Janko Tipsarevic was among the winners on day one in Shanghai ©Getty Images

Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic was among the first round winners as play began at the Shanghai Masters today.

The Serbian knocked out Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber as the men's Masters 1000 level tennis tournament opened in the Chinese city.

Tipsarevic, twice a Grand Slam quarter-finalist at the US Open, reached round two with a 6-2, 6-4 success.

He was joined in round two at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena by South Africa's Kevin Anderson, with the big server disappointing China's Li Zhe with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

Home success did arrive through Wu Di, however, with the Chinese player coming through in three sets to oust Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6.

Fabio Fognini booked a round two date with Novak Djokovic ©Getty Images
Fabio Fognini booked a round two date with Novak Djokovic ©Getty Images

In the fourth and final match to take place on a low-key opening day, Italy's Fabio Fognini made it through with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Albert Ramos-Viñolas of Spain.

That success booked him a round two match with Serbia's world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic, with the 12-time Grand Slam winner returning from injury to appear for the first time since the US Open final last month.

The bulk of the first round ties at the hard court tournament will be played tomorrow, with the top seeded players such as Djokovic handed byes to the second round.

Olympic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray of Britain, Switzerland's US Open winner Stan Wawrinka and Spain's 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal are all among a star-studded field.