Klizan: 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4

Julien Benneteau defeats [10] Grigor Dimitrov: 7-5, 6-3

Malek Jaziri defeats Chuhan Wang: 6-0, 6-4

[14] Roberto Bautista Agut defeats Vasek Pospisil: 7-6(1), 6-7(4), 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny defeats Ivan Dodig: 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-3.

[6] Tomas Berdych defeats Richard Gasquet: 6-3, 6-1

Juan Monaco defeats [8] Milos Raonic: 5-2 retired.

[13] John Isner defeats Steven Johnson: 7-6(6), 76(7)

[1] Novak Djokovic defeats Dominic Thiem: 6-3, 6-4

Feliciano Lopez defeats [2] Rafael Nadal: 6-3, 7-6(6) 

[3] Roger Federer defeats Leonardo Mayer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6

Men's Doubles Round of 32

Santiago Giraldo & Scott Lipsky defeat Marin Cilic & Santiago Gonzalez: 6-4, 3-6, 10-8

Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea defeat Vasek Pospisil & Jack Sock: 2-6, 6-3, 11-9

[6] Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez defeat Pablo Cuevas & David Marrero: 6-0, 6-1.

Julien Benneteau & Edouard roger-Vasselin defeat Marcin Matkowski & Leander Paes: 6-2, 6-4.

Juan Sebastian Cabal & Robert Farah defeat [8] Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau: 1-6, 7-6(5), 10-5

Andy Murray's quest to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals became a step closer on Wednesday, which saw the Scottish favourite move beyond Jerzy Janowicz at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Novak Djokovic also booked his place in the next round, while a sickly Rafael Nadal battled respectably before suffering defeat to Feliciano Lopez.

Murray was forced to battle hard during the first set, but always remained on the front foot. Janowicz offered resistance by saving two break points, only for the vital breakthrough to set the tone for a one-sided second set.

Currently sat ninth in the Road to London rankings, reported by Mark Stainforth of the Press Association and via the Daily Mail, Murray needs to move up one further place if he's to appear at the O2 Arena showcase. Although he will have a "number" of opportunities to close the 175-point gap to Milos Raonic in eighth, Murray needed a solid performance to keep building momentum after the semi-final loss to Marin Cilic in Beijing.

He showed decent form and resiliency against Janowicz. Murray posted 10 aces and won 82 percent of his first service points, following this with a 67 percent success rate on his second serve. When a little grit was needed, he also managed to save both break points during the second set, keeping the match firmly in his favour.

Prior to the tournament, Murray insisted he isn't "necessarily" bothered by potentially not making the end of season finals. "But if I play well, I'll give myself a chance at getting to the O2," said the 27-year-old, per Stainforth. "When I step on the court, that really shouldn't be something I'm thinking about."

Elsewhere, an appendicitis-ridden Nadal slumped out of the competition to Lopez. Nadal was slow to react at times and suffered 15 aces, while he consistently struggled to deliver consistency, winning just 63 percent of his first serve points and 59 percent on his second.

Lopez capitalised by saving four out of five break points, while delivering on half of his four chances to go clear. Nadal never completely looked himself, despite some resistance in the second set, and certainly needs to rest before heading into competition once more.

Rest is not on Djokovic's agenda, however, as he waltzed beyond Dominic Thiem in straight sets. The giant Serb only needed to win two of his eight break points to give himself the edge in a performance where he looked to be saving the tank. 

David Ferrer overcame Martin Klizan to book his place in the round of 16. Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori were among the seeds to fall, however, as they posted losses against Gilles Simon and Jack Sock respectively to leave the competition early. Grigor Dimitrov also suffered against Julien Benneteau in a simple straight sets win for the Frenchman.

Last but most certainly not least on Wednesday's schedule came Roger Federer, who fought back from a mid-match slump to defeat Leonardo Mayer in three sets.

The pair were evenly matched in almost every regard as Mayer took 49 percent of the total points, but the victor's quality at the serve, recording 10 aces to his opponent's three was one particularly telling factor.

All results and statistics courtesy of atpworldtour.com.

Oct. 7: Andy Murray Showcases Style and Steel in Round 1

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

Oct. 7 Results:

 Men's Singles

[11] Andy Murray defeats Teymuraz Gabashvili: 6-1, 7-5

Mikhail Youzhny defeats [12] Ernests Gulbis: 6-4, 6-1

Vasek Pospisil defeats Santiago Giraldo: 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-1

Chuhan Wang defeats [15] Fabio Fognini: 7-6(5), 6-4

Giles Simon defeats Guillermo Garcia-Lopez: 3-6, 6-0, 6-1

Ivo Karlovic defeats Yen-Hsun Lu: 7-6(6), 6-3

Julien Benneteau defeats Ze Zhang: 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

Ivan Dodig defeats Pablo Cuevas: 7-5, 6-2

Feliciano Lopez defeats Thanasi Kokkinakis: 6-7(12), 6-3, 6-4

Martin Klizan defeats Sam Groth: 7-6(1), 6-3

Steve Johnson defeats Andrey Golubev: 6-3, 1-6, 6-3

Jerzy Janowicz defeats Edouard Roger-Vasselin: 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6)

Mikhail Kukushkin defeats [16] Kevin Anderson: 6-4, 6-2 

Leonardo Mayer defeats Di Wu: 6-4, 6-1

Men's Doubles

Eric Butorac & Raven Klaasen defeat Jamie Murray & John Peers: 6-4, 7-5 

Pablo Cuevas & David Marrero defeat Jeremy Chardy & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi: 6-4, 6-4

Lukas Rosol & Mikhail Youzhny defeat Feliciano Lopez & Max Mirnyi: 7-6(6), 5-7, 10-8

Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea defeat Fabio Fognini & Rajeev Ram: 6-2, 0-0

Andy Murray is safely through to the Round of 32 at the Shanghai Rolex Masters after a straight sets win over Teymuraz Gabashvili. The 11th seed for the competition was in imperious form during the first set, yielding just one game to his Russian opponent, but he was made to work hard to seal his triumph.

Gabashvili broke the two-time slam winner twice in the second set, but Murray battled back on both occasions, eventually breaking his opponent in the critical 12th game to take a well deserved 6-1, 7-5 win.

Elsewhere it was a tough day for some of the other seeds in the tournament, as both Ernests Gulbis and Fabio Fognini—seeded 12th and 15th respectively—crashed out.

Gulbis was never able to find his rhythm against veteran Mikhail Youzhny, eventually succumbing to a straight sets defeat. And the same applied to a weary looking Fognini, as he suffered a shock defeat to World No. 553, Chuhan Wang, who was roared on by his home crowd.

For Wang it was a stunning display on what was his ATP World Tour debut, but for Fognini, it’s yet another crushing defeat. The Italian has now lost five consecutive matches and looks a shadow of the player that reached the quarters of the Cincinnati Masters just two months ago.

Julien Benneteau is looking to bounce back from his loss in the final of the Kuala Lumpur Open in Shanghai, and the veteran Frechman eventually made it through against another home favourite Ze Zhang. The Chinese player flew out of the traps in this one to take the first set, but as his intensity dropped, Bennetau took control, comfortably winning the next two sets.

Benneteu’s compatriot Gilles Simon also overcame an early scare to progress to the Round of 32. He lost the first set 6-3 against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, but the Frenchman turned on the style to win the next two sets, dropping just one game in the process.

Ivan Dodig, Martin Klizan and Steve Johnson also advanced after they notched comfortable victories. Feliciano Lopez was made to work hard for his victory though, as he came from a set down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis. Jerzy Janowicz also made tough going of his qualification, but the Pole turned around his match with Edouard Roger-Vasselin to progress in three sets.

After overcoming U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in a shock victory on Day 1 of the competition, giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic continued his fine form, becoming the first man in the draw to progress into the last 16 of the competition. This time, the 35-year-old easily dispatched of Yen-Hsun Lu, sending down a massive 24 aces during a 7-6, 6-3 triumph.

Mikhail Kukushkin also made it through to the last 16, as he overcame 16th seed Kevin Anderson in a very comfortable straight sets victory.

In other news from Shanghai there were concerns about the fitness of Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is suffering with appendicitis, but is going to try and play the Shanghai tournament anyway according to per Sports Illustrated.

The current World No. 2 went to the hospital on arrival in the city, and after undergoing aggressive antibiotic treatment, feels in better shape. It remains to be seen just how this will potentially effect his performance here, not to mention the rest of his season.

All results and statistics courtesy of atpworldtour.com.

Oct. 6: Marin Cilic Stumbles at First Hurdle

Zhong Zhi/Getty Images

Oct. 6 Results:

Men's Singles

[16] Kevin Anderson defeats [Q[ James Ward: 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

[10] Grigor Dimitrov defeats Denis Istomin: 6-3, 6-3

Jack Sock defeats [Q] Bernard Tomic : 7-6, 6-7, 6-4

Richard Gasquet defeats Jeremy Chardy: 7-6, 6-2

Yen-Hsun Lu defeats Marcel Granollers: 6-3, 7-6, 6-2

Ivo Karlovic defeats [9] Marin Cilic: 7-5, 2-6, 7-6

[Q] Malek Jaziri defeats Donald Young: 7-5, 6-4

[W] Juan Monaco defeats Joao Sousa: 6-2, 7-6

John Isner defeats Pablo Andujar: 7-6, 1-6, 6-3

Men's Doubles

Lukasz Kubot & Robert Lindstedt defeat [W]Di Wu & Ze Zhang: 6-4, 6-0

Juan Sebastian Chabal & Robert Farah defeat Roberto Bautista Agut & Leonardo Mayer: 7-6, 6-4

Marcin Matkowski & Leander Paes defeat  [W] Mao-Xin Gong & Zhe Li: 6-3, 7-5

Early Exit Puts Marin Cilic's London Hopes in Jeopardy

U.S. Open champion Cilic lost to compatriot Ivo Karlovic in three sets on Monday, and solid performances from the men currently behind him in the rankings could see him slip all the way out of the top eight.

Cilic came into the tournament ranked sixth in the Race To London, as he was overtaken by Kei Nishikori after his quarter-final loss against Andy Murray in Beijing.

Karlovic bombarded him to the tune of 20 aces and a staggering 85 percent of points won on his first serve, and Cilic had no answers. He only surrendered four break chances throughout the match but gave up three of four, and despite a short revival in the second set, Karlovic's win felt like a given for most of the match.

It was a good day for the big servers, as USA's John Isner advanced past Spain's Pablo Andujar in three sets thanks to a total of 23 aces.

The massive American needed just over two hours to dispatch of Andujar, and in his post-match press conference, he told reporters he was happy to still be playing in Shanghai, via The Guardian:

"

Beijing was great last week. I had a pretty good tournament. Got my tail kicked in the quarters. But I’m playing pretty well.

I’m still alive here. I’m glad I’m not on a flight home tomorrow. It’s all good. Playing better away from the States is something I’m always trying to do and I feel like it’s something I’ve done so far.

"

Isner will play the winner of Tuesday's match between Andrey Golubev and Steven Johnson before a likely meeting with Rafael Nadal in the third round.

Kevin Anderson needed three sets to get past qualifier James Ward after some sloppy play saw him lose the opening set 6-3. The South African struggled with his first serve but bounced back in the second set, taking 90 percent of points.

England's Ward failed to piece together even a single break opportunity in the final two sets, but the points from making the main table will still give him a nice boost in the rankings.

The trio of Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will start their bids for the 2014 Shanghai Open in the second round, having already qualified for the Finals in London.