Djokovic into 3rd round in Shanghai by beating Dimitrov 6-3, 6-2; Murray advances in walkover

SHANGHAI – Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the Shanghai Masters by beating Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-2 Wednesday.

The second-seeded Djokovic won the China Open in Beijing last week for his fourth title of the year and 32nd of his career. He has won 66 matches this season, the most of any player on tour.

Djokovic didn't give Dimitrov a break-point opportunity and never lost more than one point in any service game. He also served four games at love.

"Very pleased with my serving in Beijing and obviously the first match today," Djokovic said. "So that's something that I've been working on, obviously. Relying on the serve in today's tennis is a big advantage. So I try to get as many free points as possible. It helped me a lot to defeat my opponent."

If Djokovic wins in Shanghai and Roger Federer loses before the quarterfinals, the Serb would reclaim the No. 1 ranking next week.

U.S. Open champion Andy Murray advanced to the third round in a walkover Wednesday after Florian Mayer of Germany withdrew because of a rib injury.

"I went to the gym this morning in the hotel, and he was in the gym at the same time," Murray said. "I didn't know until 15, 20 minutes ago."

Murray is the two-time defending champion at the tournament with a 9-0 record after winning finals against David Ferrer last year and Federer in 2010. The third-ranked Briton also won the Olympic gold medal at the London Games and a title in Brisbane title earlier this year.

Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Benoit Paire 7-6 (7), 7-5 in an all-French match.

For the second straight day at the tournament, a match went to three tiebreaker sets. Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus upset 12th-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3).

Sam Querrey of the United States came from behind to beat 14th-seeded Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in another second-round match.

Nishikori sought a medical timeout for a right ankle he injured last week.

"It's disappointing, but I was close to a win even with this injury," Nishikori said.