As he prepared for a fifth campaign at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas had a simple objective in mind. Having developed a fond affection for a tournament in which he's recorded some memorable performances, the No.10 seed planned for an extended stay.
"I like it here, I feel good here," said Tsitsipas, who defeated then-No.1 Novak Djokovic to reach the Shanghai quarterfinals in 2019.
"All the people that organise this event, they just put a lot of effort into making the players happy here, making the players feel like it's a welcoming, warm place for them to be at … these types of things are important. You want players to be happy in their working environment, and you want them to obviously try and stay as long as they can."
The Greek has navigated one stern test towards that objective, with victory over Kei Nishikori in his opening match this year. It avenged a loss he'd suffered to the Japanese star at the Montreal Masters in August.
The next challenge for Tsitsipas is against 27-year-old Frenchman Alexandre Muller, who upset No.18 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the third round. In the second match on Show Court 3 on Saturday, Tsitsipas will take on the world No.74 for the first time in his career.
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Daniil Medvedev also returns to action in Shanghai, the No.5 seed opening play on the Stadium Court against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi. Medvedev holds a 3-0 winning record against the 23-year-old Arnaldi, who is ranked world No.36.
After convincing opening-round wins on Saturday, No.1 seed Jannik Sinner and No.3 Carlos Alcaraz also return to the court.
Sinner's assignment is against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The 37th-ranked Brazilian made history with his 7-6(5) 3-6 7-5 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp on Friday; spanning three hours and 43 minutes, it was the longest match ever contested at the event.
Having defeated one rising Chinese player in Shang Juncheng on Saturday, Alcaraz takes on another local favourite in Wu Yibing. The 22-year-old from Hangzhou limited No.25 seed Nicolas Jarry to just three games in the second round.
"I know he plays really good tennis. I watched some of the matches when he was in the top 100," Alcaraz said. "Beating a guy like Jarry in the way that he did is impressive, so I have to be really focused on that match."
Tommy Paul also aims to maintain his winning momentum when he faces Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the final night match. He's one of two seeded Americans in third-round action, with countryman Ben Shelton facing Roberto Carballes Baena on Show Court 3.
In an intriguing all-French battle, veteran Gael Monfils meets his nation's No.1. Ugo Humbert in the third round.
Following a rain-delayed day at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on Saturday, a series of rescheduled second-round matches will also be played.
Among high-profile names in second-round action, No.7 seed Taylor Fritz commences his campaign against Terence Atmane, No.13 Frances Tiafoe takes on Zhou Yi, No.12 Holger Rune faces Matteo Berrettini and No.15 Lorenzo Musetti meets David Goffin.
Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Khachanov and Stan Wawrinka will also take to the court on Rolex Shanghai Masters Day 5.
