Taylor Fritz kicked off his Shanghai Masters campaign with a solid win over Matteo Arnaldi yet he cut a frustrated figure throughout the contest as he struggled with the balls being used at the ATP 1000 event.

The American started the tournament on the back of a shock first-round exit at last week’s Japan Open, but he controlled proceedings against Arnaldi, winning 7-5, 6-2.

Fritz was delighted to bounce back after getting “absolutely cooked” in the heat in Tokyo as he explained: “I felt good about my tennis the whole time, I think Tokyo was just tough circumstances for me.

“You know, I went to Laver Cup [in London] pretty early and then it rained the first two days I was in Tokyo so I hadn’t seen the sun in like 12 days.

“And then I came out for my first match and the sun was so strong and it was just a brutally hot day and it really just blitzed me cause I hadn’t had any heat acclimatisation.

“I felt like my tennis was good, but just tough circumstances and it absolutely cooked me so I feel a lot better now.”

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Despite the comfortable scoreline during the Arnaldi match, Fritz was heard telling his team “it is frustrating” several times during the contest, and the quality of the balls was the main reason for his disgruntlement.

“Once the balls get worn out, I can hit the ball in one line as hard as I can then the other line as hard as I can and then he just passes me, and gets a full hit on it,” the world No 12 said.

“Thank God they sped the courts up this year, like it’s faster, so at least it still kind of goes. These balls they are so fast brand new and then they wear out so fast and once they get worn out, God, it’s just miserable to try to finish a point, like so tough.”

It is not the first time that the condition of the balls has been criticised by top ATP players, as the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev have all hit out at the lack of standardisation across different tournaments.

Following the Laver Cup where the courts were slow, Alcaraz revealed he made a request to ATP bosses about the balls being used on the Tour.

“It is about the balls, I would say,” the seven-time Grand Slam winner said. “We can see during a lot of tournaments how the balls’ reaction from the court is totally different.

“The ball becomes super big, and it’s totally different game when it’s new balls. We play two or three games with that balls, you have to adapt yourself the best you can.

“I don’t know if they’re going to change it or not, but what I requested is that they have to see the best ball possible for the courts are made, the tournaments we’re going to play. I think that’s a really important things to know.”