Shanghai, Oct 11 (IANS) The top two seeds, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both kicked off their Shanghai Rolex Masters campaign with straight-set wins here on Wednesday, beating Jared Donaldson and Diego Schwartzman respectively to reach the last 16.
No.1 seed Nadal needed only 54 minutes to knock out Jared Donaldson of the United States 6-2, 6-1 at the central court, reports Xinhua news agency.
“It was a very quick match in all aspects. I think Jared started playing very well at the beginning, serving big, and then hitting very strong from the baseline,” Nadal said after the match.
“Of course I started trying to play a little bit more safe, you know, without looking for big shots. Always the first match, as I say before, is difficult and the transition is not easy…I’m happy with everything. For me it was difficult to imagine a better start. But just the beginning, tomorrow is another tough match.” the 31-year-old Spaniard continued.
Nadal, who is looking forward to his maiden title in Shanghai, will face Italian player Fabio Fognini in the next round.
Following Nadal in the central court was world No.2 Roger Federer, who went through a tight match against world No.26 Schwartzman of Argentina.
It was the Swiss legend’s first match since his US Open quarter-finals loss to Juan Martin del Potro in September.
The 19-time Grand Slam winner converted a break point in the sixth game of the first set, but was broken back right away in the seventh.
The two players fought into the tie-break in the first set and it was the 36-year-old Federer who showed his dominance, winning five points in a row to take a one-set lead.
The second seed continued his form in the second set, breaking to love in the first game and eventually closed the set 6-4, cruising to his first win in Shanghai after 2015.
Waiting for Federer in the third round is Ukraine’s Alexander Dolgopolov, who beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-4.
In the other matches, third seed Dimitrov recovered from a 2-4 deficit in the decider and fought back from 6-3 in the tie-break, saving three match points to defeat American Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in a 154-minute fight.
Dimitrov will next meet Sam Querrey, ranking 11th in the Emirates ATP Race To London, who beat fellow American qualifier Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-6(7) on Wednesday.