After layoff, Shelton loses opening match at Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI — Sixth-seeded Ben Shelton, who hadn’t played since suffering a left shoulder injury at the US Open, was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by David Goffin on Friday in a second-round match at the Shanghai Masters.

Goffin broke Shelton’s serve not long after play resumed after a short rain suspension.

Earlier in the week, Shelton said that despite the five-week layoff, he still hoped to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, beginning Nov. 9.

Shelton is currently sixth in the points race for Turin, with eight making the finals. But his loss Friday will put a dent in those ambitions.

“It’s the first time that I’ve put myself in a good position, at this point in the year, to make Turin,” Shelton told the ATP Tour website this week and ahead of his match against Goffin. “Hopefully I get a couple more good results and get over the line.”

In another second-round match, American Frances Tiafoe, seeded 25th, lost 6-7 (9), 6-2, 6-1 to Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.

The top-seeded players in Shanghai all received first-round byes. No. 4 Novak Djokovic and fifth-seeded Taylor Fritz were scheduled to play later Friday.

Jannik Sinner, who won the China Open final in Beijing on Wednesday, was not scheduled to play until Saturday. Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Fritz in the Japan Open final, announced after his win in Tokyo that he would not play at Shanghai due to some minor ailments.

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