SHANGHAI ― By the end of day one, China’s chances for one of its countrymen to go deep in the Shanghai Rolex Masters were narrowed down to just two players.

All six Chinese singles players in the qualifiers, including four wild card picks, were defeated Saturday. The next day, world No. 243 Wu Di, the first of China’s three main-draw wild cards to play, fell to Florian Mayer of Germany, 6-3, 6-3, in the first round on center court at Qi Zhong Stadium.

In the 68-minute match, Wu never had a break point opportunity, plagued by errors from the baseline and unable to counter Mayer’s forays to net.

It was the second time the pair faced off, having met here in 2009 when Mayer also won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.

“We played each other in the past. He knew me. I’ve also seen many of his matches. I also know him. But I don’t think I performed as well as I expected today,” Wu said at a press conference following the match.

“From the first point to the last point, it was the same: a lot of rallies, then he had the winning shot. I think I’ll have to work harder.”

Among other Asian players, Korea’s Jun Woong-sun lost in qualifiers Saturday. Japan’s Ito Tatsuma (world No. 160) and Soeda Go (world No. 119) survived the second qualifying round Sunday, against 11th-seeded Somdev Devvarman of India and 14th-seeded Ryan Harrison of America, respectively. Ito entered the first round Monday against France’s Gael Monfils.

By Elaine Ramirez, Korea Herald correspondent
(elaine@heraldcorp.com)