Murray, Djokovic win at Shanghai Masters

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after winning a point during his men's singles tennis match against Dominic Thiem of Austria at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai October 8, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

SHANGHAI - Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic moved into the third round of the Shanghai Masters with straight-set wins on Wednesday.

Murray has been on a roll the last three weeks in China, winning nine of his last 10 matches as he tries to qualify for the ATP Finals in London next month. He beat Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 7-5, 6-2.

Murray will next face David Ferrer, another player fighting for a spot in the elite eight-man field. Ferrer rallied to beat Martin Klizan of Slovakia 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

"I haven't been in this position for a while, so in some ways it's kind of new," Murray said of battling to qualify for London. "But I'm enjoying it so far. Just giving me a little bit of extra focus and direction for the last few tournaments."

With Chinese basketball star Yao Ming in the stands, Djokovic extended his unbeaten streak in China to 26 straight matches with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dominic Thiem of Austria, at 21, the youngest player in the top 50.

Also, Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka dropped their opening matches.

The fourth-seeded Wawrinka lost early for the second straight week, squandering a 3-0 lead in the final set before falling to Gilles Simon of France 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. He lost to 103rd-ranked Tatsuma Ito in the first round of the Japan Open last week.

Wawrinka said he's struggled to maintain his focus and consistency following his breakthrough at the Australian Open in January. The win in Melbourne and his first Masters title in Monte Carlo have been accompanied by four opening-round losses.

"This year has been tough. It's been an amazing year, but really tough, also," he said. "It's not easy to stay at the top. You really have to find your way."

For Nishikori, a dominant stretch of tennis finally caught up with him. Coming off back-to-back titles in Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, the Japanese star was bothered by pain in his hip and lower back in his match against big-serving American Jack Sock. He lost 7-6 (5), 6-4.

"It's been hurting these last couple of matches, maybe two or three matches in Tokyo, too," he said. "Couldn't really play my best tennis today."

In other matches, sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych beat Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-1, Julien Benneteau defeated 10th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-3, and Mikhail Youzhny outlasted Ivan Dodig, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (4), 6-3.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played their first matches late Wednesday. Nadal was diagnosed with appendicitis on Sunday but decided to play after taking antibiotics to control the inflammation and reduce the pain.