An eventful second round at the Shanghai Masters yesterday saw Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas advance further into the tournament.
Medvedev—who was bounced out by Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing just a few days ago—won against Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild (7-5, 7-5). Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas garnered a much-needed victory against Japan’s Kei Nishikori (7-6, 6-4).
Important wins for struggling champions
And just like their meeting on Parisian clay, it was a tight-knit affair that had both men giving it their all for the win.
It was Seyboth Wild who jumped out on a 1-3 lead early on, breaking Medvedev’s serve in the fourth game of the first set after the Russian double-faulted on his serve.
But just when Seyboth Wild was going to break the match open, Medvedev showed his bounce-back abilities, immediately breaking back in the very next game and holding his serve after, making it 3-3.
But Seyboth Wild was a pesky opposition, going into the lead once more after a dominant service game to make it 4-3. The pair went back and forth until Medvedev found his groove, winning the last three games to take the opening set.
The second set was also filled with Shanghai Masters 2024 highlights, much like the first one.
It was Seyboth Wild making the early rounds again, leading 0-2 at the start before Medvedev settled into the set. The Brazilian had a chance to extend the match as he led 5-4 for the second set in a row, but like the first one, Medvedev proved to be difficult to unseat and just had the edge on important points.
“It was not easy. Thiago played great … Some shots were unbelievable,” Medvedev said after the match.
The former world number one is yet to win a title this year, although it is likely that he reaches Turin for the season-ender.
A competitive first set, both players held their serves and a tiebreak was needed in order to separate the two.
The pair continued to be nip and tuck in the tiebreaker before Tsitsipas had two consecutive errors, which gave Nishikori the set point.
But the reigning Monte Carlo champion held his nerves and closed the set out, winning three successive points in a row.
The second set was more of the same, with both players continuing to hold their own serves.
However, the turning point of the match was when Nishikori called for a medical timeout after experiencing some discomfort on his left leg.
He was leading 2-3 when he called for the physio; it would be the last time he’ll lead throughout the remainder of the set.
Tsitsipas won three straight games before Nishikori found a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, holding his serve in the ninth game after Tsitsipas failed to convert multiple break points.
But what followed was an easy service game for the 26-year-old, taking the win against the former US Open finalist[JAA1] .
“It was a very tough night and I’m very glad I was able to stay in it … and give him pressure,” Tsitsipas said in an interview after the match.
It hasn’t been the best of years for the former ATP Finals winner. Apart from winning Monte Carlo, he’s suffered heavy upsets during the year, bowing out of the top ten rankings where he still is at the moment.
There was the row he had with his father and coach, Apostolos Tsitsipas, leading to the split between the long-time father and son duo.
Tsitsipas also suffered a shock loss to Nishikori in August, back when they faced each other in Montreal.
Ranked 12th in the world, he’ll need a lot of things to go right for him if he is to return to the year-end tournament.
Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov bow out of Shanghai
It was an extremely difficult sight for Canadian SBOTOP tennis fans as they had to watch two of their best players in Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov exit the event, with losses against Alexandre Muller and Ben Shelton.
Auger-Aliassime—bronze medallist in the Paris Olympics—was dispatched 6-3, 6-2. Shapovalov, on the other hand, was able to put up a bit more fight against Shelton but fell in straight sets nonetheless (6-3, 7-5).
Another surprising result was Aleksandar Vukic’s win over Casper Ruud (6-4, 6-4)—undoubtedly the biggest upset of the day according to the Shanghai Masters 2024 odds.
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