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There's nothing quite like revisiting the scene of a successful tournament setting, as Matteo Berrettini well knows. Five years since he last competed in Shanghai, the former top-10 player has rediscovered his winning form on Qi Zhong's Stadium Court.
With a tight straight-sets win over Chris O'Connell on Thursday, Berrettini provided an entertaining reminder of the form that took him to the semifinals in 2019.
Berrettini fired up his big serve and trademark forehand to record 11 aces among 33 winners as he completed his 7-6(6) 7-6(9) victory over the Australian in two hours and 15 minutes.
"Obviously I had good memories from five years ago, a great tournament, and got even better," said the 28-year-old, who will face No.12 seed Holger Rune next. "(I'm) happy to be back, happy for the win, and hopefully another great match ahead."
Progress is especially encouraging for the 44th-ranked Berrettini after injury forced him to end his 2023 season after the US Open. "Last year was really, really tough, one of the worse year of my career and my life as well," he commented. "When you're not able to do your job and what you like to do, then it's always a struggle, so I'm really appreciating every moment that I have to spend on court and to perform and give my best."
Stan Wawrinka, making his 11th Rolex Shanghai Masters appearance as a 239th-ranked wildcard, was equally happy to return to the tournament with a win.
Facing an opponent 18 years his junior in the big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, the Swiss emerged with a 7-6(2) 7-6(6) victory after one hour and 50 minutes on court.
"Tonight it was a great match," said the 39-year-old, who is a two-time quarterfinalist at this event. "I think I was playing well, pushing myself and really aggressive and simple with my game, focus on what I wanted to do and I'm super happy with the win."
For other Rolex Shanghai Masters competitors in action on Thursday, there were significant career firsts.
Zizou Bergs' first win at ATP Masters 1000 level came at the expense of hometown favourite Zhang Zhizhen, with the Belgian emerging with a 6-4 6-3 win over China's No.1's man.
"This one was very nice, you know, because you can play on Centre Court court in a beautiful arena," said the 25-year-old, who is competing in Shanghai for the first time.
"The city, how they organize the tournament is amazing. So that part, it's a special night. Also, playing the Chinese star, you can really tell, many people coming out, so it's very nice."
Jakub Mensik made a successful debut at the tournament, with his 6-1 5-7 6-4 victory over Spain's Pedro Martinez highlighting the rapid progress the Czech teenager has made in his first full year on tour.
At age 19, he is the fifth youngest player in tournament history to claim a match win at the event. "I don't care about these young records.I mean, I'm just trying, you know, to be good and to reach the top level," smiled Mensik, who will face Andrey Rublev, the No.6 seed and 2023 finalist, next.
"It doesn't matter if I will play like this when I'm 19 or if it will be when I'm 22 to 25 … right now in this situation I'm more like taking these important experiences and just enjoying (them)."
Miomir Kecmanovic also experienced his first match win in Shanghai with his straight-sets progress against Australia's Rinky Hijikata. "It's awesome to finally after I don't know many years to finally win here but (I'm) happy that I was able to play well and then finally get the win," said the 25-year-old, who is competing in the city for a third time.
Kecmanovic is now a winner of at least one match at every Masters 1000 tournament but as he looks towards a second-round meeting with Alex Popyrin, the world No.55 has bigger plans in mind. "It's a cool thing to say but I'm hoping to maybe go a step further and then have some some bigger results in these events," he smiled.
For David Goffin, there was a first match win as a father. Goffin and his wife, Stephanie, welcomed the arrival of baby daughter Emma two weeks ago, adding extra meaning to his first-round win over James Duckworth.
"It was the first time that I leave home differently I would say, to leave a family at home, so it was tough," admitted Goffin, who was pleased to manage some swirling conditions in his 6-4 6-2 win.
It was also a successful day in Shanghai for qualifiers Terence Atmane, Yosuke Watanuki and Mattia Bellucci. Zhou Yi, Jaume Munar, Tallon Griekspoor, Marcos Giron, Roman Safiullin and Alexander Shevchenko also advanced to the second round.
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