Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won for the first time since retiring from his quarterfinal match at the US Open, beating Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-2 Monday in the opening round of the Shanghai Masters. Tsonga, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai final last year, had 12 aces against Mayer and saved all five break points he faced. The ninth-seeded Frenchman hasn't played since retiring with a knee injury against Djokovic at the US Open last month after dropping the first two sets. In other matches, rising German star Alexander Zverev and his older brother Mischa both moved into the second round with straight-set victories. Alexander, ranked No. 21, defeated John Isner 6-4, 6-2, while Mischa, who is coming off a quarterfinal appearance at last month's Shenzhen Open, beat Zhang Ze 6-1, 6-2. Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil earned just his ninth victory of the season, edging Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (5), 6-4. He will attempt to win back-to-back matches for the first time this year against either Grigor Dimitrov or Richard Gasquet, who play their opening match Tuesday. Other winners included American qualifier Taylor Fritz, who beat Stephane Robert of France 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-3, and Kyle Edmund of Britain, who earned a measure of revenge after his country's loss to Argentina in the Davis Cup semifinals by defeating Federico Delbonis 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Djokovic, the top-seeded player and three-time champion, plays his first match since his runner-up finish at the US Open Tuesday against Fabio Fognini of Italy. The Serb withdrew from last week's China Open, where he is a six-time champion, with an elbow injury. Kuznetsova breezes into Tianjin round two Russian two-time Grand Slam champion and second-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova breezed through her opening match at the WTA Tianjin Open on Monday, beating France's Pauline Parmentier 6-1, 6-3. Meanwhile, China's Wang Yafan — listed 125th in the world by the WTA — clinched a surprise upset, eliminating sixth-seed Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, despite the Kazakh ranking 91 places above her. The other Chinese players fared less well. Zhang Kai-Lin lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to Croatia's Donna Vekic, while Tianjin native Duan Ying-Ying was defeated 6-4, 6-3 by Montenegrin Danka Kovinic. 2010 Wimbledon doubles winner Vania King of the US was knocked out by Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan. Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova, the tournament's two Czech players, partnered up in doubles to win the 2011 French Open, the 2013 US Open, and a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, but in Tianjin they faced off against each other, with Hradecka beating her compatriot 7-5, 6-4. Bertens falls again In Austria, Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands slumped to her sixth straight opening-round defeat Monday, losing to Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4, 6-2 at the Generali Ladies. In Bertens' first match since taking a month off, the French Open semifinalist used a break to go up 4-3 in the opening set but lost nine of the next 11 games and dropped her serve six times. The 23rd-ranked Bertens, who was seeded sixth, has failed to win a match since reaching the final at Gstaad, Switzerland, in July. Earlier, Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland defeated eighth-seeded Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-4, 6-2. Wawrinka joins Nadal in Brisbane Swiss world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka will use the Brisbane International as his warm-up event to the Australian Open in January, tournament organizers said Monday. The US Open champion will join 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal and women's world No.1 Angelique Kerber at the year-opening tournament. Wawrinka heads to Brisbane after beating Novak Djokovic for his third Grand Slam title in New York and reaching his highest-ever ranking behind the Serb and Briton Andy Murray.
