Andrey Rublev extended his perfect FedEx ATP Head2Head record to 3-0 over last year’s runner-up Borna Coric, the No. 12 seed from Croatia, on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Russian hit 15 aces and lost just four of his first-service points (34/38) to beat Coric, the recent St. Petersburg Open finalist, 6-4, 7-6(4) in one hour and 36 minutes.

The 21-year-old Russian will next face Australia’s John Millman, who knocked out Guido Pella of Argentina 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 51 minutes. Millman was runner-up to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships on Sunday.

Elsewhere, John Isner denied Alex de Minaur the opportunity to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in November at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Isner did not face a break point in a serve-dominated 7-6(1), 6-4 win over 81 minutes, which saw the American strike 18 aces. The No. 16 seed played a perfect first-set tiebreak and broke De Minaur in the ninth game of the second set.

In the second round, Isner will now challenge France’s Lucas Pouille, who recovered from a set and 0-3 deficit to overcame Chinese wild card Zhe Li 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes.

American’s Reilly Opelka, who lost to Millman in the Tokyo semi-finals on Saturday, was as equally impressive on serve, hitting 12 aces and losing four first-service points (31/35) in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in 65 minutes. Opelka now prepares to face eighth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, the 2016 Shanghai finalist (l. to Murray).

For a player who tends to shine most brightly on clay, Albert Ramos-Vinolas has produced some of his best results on the hard courts of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The Spaniard defeated Marin Cilic in opening-round action on Monday, his second time defeating the Croatian at this event, and now looks to a night session showdown on Tuesday with second seed Roger Federer.

Ramos-Vinolas’ 2015 second-round victory over Federer in Shanghai is the one he and his team still consider the most memorable of his career. The left-hander outlasted then- World No. 3 Federer 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3 for his first win over a Top 10 player. The victory boosted his self-belief and made him realise he can beat anyone when he’s at his best.

“I’ve got nothing to lose,” Ramos-Vinolas said. “I’m aware my win over Roger in 2015 won’t be a factor when we play. It was simply a win over a great player, one of the best in the sport’s history. All I can do is go out there and perform my best.”

Shanghai is one of two ATP Masters 1000 events in which Ramos-Vinolas has reached the quarter-finals or better. The other is the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters where, in 2017, he defeated familiar foe Cilic in the quarter-finals before losing to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final.

Jose Maria Diaz, coach of Ramos-Vinolas, was especially pleased with how Ramos-Vinolas lifted his game during key moments in his win over Cilic.

“Marin’s serve was excellent as usual, but Albert did a fine job getting it back into play and then forcing Marin to hit one more shot during rallies,” Diaz said. “That was the difference. Marin was doing his best to claw back into the match at the start of the second set and was pumping himself up, but Albert stood firm and his serve held up under pressure. As soon as Albert saw his chance to break Marin’s serve, he seized it.”

But can the Spaniard repeat success when he and Federer meet again on Tuesday? While Ramos-Vinolas might be more reserved about his chances, coach Diaz is confident in his pupil’s ability to pull off the upset.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Diaz said. “We’ve defeated him here before. I say this with respect, but Albert is going out there to inflict as much damage as possible in order to win. We have very little to lose and much to gain. We’re coming to win.”

If his recent form is any indication, Ramos-Vinolas is peaking at just the right time to spring the upset. After a difficult start to the season, resulting in a drop from the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since 2014, the Barcelona native regained his stride by reaching the semi-finals in Bastad in July. He then took the title in Gstaad (d. Stebe) and finished runner-up in Kitzbühel (l. to Thiem).

Ramos-Vinolas’ fondness for China is also reflected with his semi-final finish two weeks ago in Zhuhai, which included a win over Gael Monfils. Coach Diaz believes that if the Spaniard can maintain his current form, his clash with Federer will be worthy of prime-time viewing.

“Albert has been playing high-level tennis the past few weeks,” Diaz said. “He competed very well in Zhuhai and clinched some solid victories… Getting to Shanghai early allowed us to acclimate. He’s very comfortable here.” 

Another match for Andy Murray, and another positive sign for the Scot’s comeback. The three-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion fought past a persistent Juan Ignacio Londero 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Monday to reach the second round of the season’s penultimate ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

“The court is by far the fastest conditions that I have played in since I came back. I really struggled with that early on. I was mistiming the ball. I felt quite slow on the court, and he was pretty much dictating all of the points,” said Murray, who returned to singles in August at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

“I managed kind of early on in the second set to start putting a bit more on my ball, going for my shots a little bit more and just trying to hit through the court a bit more, get him on the defensive, which I did pretty well.”

It was an up-and-down match for both players as 23 break points in all were seen, but Murray was more locked in during the final set, breaking Londero in the sixth game with a forehand that was followed by a roar. The former World No. 1 then erased two break points while serving out the match to set up a second-round meeting against 10^th seed Fabio Fognini, who’s looking to bolster his Nitto ATP Finals bid in China.

Fognini beat American Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-2 to add 45 points to his ATP Race To London tally. The Italian, with 2,100 points, trails eighth-placed Alexander Zverev (2,255) by 155 points. Zverev, the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion, currently holds the eighth and final qualification spot for the season finale, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

“I have always had tough matches with him,” said Murray, who leads the Italian 4-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “He’s not an easy guy to play against. Unbelievably talented guy. Good hand skills. Moves well. A little bit up and down sometimes in his matches, but he’s playing really well.”

Murray, who underwent a second hip surgery on 28 January, is competing in Shanghai for the first time since his title run in 2016, when he won the tournament en route to finishing year-end No. 1. The Scot also claimed the Shanghai title in 2010 and 2011. At the China Open in Beijing last week, he won back-to-back matches for the first time since September 2018.

“I think each week I have been feeling good, better. In the beginning I didn’t necessarily feel good. But last couple of weeks have been, I think, much improved,” Murray said. “My movement overall has been very good in comparison to what it was over in the States, and I’m hoping that’s something that can get a little bit better.”

Juan Sebastian Cabal recorded the 300th doubles match win of his career on Monday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters in partnership with fellow Colombian Robert Farah.

Top seeds Cabal and Farah opened their campaigns at the Qi Zhong Stadium by beating Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-3 in 72 minutes. The Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers, with a 5-2 record in 2019 title matches, will next challenge Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey in the second round.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who are bidding to join Cabal and Farah at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November, overcame Jan-Lennard Struff and Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3. Ram and Salisbury are currently eighth in the 2019 ATP Doubles Race To London on 2,660 points — 160 points behind seventh-placed Henri Kontinen and John Peers (2,820).

Elsewhere, Horacio Zeballos moved to 199 doubles match wins after teaming up with Marcel Granollers to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Radu Albot and Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Ninth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils booked his place in the Rolex Shanghai Masters second round on Monday with a 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-3 victory over Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in two hours and 38 minutes. He will next face Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.

Watch Hot Shot: Monfils Scrambles To Finish In Style

Monfils added 45 points to his 2019 ATP Race To London tally and moved to within 10 points of 11th-placed Japanese Kei Nishikori (2,180), who remains sidelined due to injury. There are three remaining singles berths left up for grabs at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. Monfils competed at the season finale in 2016, but remains 85 points behind eighth-placed Alexander Zverev (2,255). Buy Your London Tickets

Elsewhere, Monfils’ compatriot, Benoit Paire, set up a second-round clash against Georgian No. 15 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, after beating Marco Cecchinato of Italy 6-2, 7-5. French qualifier Jeremy Chardy broke a two-match losing streak against Briton Kyle Edmund with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory. Edmund drops to 12-20 on the season, while Chardy goes on to meet fourth-seeded German Zverev.

No. 8, Alexander Zverev, +3
The 22-year-old German improved his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he won the 2018 title, by rising from 11th to eighth position in the 2019 ATP Race To London. He beat Frances Tiafoe, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sam Querrey, prior to losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the China Open semi-finals. Zverev is now 140 points behind seventh-placed Roberto Bautista Agut (2,395).

View ATP Race To London

No. 9, David Goffin, +3
The 28-year-old Belgian continued his fine form at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships by reaching the semi-finals (or better) for the third time. Goffin, who finished as runner-up to Grigor Dimitrov in the championship match at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals, fell to Novak Djokovic in Tokyo. He rises three places to ninth, 20 points behind eighth-placed Zverev (2,255).

No. 17, Karen Khachanov, +4
The 23-year-old Russian moved up four spots to 17th place (1,605 points) by advancing to his second ATP Tour semi-final of the season (also Coupe Rogers in Montreal) at the China Open (l. to Thiem).

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 16, John Isner, +1
No. 30, Denis Shapovalov, +3
No. 35, Reilly Opelka, +7

Denis Shapovalov booked a blockbuster second-round clash against Novak Djokovic at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Monday, following a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Frances Tiafoe.

The World No. 36, competing in his 50th tour-level encounter of the year, dropped only two points behind his first serve (27/29) to improve to 27-23 this season. This is Shapovalov’s first victory at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, following first-round losses in 2017 and 2018.

The 20-year-old Canadian will attempt to beat Tokyo champion Djokovic for the first time in their third FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Shapovalov took a set off the Serbian at the Australian Open in January, before a straight-sets loss to the World No. 1 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in May.

Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters winner Fabio Fognini recorded his second FedEx ATP Head2Head win in as many matches against Sam Querrey to advance to the second round. The Italian, who is currently 13th in the 2019 ATP Race To London, did not face a break point en route to a 6-4, 6-2 triumph. He  will next face three-time Shanghai titlist Andy Murray or Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas will also face a high-profile opponent in the second round after denying Marin Cilic his 500th tour-level victory. The Spaniard defeated the 2017 semi-finalist 6-4, 6-4 and will meet two-time champion Roger Federer in his next match.

Qualifier Cameron Norrie marked his main draw debut with an impressive win, beating 2014 runner-up Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-2. Norrie broke serve on five occasions to advance after one hour and 35 minutes. The Brit will face third seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round.