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• Gauff focused on serving up goods under new coach Daly

  Coco Gauff says her main focus is on improving her serve after adding Matt Daly to her coaching team ahead of the China Open.

  Daly, who has previously coached former Wimbledon semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov, has linked up with Gauff and her long-term mentor Jean-Christophe Faurel, following her split with Brad Gilbert earlier this month.

  The world number six is gearing up for her first tournament since her US Open title defence ended at the hands of Emma Navarro in round four at Flushing Meadows.

  Gauff, who hit 19 double-faults during that defeat, has failed to progress beyond the last 16 in any of her last five events, having previously reached three successive semi-finals at the Italian Open, French Open and Berlin Open.

  But the 20-year-old is looking forward to a fresh start, and is already seeing the benefits of her work with Daly, ahead of facing Clara Burel in Beijing on Friday.

  "There are other parts of my game that I want to work on, too, but the focus right now is the serve," she told the WTA Insider.

  "When I serve well, I play pretty well. For me, that's the basis for my game. Already, the little bit we've done has made a drastic improvement to where I was three weeks ago.

  "At this point, there's not a crazy amount, like going through a technique change or resetting everything. It's just subtle things that, doing it for a week now, will help me.

  "I'm super excited about a new change and, hopefully, to improve other parts of my game. 

  "Working with Brad was really great and, obviously, we had a great partnership. It was just time to do a reset, a refresh and add some things in my game that I felt like I need to do to have a better season next year."

• Wins for Shelton and Rune but Fritz slips up at Japan Open

  Ben Shelton is confident he can retain his Japan Open crown after kickstarting his title defence with a victory over fellow American Reilly Opelka in three sets. 

  Shelton, who captured his maiden tour-level trophy a year ago in Tokyo, came from a set down to win 3-6 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 47 minutes on Thursday. 

  He came into the competition off the back of a victory over Daniil Medvedev at the Laver Cup, though Team World went on to lose the tournament in Berlin. 

  However, with consecutive wins under his belt, the 21-year-old American believes his previous success in Tokyo will stand him in good stead this time around. 

  "I have a lot of love for this tournament and this city," Shelton said. "I have a lot of confidence. Being here and knowing the situations I have come through in this exact stadium, in the most important moments."

  "I think it was a tough start. I felt like I was struggling a little bit and getting rhythm. I am happy with the way I competed. Breaking serve multiple times gives me a lot of confidence."

  Former Japan Open champion Taylor Fritz, though, suffered a shock first-round exit in three sets to Frenchman Arthur Fils. 

  Fils produced a classy performance on his tournament debut in Tokyo, handing the recent US Open finalist a 6-4 6-3 6-3 defeat.

  Stefanos Tsitsipas was another big name to suffer a shock defeat, as he lost 4-6 6-1 6-2 to Alex Michelsen.

  Holger Rune, however, booked his place in the next round, but was pushed all the way by Alejandro Tabilo, eventually prevailing 6-2 5-7 6-4 in the decider. 

  Up next for the Dane is wildcard Yoshihito Nishioka.

• Sinner survives first-set scare to advance in China Open

  Defending champion Jannik Sinner came from a set down to advance to the last 16 of the China Open, beating Chilean Nicolas Jarry in three sets on Thursday. 

  Sinner needed an hour and 55 minutes to edge past the world number 28, eventually prevailing 4-6 6-3 6-1 in Beijing. 

  Despite starting the contest with a love game, the Italian was broken in the seventh, with Jarry able to hold his serve to take a surprise lead. 

  However, the world number one responded emphatically to take the encounter the distance, despite facing four aces from his opponent. 

  Sinner continued his momentum in the decider, racing into an early lead after a break of serve before Jarry sent a ball long to seal the Italian's progression. 

  Up next for Sinner is either Roman Safiullin or Stan Wawrinka, who face each other on Friday. 

  Data Debrief: Sinner fights back again

  Sinner is now 8-2 at on the ATP Tour in 2024 after losing the first set, with one loss coming to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo, who went on to win the tournament, and the other against Andrey Rublev in Montreal. 

  But the Italian faced a stern test from Jarry. The Chilean served 12 aces compared to Sinner's one, though the latter did ultimately save four of the five break points he faced to drag himself over the line.