Medvedev and Tsitsipas advance at Shanghai Masters, exacting revenge on old rivals

Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas both secured straight-set victories on Friday at the Shanghai Masters, defeating familiar foes to move into the third round.

World number five Medvedev overcame Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 7-5, avenging his shocking first-round loss to the Brazilian at the 2023 French Open. Seyboth Wild put up a strong fight, breaking Medvedev early in both sets, but the Russian clawed back each time. “It was not easy,” Medvedev said after the match. “Thiago played great… some shots were unbelievable.”

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas defeated Japan’s Kei Nishikori 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in a hard-fought contest. Tsitsipas, who lost to Nishikori in Montreal in August, expressed satisfaction with his determination. “I did want to put out a fight and I wanted to show that I can go out there and play a good match,” Tsitsipas said. A crucial tiebreak win in the first set helped the Greek gain confidence to close out the match.

In another match, Norway’s Casper Ruud, ranked ninth in the world, suffered an upset defeat to Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 7-6 (7/4), 6-2. Vukic, ranked 91st, praised his composure, saying, “I was very nervous… I tried to get it out of my system, grunted a little more.”

American players Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul also advanced comfortably, while veteran Gael Monfils won a three-set battle against Sebastian Baez to set up a clash with fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

(Source: AFP)