SHANGHAI — Roger Federer ignored recent death threats from a Chinese Internet blogger and won his opening match at the Shanghai Masters Wednesday, beating qualifier Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 6-3, 7-5 in the second round. Federer said he was aware that the blogger had recently issued an apology. The blogger said he had apologized, but remained at large after vowing to “assassinate” the world No. 1, according to an Internet posting. The 17-time Grand Slam champion has had heavy security surrounding him at all times since arriving in Shanghai. Federer saved the one break point he faced and broke serve once in each set to secure his path to the third round. He'll next face 13th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka. Second-seeded Novak Djokovic also advanced, beating Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-2. If Djokovic wins in Shanghai and Federer loses before the quarterfinals, the Serb would reclaim the No. 1 ranking next week. Andy Murray received a walkover into the third round Wednesday following the withdrawal of Florian Mayer of Germany because of a rib injury. Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Benoit Paire 7-6 (7), 7-5 in an all-French match. For the second straight day at the tournament, a match went to three tiebreaker sets. Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus upset 12th-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3). Sam Querrey of the US came from behind to beat 14th-seeded Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in another second-round match. Stosur advances In Japan, top-seeded Samantha Stosur advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open by beating Virginie Razzano of France 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. The Australian will next face Jamie Hampton in the quarterfinals. The American defeated wild-card entry Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 7-5, 7-5. Also, Japanese qualifier Misaki Doi beat Olga Puchkova of Russia 6-3, 6-2 and will next take on Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa, while Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan defeated Casey Dellacqua of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-3 and will next face eighth-seeded Laura Robson of Britain in the quarterfinals. Azarenka wins opener In Austria, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka advanced to the second round of the Generali Ladies by beating Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-2 Wednesday. Julia Goerges became the first player to advance to the quarterfinals by defeating Romina Oprandi of Switzerland 6-3, 6-3. On Tuesday, Julia Goerges beat 2007 champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-4, 7-6 (5) Tuesday in the opening round of the Generali Ladies. The fifth-seeded German closed out the victory with a forehand winner after having trailed 5-3 in the second set. She will next play Romina Oprandi of Switzerland, who routed Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-2, 6-1. Andrea Petkovic of Germany defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of Czech Republic 7-6 (3), 6-2 to set up a match against either second-seeded Ana Ivanovic or Monica Niculescu of Romania. Bethanie Mattek-Sands advanced by beating seventh-seeded Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-2, 6-4. Mattek-Sand's next opponent is Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, who defeated Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-4. Simona Halep of Romania led Lesia Tsurenko 3-0 in the opening set when the Ukrainian pulled out due to a right shoulder injury. — Agencies
