Roger Federer avenged a rare early-round blemish on his Rolex Shanghai Masters resume on Tuesday, breezing past Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 7-6(5) at the ATP Masters 1000 event in China.

Federer broke twice in the opener and sailed through his service games throughout the 86-minute encounter, never facing a break point and being pushed to Deuce only once, in the fourth game of the second set. But Federer quickly restored order with a stab backhand volley on full stretch and holding when Ramos-Vinolas netted a backhand.

The Swiss raced forward often, winning 81 per cent (17/21) of his net points and taking advantage of the quick conditions in Shanghai. Ramos-Vinolas recovered well in the second set, forcing a tie-break, but Federer came back from 1/4 down in the tie-break to advance.

“[I] had a really good first set. I focused and had good energy, because when you travel around the globe, you’re missing a bit of energy. Those first few games or matches can be sometimes a bit tricky. So I thought that went very well for me,” Federer said.

“Serve was solid. I was hitting my spots and really was never in trouble there. But of course all of a sudden, being in a breaker, calls out for different play sometimes and different momentum. He had his chances, but it was a nice comeback for me, and overall, I was very happy.”

The Spaniard upset Federer during the 2015 Shanghai second round, snapping an 0-15 record against Top 10 players to stun the defending champion in three sets. The upset dominated Federer’s thoughts before their rematch.

“I was thinking about it. Watched highlights. Remember how it felt. I had my chances. I won many more points that time than I lost, so I should have actually won that match,” he said. “But he did very well there and things turn very quickly here in Shanghai. Of course that got my attention. I know I also played him another time where I beat him very easily in Wimbledon, but [it] doesn’t matter what happened there. Shanghai, in that match, to play him again in the same circumstances, basically I knew [he] could be dangerous, and that’s why I’m very pleased how I was able to control the match out there today.”

Read Report: Ramos-Vinolas Upsets Federer In 2015 Shanghai

Federer will next meet Belgian David Goffin or Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the quarter-finals. The 13th-seeded Goffin beat France’s Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-3, and Kukushkin knocked out #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday.

Goffin upset Federer in similarly quick conditions during the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals semi-finals, although Federer leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 9-1. The 38-year-old is going for his third Shanghai title (2014, 2017) and 29^th Masters 1000 crown. He has already guaranteed his place at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

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Novak Djokovic joined fellow Serbian Filip Krajinovic on Tuesday in beating fifth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, this year’s Roland Garros champion, 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 in 67 minutes at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. They will next play Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski, who were 6-3, 6-4 victors over Chinese wild cards Xin Gao and Zhe Li.

Elsewhere, fourth seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus, who are one spot behind fourth-placed Germans Krawietz and Mies in the 2019 ATP Doubles Race To London, knocked out Wesley Koolhof and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-6(8) in 87 minutes.

Klaasen and Venus, who are bidding to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, recovered from 1-3 down in the second set and saved five set points from 2/6 and at 6/7 in the tie-break.

Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov beat Russians Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-4 in 57 minutes. Hubert Kurkacz and Benoit Paire beat Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 6-4, 7-6(4) in 70 minutes for a place in the second round.

Australian Open 2020 will stretch right into the city of Melbourne as the tournament premieres the biggest Grand Slam footprint in world tennis.

Starting at Federation Square, in the heart of the city, and flowing through Birrarung Marr and Melbourne Park onto Richmond Station, the initiative is the result of nearly a decade of planning.

Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley reflected on his long-term goal of expanding the footprint of the event at the official launch of the AO today.

“The Australian Open really takes over the city, and Melbourne embraces the event with more enthusiasm and excitement than any of the other Grand Slams,” said Tiley. “The players love the AO’s proximity to the city, and we always strive to maximise that and ensure the site is as accessible as possible to both the city and Richmond.

“Starting the AO experience at Federation Square has always made a lot of sense to us, and has been part of our long-term strategy for many years. We have been getting closer and closer every year. We are so excited to have Fed Square officially on board as part of the Australian Open for 2020, and to be a key focus of the biggest AO ever.

“This is the best sport and entertainment precinct in the world – bar none – and we want to represent it appropriately. We first moved into Birrarung Marr in 2016, before the opening of Tanderrum Bridge effectively turned the Melbourne Park precinct towards the city in 2017. Now, with the addition of Fed Square, we are bringing this vision to life.”

The huge footprint and sheer size of the precinct – the biggest in Grand Slam tennis – will further cement the Australian Open’s reputation as one of the most fan-friendly sports and entertainment events in the world.

Fed Square will be a major focus point during the tournament, with a free live site celebrating the best of tennis – with all the action live on the big screen, along with Melbourne’s best food and entertainment.

It’s not just the footprint that’s bigger and better than ever, with the AO now consolidating its position as a three-week event.

In a Grand Slam first, electronic line calling will feature on all courts during Qualifying, which runs from Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 January, with free entry for fans.

More entertainment, the AO Fan Shop, play areas for the kids and tennis activations continue right through to the AO City Entrance at Birrarung Marr.

Deakin Edge will host year two of the AO Kids Club childcare program, running daily from 10am to 9pm throughout the tournament. New for 2020 is a ‘Date Night’ service from 6pm to 9pm, allowing busy parents to experience the Australian Open after dark.

The AO Ballpark, presented by Emirates, doubles in size in 2020, and takes over both the Upper and Lower Terrace at Birrarung Marr, with activities on offer for kids of all ages, including ANZ Tennis Hot Shots courts, zip lines, kart racing, super soakers, live entertainment and family friendly food offerings.

The AO Live Stage is also back, with the return of the sensational giant shade structure and super-sized water misters, more seating and delicious new food offerings.

Fifteen days of music at the AO Live Stage will kick off with a new Girls Day Out concert on Sunday 19 January, with the all-female line-up to be announced soon. British rocker Billy Idol will perform on Wednesday 29 January with the rest of the line-up to be revealed in November.

The Practice Village, a new world-class fan experience, will bring tennis enthusiasts even closer to the big name stars as they prepare for their matches. The practice schedule will be easily accessible via onsite LED display screens and the new and improved AO app which will help fans plan their day.

The new Practice Village will be established at the National Tennis Centre end of the site and will include new viewing platforms, more seating and shade, along with a variety of family-friendly food options.

The Richmond entrance, easily accessible from Richmond Station, will be the major gateway to the Practice Village and eastern end of the precinct.

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.