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Novak Djokovic said he had been "hanging by a rope" before battling through to the Shanghai Masters last 16 with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over qualifier Yannick Hanfmann Sunday.The 38-year-old Serb is looking to win a record-extending fifth title in Shanghai but was given a mighty scare by the 150th-ranked German.Djokovic fired two aces to start, delighting the crowd, but soon ran into trouble as Hanfmann found his range.The German broke in the third game and held serve after that to clinch the first set."I was just outplayed by a better player for a set and a half -- I was hanging by a rope to stay in the match," Djokovic said.Neither player was able to take control of a gruelling second set, until a series of unforced errors from Hanfmann in the 12th game gave Djokovic the opening he needed.Sweating in 28 C humidity at 9:00 pm, the 24-time Grand Slam champion then broke in the fourth game of the third set as his 33-year-old opponent's precision dropped.Cheered on by a stadium full of adoring fans, Djokovic held his resolve to take the third set after Hanfmann hit the ball out."I had to dig in really, really deep to come out from this match as a winner, and I think the energy and support of the crowd really got me out," Djokovic said.The United States' Taylor Fritz was not so lucky, becoming the highest-ranked player to be dumped out so far after he fell to 37th-ranked Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 7-5.On a hot afternoon, the world number four seemed lethargic and struggled to get into his stride, unnerved after Mpetshi Perricard nearly broke twice in the fifth game.That preempted a streak of brilliance that saw the neon orange-clad Frenchman fire three aces to hold the sixth, then break in the seventh.A closely fought second set came to a head in the 11th game when a double fault by Fritz handed Mpetshi Perricard the advantage, which he swiftly converted with a backhand.Finishing the match off with two aces, the big-serving 22-year-old said he could be proud of himself."It was tough to be honest, tough conditions, very humid," he said."The game at 5-5 (in the second set), it was terrible. I thought I was dying on the court," he chuckled.Mpetshi Perricard will next face 11th-ranked Dane Holger Rune, who beat France's Ugo Humbert, 6-4, 6-4.reb/pst

World number two Jannik Sinner launched his Shanghai Masters title defence Saturday by breezing past Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-3 while Alexander Zverev advanced despite toe trouble.Sinner, fresh from winning the China Open, broke early in both sets to take control and ease himself comfortably into the third round.The 49th-ranked Altmaier’s best chance came in the eighth game of the first set, but he failed to convert a breakpoint twice, allowing the Italian to hold with an ace.The second set provided even less opportunity to seriously bother the 24-year-old Wimbledon champion, but afterwards Sinner said it had been more difficult than it looked.“First match is never easy, especially when you don’t have a lot of time to adjust,” he said.“(Altmaier) is a very tough player, very talented... I just tried to stay mentally in a good point,” he added.“When I broke him twice very early in the set it gave me the confidence to serve the match out, so I’m very happy.”Sinner’s path to retaining the title has been made easier by the withdrawal of great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who dropped out last minute to rest.The Italian’s next match is Sunday against the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor.Four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic will take to the court again Sunday as well, facing Germany’s 150th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann.The tournament lost another top-10 player as Karen Khachanov was defeated by China’s Shang Juncheng 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.Shang, ranked 237th after slipping down the rankings due to injury, was egged on by an increasingly raucous crowd as ninth seed Khachanov flagged.Shang broke in the eighth game of the second set with a backhand.“I think I played well on the whole but I think everyone (in the crowd) must have put a lot of pressure on him,” the 20-year-old Shang laughed.World number three Zverev overcame an injury to his big toe to book his place in the third round, beating France’s Valentin Royer 6-4, 6-4.The German had a blistering start, breaking Royer in the first game and then sending down three aces to easily hold the second.The Frenchman found his feet but a crucial stumble saw him miss a break point in the eighth game, and Zverev took the set.Both players missed chances to break in the second, wowing the crowd with multiple tense rallies.Zverev finally broke in the ninth game then held the last game to win, despite having to take a medical break after limping off court.“It’s not a nice feeling to finish a match like that,” Zverev said afterwards, wincing.He said he sustained the injury during the follow-through of his serve, and would have it assessed Sunday.“I really don’t know what happened, so we’re going to check it out,” he said.World number seven Alex de Minaur comfortably dispatched Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-2.Russian Andrey Rublev, ranked 14th, was upset by qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.But compatriot Daniil Medvedev dominated qualifier Dalibor Svrcina to advance 6-1, 6-1.

Carlos Alcaraz won his eighth title of a sensational season in Tokyo and then pulled out of the Shanghai Masters because of “physical issues” and took aim at tennis’ packed schedule.The Spanish world number one hurt his ankle in his opening match at the Japan Open but shrugged off the issue to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final. But immediately after downing the world number five, the six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz took aim at the tennis calendar.“The schedule is really tight. They have to do something with the schedule,” the recently crowned US Open champion told reporters in the Japanese capital, echoing the sentiments this week of fellow major champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.Alcaraz subsequently wrote on Instagram that he will not play at the prestigious Shanghai Masters starting this week. “Unfortunately I’ve been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover,” the 22-year-old wrote.Alcaraz injured his ankle last week in Tokyo as he ran for a shot, crumpling to the ground and sitting on the court for about five minutes. He returned to play with heavy strapping on his ankle and has admitted that the injury had been on his mind throughout the tournament. It did not appear to bother him against Fritz, as he gave another breathtaking display to lift the trophy in his first appearance in Japan.He clinched victory with a cleverly disguised drop shot before strolling to the net to give Fritz a warm embrace. The win gave Alcaraz a measure of revenge after losing to Fritz for the first time at the Laver Cup in San Francisco two weeks ago.The number of matches in the men’s and women’s tennis calendar has been a major talking point in recent years, with players such as Novak Djokovic cutting back the tournaments they compete in as they near the end of their careers. Gauff called for shorter seasons and said it was “impossible” to play more than she already does, after Swiatek also hit out at the number of tournaments. They were speaking at the China Open, where five players retired injured from matches on Monday.“With more and more events being two weeks it just doesn’t really make sense to strain your body,” the American Gauff said after emerging unscathed to reach the quarter-finals. “I would like to see in my lifetime on tour that a solution be made to make the season shorter,” the 21-year-old world number three added.Gauff, the defending China Open champion and two-time major winner, weighed in after top seed Swiatek said on Monday she may skip mandatory tournaments to protect her health. Starting last year, the Women’s Tennis Association made it mandatory for top players to participate in each Grand Slam, 10 WTA 1000 events – which includes Beijing – and six 500-level tournaments.“I guess on a business standpoint, it can kind of make sense, but on a player health standpoint, I don’t really agree with it,” Gauff said. “I’ve basically played as much tennis as I possibly can.”Poland’s world number two Swiatek called the WTA’s mandatory requirements “pretty crazy”. In Tokyo, Alcaraz said he too would look at skipping mandatory tournaments on the men’s ATP Tour.“We as tennis players, we are not allowed to have a choice if we have to play or not,” he said following his convincing two-set win over Fritz. “To be honest, I have to consider in the future if I have to skip some mandatory tournaments just to maintain my physical condition in a good shape.”Daniil Medvedev retired injured from his China Open semi-final Tuesday.