World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka lost in the first round of the Shanghai Masters, falling to Gilles Simon, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. The Swiss has not played particularly well since winning his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. The 29-year-old won the Masters 1000 tournament at Monte Carlo on clay in April, but he has gone 15-10 in matches since then.
At the U.S. Open, Wawrinka reached the quarterfinals, but fell to Kei Nishikori, 6-4 in the fifth set. Against Simon, he dropped another tight contest. "I was a break up at 3‐0. I did two stupid games then. I had the wind with me, I was rushing a little bit," Wawrinka said.
"This year has been tough. Last year was a special year. I was playing good almost every tournament. This year is a rollercoaster. I won a Grand Slam, a Masters 1000 and I made some really [expletive] tournaments, losing first round. It’s not easy to stay at the top."
However, Wawrinka's position in ATP World Tour Finals qualifying should not be affected, as three players near him in the race have already lost in Shanghai: No. 5 Kei Nishikori, No. 6 Marin Cilic, and No. 8 Milos Raonic. No. 9 Andy Murray lost to No. 10 David Ferrer on Thursday.