Jannik Sinner downed Daniel Altmaier with minimal fuss to start his Shanghai Masters title defence.

The world number two, who will be hoping to move back to the top of the ATP rankings with world number one Carlos Alcaraz not in action in Shanghai, won 6-3 6-3 on Saturday.

Sinner, who triumphed at the China Open earlier this week, is aiming to become the first player to win back-to-back titles in Shanghai since Novak Djokovic in 2013.

He required just 98 minutes to get over the line against Altmaier, who he last faced in 2023 at Roland-Garros, losing to the German on that occasion.

Sinner converted three of the four break points on offer, and sealed victory on his serve at the first time of asking.

59 - Jannik Sinner now has 59 wins from 75 ATP Masters 1000 matches on hard court – since 1990, only Pete Sampras (61) has more wins from that opening span of matches on the surface. Benchmark.#RolexShanghaiMasters | @SH_RolexMasters @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/p5mW9SA8Ea

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) October 4, 2025

Next up for Sinner is Tallon Griekspoor, while joining the four-time major champion in the third round will be Daniil Medvedev, who downed Dalibor Svrcina 6-1 6-1.

Data Debrief: Sinner's Far East dream

Sinner now holds a 23-2 record in China, where he is aiming to win a fourth ATP Tour-level title, after previous successes in Beijing (2023 and 2025) and Shanghai (2024).

The Italian's excellence on hard courts continues, too. He has collected 59 wins from 75 Masters 1000-level matches on the surface.

Since the start of 1990, only Pete Sampras (61) has more wins from that opening span of matches on hard courts.