Denis Shapovalov bounced in 1st round in Shanghai
All 3 Canadian entries now eliminated from tournament
Nikoloz Basilashvili won his sixth straight match Tuesday, beating Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Shanghai Masters.
All three Canadians who were in the tournament are now eliminated. Also Tuesday, Vasek Pospisil fell to Australia's Alex de Minaur 6-4, 7-6 (4). On Monday, Milos Raonic, who was seeded 14th, lost to 81st-ranked Mackenzie McDonald of the United States 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Shapovalov out in 1st round in Shanghai:
Novak Djokovic stepped up his bid to dethrone Rafael Nadal from the top of the world rankings with a 6-3 7-5 win over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Basilashvili, who won the China Open last week and has moved up to a career-high ranking of No. 23, never faced a break point on his serve. The Georgian earned his first victory at the tournament after qualifying in 2015 and 2017.
On Sunday, Basilashvili upset fourth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro in the final in Beijing. Earlier this year, he became the first Georgian man to win an ATP title when he won in Hamburg — playing as a qualifier.
"It was a very good week for me in Beijing," Basilashvili said. "Since Hamburg I got a lot of confidence and that helped me in Beijing."
Basilashvili will next play fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev in the second round.
"It's very important I won today after Beijing because it gives me a lot of confidence for a big match that I have," Basilashvili said. "Sascha is a very good player and I think it's going to be a very difficult match for me, but very interesting.
Djokovic downs Chardy:
Perfect vs. Chardy
"I am feeling very fresh and have a lot of energy so I'll have no excuses."
Djokovic, the hottest player on the men's tour in the second half of the year, never faced a break point on serve in putting away Chardy.
Djokovic's second-round victory improved his perfect record against the 41st-ranked Chardy to 12-0 in matches played, and 28-0 in sets won.
"I'm very grateful to play on a high level," Djokovic said. "I'm very close to my best."
The Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, Djokovic is hoping to win a record fourth Shanghai title this week.
Fifth-seeded Marin Cilic became the highest seed toppled in Shanghai when 48th-ranked Nicolas Jarry of Chile rebounded for a 2-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5 second-round win.
Ebden downs Thiem in shocker
Cilic served for the match at 5-4 in the third set but couldn't. Jarry won the next two games to advance to the third round.
Australian Matthew Ebden upset sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (4) in a nearly three-hour encounter.
The win over the seventh-ranked Thiem is the best of the 51st-ranked Ebden's career.
Thiem has played in Shanghai four times and has never advanced to the third round.
Elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev, who upset Kei Nishikori to win the Japan Open on Sunday, struggled but beat Chinese wild-card entry Zhang Ze 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the first round.
Medvedev has won all three finals he has appeared in this year and did so by beating the home favourite. Besides beating Nishikori in Tokyo, he defeated de Minaur in Sydney and Steve Johnson in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Earlier, French qualifier Benoit Paire upset 15th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4.
With files from CBC Sports