Journal De Bruxelles - Sinner starts Shanghai defence in style as Zverev defies toe trouble

Sinner, fresh from winning the China Open, broke early in both sets to take control and ease himself comfortably into the third round.

The 49th-ranked Altmaier's best chance came in the eighth game of the first set, but he failed to convert a breakpoint twice, allowing the Italian to hold with an ace.

The second set provided even less opportunity to seriously bother the 24-year-old Wimbledon champion, but afterwards Sinner said it had been more difficult than it looked.

"First match is never easy, especially when you don't have a lot of time to adjust," he said.

"(Altmaier) is a very tough player, very talented... I just tried to stay mentally in a good point," he added.

"When I broke him twice very early in the set it gave me the confidence to serve the match out, so I'm very happy."

Sinner's path to retaining the title has been made easier by the withdrawal of great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who dropped out last minute to rest.

The Italian's next match is on Sunday against the Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor.

Four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic will take to the court again on Sunday as well, facing Germany's 150th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann.

- Home-crowd support -

The tournament lost another top-10 player as Karen Khachanov was defeated by China's Shang Juncheng 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Shang, ranked 237th after slipping down the rankings due to injury, was egged on by an increasingly raucous crowd as ninth seed Khachanov flagged.

Shang broke in the eighth game of the second set with a backhand.

"I think I played well on the whole but I think everyone (in the crowd) must have put a lot of pressure on him," the 20-year-old Shang laughed.

World number three Zverev overcame an injury to his big toe to book his place in the third round, beating France's Valentin Royer 6-4, 6-4.

The German had a blistering start, breaking Royer in the first game and then sending down three aces to easily hold the second.

The Frenchman found his feet but a crucial stumble saw him miss a break point in the eighth game, and Zverev took the set.

Both players missed chances to break in the second, wowing the crowd with multiple tense rallies.

Zverev finally broke in the ninth game then held the last game to win, despite having to take a medical break after limping off court.

"It's not a nice feeling to finish a match like that," Zverev said afterwards, wincing.

He said he sustained the injury during the follow-through of his serve, and would have it assessed on Sunday.

"I really don't know what happened, so we're going to check it out," he said.

World number seven Alex de Minaur comfortably dispatched Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-2.

Russian Andrey Rublev, ranked 14th, was upset by qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

But compatriot Daniil Medvedev dominated qualifier Dalibor Svrcina to advance 6-1, 6-1.

H.Dierckx--JdB