Shanghai: World number one Jannik Sinner is set to face Daniil Medvedev in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals following their respective straight-set wins on Wednesday.
Sinner exorcised past disappointments by defeating American Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6(1), while Medvedev overcame Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(3), 6-3. Shelton, ranked 16th, ousted Sinner at this stage last year, but this time the Italian started confidently and sealed the win in 88 minutes.
The US Open champion gained the upper hand in the ninth game of the first set by breaking Shelton’s serve, then went on to dominate the second set tiebreak.
“It was very tough, you don’t have much control when playing against him… I just tried to stay mentally strong,” Sinner remarked.
Medvedev, the world number five, and Tsitsipas faced off for the 14th time. Tsitsipas began the second set with a break, but Medvedev responded by breaking back in the fourth and eighth games to advance.
Medvedev and Sinner have already clashed four times this year in the latter stages of tournaments. Sinner triumphed over Medvedev in the Miami semifinals, the US Open quarterfinals, and the Australian Open final. However, the Russian dashed the Italian’s hopes in an epic five-set match in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Also advancing to the quarterfinals is world number two Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Sinner in the China Open final just a week prior.
