Ben Shelton gave himself a birthday present in Shanghai. The American, who turned 24 on Friday, beat Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6 (6) to reach the third round of the Shanghai Masters, an ATP 1000 event, The Associated Press reported.

Shelton, the third seed, is coming off a tough stretch after his run to the U.S. Open final. He lost both of his singles matches for the United States in the Davis Cup and pulled out of the Laver Cup.

The man who beat him in that final, top seed Alexander Zverev, also moved on Friday. Zverev defeated Chinese wild card Wu Yibing 6-4, 7-6, needing more than one match point to close it out on the main Stadium Court, according to the tournament's official results.

There was a surprise on Show Court 3, where qualifier Rei Sakamoto beat 23rd-seeded Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4.

Ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur advanced without hitting a ball after his opponent, Alex Molcan, pulled out with an undisclosed ailment. De Minaur himself had retired from the China Open final against Novak Djokovic earlier this week with an adductor injury, the AP reported.

Djokovic is next, and the 39-year-old, who won the China Open on Tuesday for his 102nd career title, faces Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in Friday's night match in Shanghai. Hurkacz beat Djokovic when they last met, in the Geneva final in May 2025.

The tournament is missing its biggest name, because world No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew this week after announcing that he will take the rest of 2026 off because of a right knee injury. Djokovic said Thursday he plans to reach out to Sinner about his injury-filled season.

What we know: Shelton, Zverev, de Minaur and Sakamoto are into the third round.
What we don't: Whether Djokovic gets past Hurkacz in Friday's night match.