Shanghai, China – Sixth-seeded Ben Shelton made his return to competitive action at the Shanghai Masters on Friday but was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by David Goffin in the second round. This marked Shelton’s first match since a left shoulder injury sustained at the US Open.
Goffin broke Shelton’s serve shortly after play resumed following a brief rain delay, maintaining control to secure the straight-sets victory.
“It’s the first time that I’ve put myself in a good position, at this point in the year, to make Turin,” Shelton said earlier in the week about his aspirations for the ATP Finals starting Nov. 9 in Italy. “Hopefully I get a couple more good results and get over the line.”
Shelton currently sits sixth in the ATP points race for Turin, with only the top eight qualifying for the prestigious season-ending event. His early exit in Shanghai will make that goal more challenging.
In other second-round action, Frances Tiafoe, seeded 25th, fell 6-7 (9), 6-2, 6-1 to Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann. Top seeds, including No. 4 Novak Djokovic and fifth-seeded Taylor Fritz, were scheduled to play later Friday.
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner, fresh off his China Open title in Beijing, will begin his Shanghai campaign on Saturday. Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who recently defeated Fritz in Tokyo, withdrew from the tournament due to minor ailments.