Jannik Sinner Advances to Shanghai Masters Quarterfinals, Faces Daniil Medvedev

SHANGHAI (AP) — Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters after securing a hard-fought victory against American Ben Shelton. The match, played on Wednesday, saw Sinner win in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (1), spoiling Shelton’s 22nd birthday celebrations. The young Italian, who lost to Shelton at the same stage in last year’s tournament, improved his career record against the American to 4-1.

Both players exhibited impressive shot-making and serving prowess throughout the match. Sinner, reflecting on his performance, stated, “I think it was a very tough match also today. He had chances in the first, chances in the second. If I don’t play well these points, you know, he wins in two sets, because he was serving very, very well.”

Sinner’s critical break in the ninth game was the decisive factor in the first set. Both players then held their service games in the second set, pushing it to a tiebreak where Sinner claimed the last seven points to win the match. With this victory, Sinner progresses to his seventh ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal this year.

Next, Sinner will face Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas in a separate match, with a score of 7-6 (3), 6-3. Medvedev’s win further extends his head-to-head lead over Tsitsipas to 10-4 in their rivalry, which saw them meet for the 14th time.

Meanwhile, second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz continued his successful run, securing his 12th consecutive win against French veteran Gael Monfils. Alcaraz won 6-4, 7-5 and will now face Tomas Machac or Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals.

The tournament also saw top players, including third-ranked Alexander Zverev and seventh-ranked Taylor Fritz, in action. Additionally, legendary player Novak Djokovic was set to continue his pursuit of a 100th career title against Roman Safiullin.

In the women’s competition at the Wuhan Open, Aryna Sabalenka continued to remain undefeated, recording a win over Katerina Siniakova. Sabalenka, two-time defending champion of the event, dispatched the 37th-ranked Czech in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. She will face Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva in the next round.