Granollers/Zeballos make confident start to Shanghai title defence

p a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marcel-granollers/g710/overview'Marcel Granollers/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/horacio-zeballos/z184/overview'Horacio Zeballos/a wasted little time getting back to winning ways in their opening match at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/shanghai/5014/overview'Rolex Shanghai Masters/a. /p

p Having lifted the title at the Chinese ATP Masters 1000 last year, the Spaniard and Argentine began their 2024 campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/miguel-reyes-varela/r736/overview'Miguel Reyes-Varela/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/john-patrick-smith/sj55/overview'John-Patrick Smith/a on Tuesday afternoon. Granollers and Zeballos won 85 per cent (35/41) of first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a 77-minute win. They will next take on a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jamie-murray/mc81/overview'Jamie Murray/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/john-peers/pc96/overview'John Peers/a, who beat a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ugo-humbert/hh26/overview'Ugo Humbert/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/adrian-mannarino/me82/overview'Adrian Mannarino/a 6-2, 6-0. /p

[ATP APP]

p The second and third-seeded pairs in Shanghai could not join Granollers and Zeballos in the second round. a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/sander-gille/gd32/overview'Sander Gille/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/joran-vliegen/v895/overview'Joran Vliegen/a upset second seeds a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marcelo-arevalo/a853/overview'Marcelo Arevalo/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/mate-pavic/pf00/overview'Mate Pavic/a 2-6, 6-3, 10-5. It was the Belgian duo’s first win in three Lexus ATP Head2Head clashes this year against Arevalo and Pavic, who lead the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. /p

p Toyko champions a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/julian-cash/ci96/overview'Julian Cash/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/lloyd-glasspool/gd08/overview'Lloyd Glasspool/a continued their good form on the hard courts of Asia by downing third seeds a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/matthew-ebden/e690/overview'Matthew Ebden/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/lloyd-glasspool/gd08/overview'Lloyd Glasspool/a 7-6(6), 7-6(3). Their next assignment in Shanghai is a rematch against their Tokyo championship-match opponents, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ariel-behar/bd52/overview'Ariel Behar/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/robert-galloway/g09v/overview'Robert Galloway/a. /p

p [NEWSLETTER FORM] /p