Match Report: Kekmanovic scores major achievement at ATP Masters 1000 with opening win in Shanghai
China’s Zhou, 19, advances after Nishioka’s retirement
03 October 2024
Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images
Miomir Kekmanović achieved his first win in the Shanghai match. (File photo) By ATP staff
Miomir Kecmanovic completed his tally of winning at least one match in all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments with his opening win on Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The Serbian beat Rinki Hijikata 6-2, 6-2 to achieve his first victory on hard courts in more than a year since last August in Toronto.
Kecmanovic, who achieved a career-high PIF ATP ranking of No. 27 in January 2023, could return to the top 50 with a deep run in Shanghai. He will then meet another Australian, 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, who is competing in his second tournament since beating Novak Djokovic during his impressive run to the fourth round at the US Open.
The 25-year-old Kecmanovic did not face a break point in the 79-minute match against Hijikata, the evening of the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series at 1-1. Hazard took advantage of five double faults from Hijikata, including an error on match point, to break his serve six times out of 10 chances, according to Infosys ATP statistics.
Also at the beginning of the match, 19-year-old Chinese wildcard Yi Zhou defeated Yoshihito Nishioka when the Japanese player withdrew due to a back injury after leading 4-2. The host favourite, ranked 25th in the PIF ATP head-to-head race to Jeddah, will next meet 13th seed Frances Tiafoe.
All class 🫶
Yi Chu’s message to Yoshihito Nishioka after his opponent had to retire due to injury at 4-2. @SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/m41K6o9LES
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 3, 2024
David Goffin surged past James Duckworth with a 6-4 6-2 win to open play on Stand 2. The 33-year-old Belgian saved three of four break points to seal the straight-sets result. Jaume Munard won 6-3 6-3 over Hugo Gaston, but not before the Frenchman provided an early challenger for the shot of the tournament with a half-volley to start the second set.
