It’s the little things – playing injury-free, earning a living through tennis – that Juan Martin del Potro appreciates most these days.

Of course, the Argentine wishes he would have beaten Belgian David Goffin in the first round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Tuesday. DelPo had his chances, too – he led by set and a break. But tennis is tennis, and Goffin, a Tokyo finalist on Sunday (l. to Kyrgios), came back on the Comeback King of 2016.

“He started to return much better in the second and in the third set,” del Potro said of Goffin, who won 50 per cent of his return points in the second and third sets after winning exactly nine per cent (2/22) in the first set. “Then I tried to make winners more often but I made mistakes. At the end of the match, I made mistakes with my forehand in important moments, and I think he took all the chances to win the match.”

Then del Potro, as he’s done after most of his matches this season, talked about what it’s been like to play tennis after enduring four wrist surgeries during the past six years.

“It has been a great season. Trying to do a good comeback after many injuries. This is just a match. I’m so glad to be playing in this tournament,” said del Potro, who made his last Shanghai appearance in 2013, when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.

His comeback trail doesn’t end in Shanghai, though. Del Potro plans to wrap up his season by playing two more ATP World Tour tournaments, the If Stockholm Open, 17-23 Oct., and the Swiss Indoors Basel, 24-30 Oct.

He’d like to ascend even further in the Emirates ATP Rankings and earn vital momentum for next season. Since 4 Jan., del Potro has hiked 527 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings to No. 63.

“Hopefully I can be better during the next two tournaments,” he said. “We have great tournaments to play and I’m still having a chance to go up in the rankings and be in better position for the next season.”

He has simple plans for 2017: Continue to improve his ranking and be happy.

“It’s not easy when you travel a lot and you spend time away from home and you cannot share moments with your friends, family,” he said. “But I’m so happy doing this. I missed it a lot when I was injured, and I’m looking forward to be on tour for [many] more years.”

Nick Kyrgios kept up his blistering pace during the ATP World Tour’s Asian swing on Tuesday in Shanghai. The #NextGen star prevailed against American Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4 in 54 minutes to move into the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the season’s eighth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Kyrgios, who won his first ATP 500 level tournament on Sunday in Tokyo (d. Goffin), blasted 14 aces and didn’t face a break point against Querrey. The Aussie is playing with a career-high ranking of No. 14 and could make a run for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals yet this season. The top eight qualify for the year-end championships, to be held 13-20 Nov. at The O2 in London, and Kyrgios is currently in 12^th place in the Emirates ATP Race To London, 790 points behind eighth-placed Dominic Thiem. But if Kyrgios wins Shanghai this week, he would gain 1,000 points and could join the Top 8.

Who else does Kyrgios need to catch? View the Emirates ATP Race To London standings

The title would be Kyrgios’ first Masters 1000 crown. The 21 year old reached the semi-finals of the Miami Open presented by Itau, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, in April before falling to Kei Nishikori. The top-ranked #NextGen player also made the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open, another Masters 1000 event, in May before again losing to Nishikori. But Kyrgios is 3-0 in finals, having claimed all of his titles this season (Marseille, Atlanta and Tokyo). The 12th-seeded Kyrgios will next face German Mischa Zverev, with a potential third-round contest against Czech Tomas Berdych looming.

Querrey shocked the tennis world when he upset Novak Djokovic in the third round of this year’s Wimbledon. But the 6’6” California native has struggled to find that top level since reaching the quarter-finals at the All England Club. Querrey, who recently celebrated his 29^th birthday, has lost seven of his past eight matches.

His countryman Jack Sock enjoyed better results at the Qizhong Tennis Center. Sock pushed his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Argentine Guido Pella to 3-0 with a 7-6(3), 7-5 first-round victory. Sock, No. 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won 93 per cent of his first-serve points (39/42) and saved three of four break points to advance in straight sets. He’ll play Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the second round. Lopez outlasted compatriot and 10^th seed David Ferrer 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4).

Italian Paolo Lorenzi set a second-round clash against Canadian Milos Raonic after knocking out Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-3. Lorenzi had been 0-2 against Garcia-Lopez in tour-level meetings. The 34 year old will be playing Raonic for the first time.

There are so many firsts for you here, but more importantly for me, this is the first time in your career that you’ve had four straight-sets win. What does that say about your focus this week?

Finally, I’m not having to squeak matches out like I have been. Like I said in Cary, I still wasn’t fully there mentally. I really buckled down this week after seeing my friend Darian King win the title in Tiburon, thinking I really could have won that. That got me locked in here and I was very business-like this week. This was a really good mental week for me. I dug in deep and took it to all my opponents.

What does reaching the Top 100 (of the Emirates ATP Rankings) mean to you?

It means the world to me. It’s something you dream about as a kid, to see your ranking on the front page. But that’s not where I want to end. I’ve had a couple of other good weeks, so I want to keep going and keep putting the wins together.

You still have points to defend before the Australian Open, so how are you going to regroup for next week’s Challenger in Fairfield?

I’ll have a little fun today and get the mind right. Have a light hit tomorrow and just get the body right. I’m defending semi-final points next week, so you just have to go one match at a time and enjoy the process.

How important was it for you to get that early break and off to a fast start like you today?

It was really good. I was pumped to win that first game. I thought I was really composed out there, didn’t freak out or act out at anytime. I’ve been in a lot of Challenger finals lately, so I’m feeling more and more comfortable in them. And then ever since I finally got over the hump and won one in Granby, I feel like I can win all of these Challenger events if I’m mentally and physically there.

You changed directions really well today, especially on your backhand side. How important was that for you?

It was huge. I know Noah loves the backhand cross-court rallies and gets you in them almost every time. I hit my forehand and slice backhand extremely well today, really used the whole court and did a good job of being unpredictable and keeping him on his toes. That’s why the scoreline came out like it did.

Your brother has been with you for the last couple of weeks. What’s it been like having another set of eyes with you and just someone to talk to at the end of the day?

It’s been huge. Being with him this summer for five or six weeks really helped me. It’s tough out here. You’re traveling every week, so just to have a friend who knows you best and has your back during the rough patches is great. I think that’s something I’m going to need to have in my corner for the rest of my career.

Do you celebrate with In-N-Out tonight?

One hundred percent. [Laughs]. You have to celebrate with In-N-Out. There’s really no place else you can go.