It was a surprising quarterfinal Friday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer exited the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the season. Djokovic was upset by Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, while Federer fell to Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3.
Tsitsipas struck 11 aces, won 83 percent of his first-serve points, and held 14 of his 15 service games.
“It’s the best comeback that I have ever had, probably,” the 21-year-old Greek commented. “It was a very difficult victory mentally, too. I wasn’t really thinking that long term that I have to win two sets. It just went step by step. It happened. I broke him, I won the set, I stayed there, broke him again, eventually I got the win at the end. I wasn’t really thinking too much in the future, and I think that helped a lot.”
“He had the high-quality tennis and he played very well after his serve,” Djokovic said of Tsitsipas. “He was backing up his serve with really good and aggressive first shots in the rally. I didn’t make him defend enough. I just gave him enough time to really dictate the play from back of the court and he deserved to win.”
Next up for the world No. 7 is familiar foe Daniil Medvedev, who is sweeping the head-to-head series 4-0. A red-hot Medvedev is one win away from reaching a sixth straight final after beating Fabio Fognini 6-3, 7-6(4) in the quarters.
Zverev squandered five set points in the middle frame of play against Federer but recovered to triumph after two hours and four minutes. The sixth-ranked German has apparently revamped his serve on this Asian swing and he fired 17 aces while double-faulting only once on Friday.
“(I’m) finally starting to kind of play the way I should play, really,” Zverev assessed. “I was playing really defensive the whole year, and I was not with a lot of confidence.”
The 22-year-old will now meet Matteo Berrettini, who defeated Dominic Thiem 7-6(8), 6-4. Both Zverev and Berrettini are in position for the last two Nitto ATP Finals spots, but the winner of Saturday’s showdown will be close to a lock whereas the loser will still have plenty of work to do.
Tsitsipas on Friday became the sixth man to clinch a 2019 London spot.
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a lot at stake in both semis
Wow! The next generation is finally showing their teeth! It was about the time…
Yes, I am glad to see the youngsters in a full semifinal.
I like the way Fed played at 0:40 and 3 match points for Zverev. But he can’t sustain that level for long. It’s only when the survival instinct is the main focus.
If Medvedev wins Shanghai he may snatch no 3 from roger by end of year ..too close in the race now
In fact Thiem may also snatch no.4. No. 3 to no.4 barely makes a difference. But no. 4 to no. 5 may mean drawing rafa or novak at the ao
Both Fed and Djoko couldn’t make it to the business end of things in three events now after their Wimbledon epic final – Cincy, USO, Shanghai. The Wimbledon final must have taken a lot out of both.
Djoko did win Japan though against a depleted field
This years WTF are going to too tricky too fall. I expect big 3 to have tough time there. None of the matches are going to be easy unlike many past years. One of the big 3 can lose two matches in pool itself which has been a rare scenario in the past.
too tricky to call*
Something interesting about Tsitsipas this year, he has beaten some defending champions- Fed at the AO, Sasha at Madrid, Basilashvili at Beijing, Djoko at Shanghai.
He may beat Fed at Basel, Khachanov at Paris and Sasha at WTF!
This is a very interesting development! Finally the young guns make some inroads. I’m especially thrilled for Tsitsipas who was in a slump after his tough loss to Wawa at the FO. He even admitted candidly that he had lost his joy of playing tennis! Apparently he rediscovered it. I wonder if Tsitsi’s and also Zverev’s latest wins over a member of the illustrious Big Three club have something to do with their recent Laver Cup participation. They may have rediscovered the fun aspects of it all, and they were in close and friendly contact with Fed and Rafa, who freely supplied their immense expertise.
So, how are Rafa’s chances to get another year-end No 1 ranking? I haven’t done the math, yet, but they should’ve improved…
I don’t follow tennis closely atm because I’m in Hawaii right now where my husband will participate in the Ironman World Championship in Kona tomorrow. I am the sole member of his support team😉. For all triathlets the Kona Ironman is like the AO, FO, Wimby and the USO combined!
It’s interesting to have a close inside look at sports which is totally different from tennis. For the majority of the competing amateurs the opponent is time and not so much the other athlets. Above all they want to finish and also beat their own records of they have been here before. The performances of the other athlets are secondary. Only the professionals try to beat each other. Since all three winners of the last five years (two of them won twice since 2014 and are gunning for a third title) are participating and are also in a very good shape, it will be a very interesting and competitive race for sure. And it’s Germany against the rest of the world because for the last five years the winner was a German athlet☺️ As far as the women are concerned it’s a bit like Rafa at the FO against the rest of the world. There is only one overwhelming favorite who won the race now for the last four times and is gunning for a fifth title in a row.
It is so good to see all the supposedly past prime aged players gone from a masters 1000.
Hopefully the same in the slam soon.
Tennis getting too boring and predictable when all big 3 get 20+ slams, that’s absolutely no competition in the field.
I simply could not disagree more. It has been one of the great joys of my life to see the to three continue to defy age and continue to play stellar tennis. We are fortunate to live in an era like this. Ageism is toxic and ignorant. Seeing the top three continue to work to remain competitive for the love of this sport, has been so gratifying.
I am not all that impressed with these young guys. Some of them have attitude problems. Some of them are self-entitled and not willing to go the hard work ( I am looking at you Kyrgios!).
I know the top three will retire at some point. But I celebrate their commitment to the sport and their willingness to work even more to try to compete as they get older.
Agree! The Big Four’s commitment to excellence in their chosen profession has been inspiring. Andy Murray’s comeback has been amazing so I’m including him. Zverev and Tsitsipas have clearly been inspired by their long weekend at the Laver Cup, watching and listening to Roger and Rafa. Thiem won a 500, Zverev seems to have shaken off the ills that plagued him this year and Tsitsipas has renewed inspiration. Medvedev’s admiration for Rafa was clear after the USO final “a hundred million kids see you and want to play tennis!”
As Rafa says they are not forever, but I’ll really miss them when they’re no longer tearing up the courts. Some of these youngsters will win slams and rise to the top of the rankings, but I don’t see anyone out there with the stature of the Big Four.
Well said Nativenewyorker. I think you are being too kind to this younger generation, for me I am not impressed with any of them at all. They are and probably will never be anywhere near the greatness, discipline, skill and talent of fed, Rafa, borg, McEnroe, connors etc, even if they win a slam. Even wawrinka at his best is way more impressive than any of them.
They are/or will be at the level of Hewitt and Roddick and ferrero. Never was impressed with Medvedev even if he wins 1000 finals in a row. Kyrgios is the one that could be great if he stops being a douchebag which sadly will never happen. These youngsters don’t have the X factor. They are not unique in any way. No originals just copies. Medvedev is a poor man’s djokovic, Dimitrov is baby fed and nobody is and can ever be a copy of Rafa.
So Rafa is back to No1! Well deserved Dear Rafa!!!
Vamossss! ❤️❤️❤️
Well, Rafa will be back to #1 by Nov 4, if not sooner, depending on what happens in Paris.