Stefanos Tsitsipas and American duo Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul all eased through their second-round matches with straight-sets victories at the Shanghai Masters.
The 12th-ranked Tsitsipas, who lost in the first round at the Japan Open last week, had a stern test against Kei Nishikori but prevailed 7-6 (6), 6-4 in 105 minutes to avenge his defeat to the Japanese at the Montreal Masters in August.
Tsitsipas will play Alexandre Muller of France in the third round. Muller beat 18th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2, with the Canadian having now lost the opening match at four of his last five tour-level tournaments.
The 16th-ranked Shelton, who made the quarterfinals in Shanghai last year, hit 11 aces as he advanced past Denis Shapavalov of Canada 6-3, 7-5.
Compatriot Tommy Paul, seeded 11th, needed barely an hour to rout Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 6-3. Paul will play 19th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the third round.
Another American, Alex Michelson, beat rising Chinese star Bu Yunchaokete 6-3, 6-4 in a first-round match which had been pushed back because of Bu’s semifinal run at the China Open.
Later Friday, fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev opens his tournament against Thiago Seyboth Wild of Brazil.
The 32 seeded players received a first-round bye, including top-ranked Jannik Sinner and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who met in the the China Open final on Wednesday. Sinner starts against Taro Daniel of Japan, and Alcaraz faces Shang Juncheng of China.
