Novak Djokovic Battles Past Alex Michelsen to Reach Third Round at Shanghai Masters

Novak Djokovic overcame a tricky challenge from rising American star Alex Michelsen to win his first match since his surprise third-round exit at the US Open. The 37-year-old Serbian, who is chasing his 100th ATP title, secured a hard-fought 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (11-9) victory in the second round of the Shanghai Masters.

Djokovic, the fourth seed, struggled early on as Michelsen, ranked 43rd in the world, took a 3-0 lead. However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion clawed his way back, winning the first set in a tie-break. In the second set, Djokovic was cruising with a 4-1 lead, but the 20-year-old Michelsen mounted a comeback, forcing another tie-break. Despite having two chances to push the match into a deciding set, Michelsen’s unforced errors allowed Djokovic to close out the match.

“It was a first match against Alex and I also hadn’t played in a while, so it took me time to get the rust off,” Djokovic said after the win. “He started terrifically. It was a very close encounter and I also thought it was a quite a high level of tennis.”

Djokovic, who has been sidelined since his US Open defeat and played just one Davis Cup qualifier, was tested physically, particularly with heavy strapping on his right knee. However, he managed to stay composed and capitalize on Michelsen’s mistakes.

With this win, Djokovic advances to the third round, where he will face either 22-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli or Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka.

Sinner and Alcaraz Cruise Through
Earlier in the day, top seeds Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both cruised through their opening matches at the Shanghai Masters. Italy’s world number one Sinner dispatched Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1 6-4 in just over an hour, while third-seed Alcaraz eased past China’s Shang Juncheng 6-2 6-2, continuing his excellent form after winning the China Open.

Sinner will next face Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who triumphed in the longest match of the tournament, while Alcaraz is set to meet China’s world number 560 Yibing Wu in the third round.

Elsewhere, Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev was upset by Czech Jakub Mensik, and German second seed Alexander Zverev booked his third-round spot with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci.