Djokovic defeats Fognini after returning from injury

SHANGHAI - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the current world number one in men's tennis, beat Italian Fabio Fognini in the opening round of the Shanghai Masters Tuesday after being sidelined for a month due to injury.

Djokovic, who skipped the Beijing tournament following a defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka in last month's US Open final, defeated world number 50 Fognini without much trouble after 77 minutes of play.

He is now 6-0 head-to-head against the Italian.

The reigning champion will next face the winner of the tie between Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Canadian Vasek Pospisil.

The prize money in Shanghai is 5,452,985 dollars.

Tanjug file photo