Miomir Kecmanovic hits ATP Masters 1000 milestone with Shanghai Open win | ATP Tour

Matching Report

Kecmanovic hits ATP Masters 1000 milestone by opening Shanghai to victory

China’s Zhou, 19, is improving after Nishioka’s retirement

October 03, 2024

Miomir Kecmanovic completed his streak of winning at least one of nine ATP Masters 1000s with his opening victory on Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The Serbian defeated Rinky Hijikata 6-2 6-2 to record his first victory on the hard court in over a year, since last August in Toronto.

Kecmanovic, who hit PIF ATP Ranking No. 27 in January 2023, could re-enter the Top 50 with a deep run in Shanghai. He will next meet fellow Aussie at No. 20 Alexei Popyrin, who will be competing in his second tournament since upsetting Novak Djokovic during his run in the fourth round of the US Open.

The 25-year-old Kecmanovic didn’t face a break point in the 79-minute match against Hijikata, evening the Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. He capitalized on five Hijikata double faults, including one on match point, to break serve six times in 10 chances, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

And early in the action, 19-year-old Chinese wild card Yi Zhou moved past Yoshihito Nishioka when the Japanese retired with a back injury after leading 4-2. The home favorite, ranked 25th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, will next face 13th seed Frances Tiafoe.

All classes 🫶

Yi Zhou’s message to Yoshihito Nishioka after his opponent was forced to retire due to injury at 4-2. @SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/m41K6o9LES

– ATP Tour (@atptour) October 3, 2024

David Goffin cruised past James Duckworth with a 6-4, 6-2 win to open the match at Grandstand 2. The 33-year-old Belgian saved three of four break points to see out the result in straight sets. Jaume Munar cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Hugo Gaston, but not before the Frenchman produced his opponent before shooting the contest with a half-volley tweener to open the second set.