Medvedev Defeats Tsitsipas to Reach Shanghai Masters Quarters

Daniil Medvedev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday, setting up a meeting with Tommy Paul. Medvedev did not face a single break point in defeating the Greek 6-4, 7-5. "I felt like I was playing very well today," said Medvedev, the fifth seed. "I put a lot of pressure on him in the first set. "Second set, different story. A very tight one. I'm happy that I managed to get some good returns and find a good rhythm," the 30-year-old said.

The Russian broke his opponent's serve to take a 6-5 lead in the second set and closed out the match in one hour and 24 minutes.

The players were meeting in the singles draw for the 16th time on Tour, with sixth-ranked Medvedev improving his head-to-head record against Tsitsipas to 11-5.

Medvedev won the Shanghai Masters title in 2019.

His next opponent, Paul, beat Zizou Bergs 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.

"I know sometimes it's hard to back up a big win," Paul said of the 39th-ranked Belgian, who upset second seed Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round.

Though Paul said Bergs "raised his level" in the second set, cutting a 0-4 deficit to trail by just one game, it was the American who prevailed in the end.

Rising Spanish star Rafael Jodar earlier beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-2 to secure his quarter-final spot.

It was not without incident, though, with Jodar handed a code violation in the second set for swearing in Spanish at a ball boy while asking for a towel.

Jodar will play Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. The Norwegian advanced when fourth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime retired injured while trailing 2-5 in the first set.

Ruud, ranked 24th in the world, said his opponent's trouble appeared to begin in the fourth game of the opening set.

"It seemed to me that he maybe twisted his knee. It looked like he kind of stumbled a bit with a wrong step," Ruud told reporters.

"From that moment it seemed like he was in a lot of pain," he said.

Auger-Aliassime needed a medical timeout after the fifth game and resumed play down 1-4 with white strapping around his left knee.

Original News: Agence-France Presse

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