Rafa, Roger begin with wins in Shanghai

No.1 seed Rafael Nadal breezed through to the third round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters with a dominant display against Jared Donaldson on Wednesday.

He was joined in the last 16 by second seed Roger Federer, who navigated the tricky test posed by in-form Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

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Alexander Zverev made it a perfect day for the top three seeds after he got past an injured Aljaz Bedene to set up a blockbuster third-round showdown with Juan Martin del Potro.

Nadal needed just 54 minutes to see off the young American, romping to a 6-2 6-1 win.

Awaiting the Spaniard is Fabio Fognini, a player who has enjoyed success against Nadal – but not since 2015.

“It was a very quick match in all aspects,” Nadal said.

“I was happy to get that break in the 3-2 in the sixth game (of the first set). It helped me that he made some double faults, two double faults. Then I played some good points, I think.

“After that I think I played a great match. Not many mistakes.”

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Federer was forced to work harder against Schwartzman, requiring one hour and 33 minutes to progress. The Swiss landed 14 aces as he set up a third-round meeting with Ukrainian qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov.

“I think I served well. I had good concentration. Had good energy, as well, which I think is always important early on in a tournament,” Federer said.

The most notable upset of the day was Dominic Thiem’s three-set loss to Viktor Troicki.

The fifth seed’s 6-3 3-6 7-6(5) loss to the Serb was his third straight, and sees him finish the Asian swing with a forgettable 0-3 record.

Also exiting was No.8 seed David Goffin; the Shenzhen and Tokyo champion’s nine-match winning streak was snapped by Gilles Simon, who won their second-round match 7-6(4) 6-3.

In another big result, Grigor Dimitrov saved three match points to oust Ryan Harrison 3-6 6-3 7-6(6).

Dimitrov will next face another American, Sam Querrey, who beat Frances Tiafoe in straight sets.