Roddick eases through, China’s Bai scores shock upset

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Andy Roddick reached the second round of the Shanghai Masters when his ailing opponent retired on Tuesday, while Chinese wildcard Bai Yan whipped the fans into a frenzy after beating a player ranked 435 places above him.

Roddick was leading 6-3 2-1 when unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber quit. “We’ve all been on the bad side of having to pull out of a match. It’s not fun,” Roddick told reporters.

China’s Bai created the biggest upset of the day when he converted all four break points he earned to send world number 30 Radek Stepanek packing 6-3 6-4.

“It’s my first time in a top level tournament, so it’s really an unexpected performance for me,” said 21-year-old.

Fellow home-grown wildcard Zhang Ze gave Croatian Ivan Ljubicic a scare before the Croatian restored order with a 5-7 6-3 6-4 win. Spain’s David Ferrer bounced back from losing the China Open final 24-hours earlier with a 7-6 6-1 win over Frenchman Michael Llodra.

Roddick’s compatriot John Isner narrowly avoided an early exit at the hands of Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot, winning 4-6 7-6 7-6.