Medvedev Stays Composed In Tough Moments Against Seyboth Wild, Advances At Shanghai Masters

Daniil Medvedev, Shanghai Rolex Masters
Daniil Medvedev (photo: ATP Tour video)

SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON, October 4, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

Down a break in the both the first and second sets of his second-round match in the Rolex Shanghai Masters Friday evening in Shanghai, China, former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev dug deep into his reservoir of groundstrokes and found solutions to pull out a satisfying victory in an opening-round match that he just as easily could have lost.

By the conclusion of his one-hour, 56-minute tussle with 88th-ranked Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild on Stadium Court at Qi Zhong Tennis Center, the current World No. 5 Medvedev emerged with a 7-5, 7-5 triumph to advance into the third round.

The 28-year-old Moscow native hit 17 winners to overcome 28 unforced errors and benefited from 47 unforced errors by Seyboth Wild and four breaks of the Brazilian’s serve — including the final game of the match. It all added up to Medvedev’s 43rd win in his 60th match of the season. Medvedev remains in search of his first ATP Tour title of 2024 and would love nothing better than to repeat his 2019 Shanghai title success — one of his four career Masters 1000 crowns.

“Oh, I love it here. I love the city since the first time I’ve been here for the challenger,” Medvedev said during his post-match interview. “I love the venue. I think it’s the best tournament by far, outside of the slams. It’s great, I feel like, for players and for fans, so it’s mutual fun. I feel like all the stadiums are full, even for practice, which is crazy. So, yeah, great energy, happy to win here, and will try my best to stay as long as possible.”

After losing to Seyboth Wild in the first round at Roland-Garros last year, Medvedev knew it wouldn’t be an easy match this time. “It’s a tough match. He plays well, very well against me,” he said. “I felt like I actually played a good match, just a couple of few loose errors, but it’s okay, it happens, and if not, I stayed tough. That’s why I managed to win. Two times [I] broke at 5-all and the side helped a little bit with the wind. So, generally, I’m happy with my level and looking forward, and, yeah, he’s a tough opponent to play against.”

Next, Medvedev will face No. 29 seed Matteo Arnaldi of Italy, who rallied to beat 131st-ranked American qualifier Zachary Svajda, 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-4.

Later, 91st-ranked Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic upset eighth seed Casper Ruud of Norway, 6-4, 6-4, in an hour and 18 minutes on Stadium Court to earn the biggest win of his career.

Vukic, who dropped just six points behind his first serve, hit 28 winners — including seven aces — and outpointed the World No. 9 Ruud 61-50. While Ruud is 5-6 since the Paris Olympics, Vukic broke an 0-5 mark against Top-10 opponents.

Next, Vukic will play No. 30 seed Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, who defeated No. 64 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Tsitsipas, Shelton among Top-20 seeds to advance

With several Top-20 seeds seeing action on Friday in the eighth ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, the Rolex Shanghai Masters heated up as the second round got under way.

No. 10 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece faced former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori of Japan, while No. 16 seed Ben Shelton of the United States and 102nd-ranked Canadian qualifier Denis Shapovalov started the day on Stadium Court.

The World No. 12 Tsitsipas avenged a past result as he defeated the 153rd-ranked wild card Nishikori, 7-6 (6), 6-4, two months after losing to him in the second round of the Masters 1000 in Montreal. Tsitsipas recorded the 200th hard court win of career by outpointing his opponent 73-69. The victory continued his unbeaten streak (4-0) in Shanghai opening rounds.

Afterward, Tsitsipas said it felt good to beat Nishikori. “Absolutely, yes. I did want to put up a fight, and I wanted to show that I can go out there and play a good match against him. It turned out to be better and better each and every game.”

Meanwhile, the World No. 17 Shelton did not face a break point during his 77-minute 6-3, 7-5 win over Shapovalov. The 21-year-old American, who fired 11 aces and hit 21 winners, improved to 11-0 in the opening rounds of Masters 1000s and Grand Slams this season. It also was Shelton’s third straight win over Shapovalov — all of them coming this season.

“I think some of the tendencies and things that I expected, he changed it up today,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “I was looking for a few things and was surprised by some of the things he did on the court.”

On court, Shelton curbed his enthusiastic celebrations. “I’m trying to work on being a little bit more calm and focused on the court,” he said. “I think that it’s important for my evolution, and in the evolution of my game, that I continue to be able to focus for extended periods of time and and really lock in to play at a higher level for more than one set. I thought I did a great job of that today. I’m happy with the way that I stayed committed to my game style and stayed focused out there.”

Next, Shelton will face No. 54 Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain, who upset 21st seed Arthur Fils of France, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), breaking the Frenchman’s five-match winning streak in which he won his second ATP Tour title of the season at Tokyo earlier this week.

Around the Rolex Shanghai Masters

No. 11 seed Tommy Paul of the United States earned his 40th win of the season with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 81 Fabio Fognini of Italy. It’s the second straight year Paul has reached the 40-win plateau after achieving 41 in 2023. He’s won 11 times this season in Masters 1000 competition. Next, Paul will play No. 19 seed Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, who advanced over No. 62 Arthur Rinderknech of France, 6-3, 6-2.

Also, wild card Wu Yibing of China, one of three Chinese men in the second round, upset No. 25 seed Nicolas Jarry of Chile, 6-2, 6-1, to advance against either World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain or fellow Chinese Shang Juncheng, ranked 51st, who play Saturday.

“I played some great tennis,” the 560th-ranked Wu said in his post-match news conference. He saved both break points he faced and converted four of eight break points against Jarry. “I think maybe that’s the best match I ever played in my career. I was very focused facing Nico. He has a huge serve — I think one of the best servers on tour — and I prepared a lot before the match. I tried to, like stand different position on returns, and try to copy different situations, which I’m really happy that today I have all done it in the match.”

Other second-round winners include a trio of Frenchmen: No. 74 Alexandre Muller, who upset No. 18 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, 6-3, 6-2, and will face Tsitsipas next; No. 46 Gaël Monfils, who eliminated No. 22 seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina; and No. 16 seed Ugo Humbert defeated No. 92 Arthur Cazaux of France, 6-3, 6-2, to set up a third-round showdown against Monfils.

Also, No. 31 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry defeated No. 67 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5, in three hours and 43 minutes — easily the longest match of the day.

Friday’s Rolex Shanghai Masters results

Saturday’s Rolex Shanghai Masters order of play

By the numbers

On Thursday, 19-year-old Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, became the fifth youngest match winner in Shanghai and the first Czech man to record a main draw win at the event since Tomas Berdych in 2015. The 65th-ranked Mensik defeated No. 45 Pedro Martinez of Spain, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. Next, Mensik will play No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia.

“Quotable …”

“I love playing teams competition, the Davis Cup with the players, with their team, with the Spanish Federation as well, all the people who are around just to help me to be better, and feeling great off the court as well, that for me is really important. The Laver Cup, same thing.

“Those competitions helped me a lot to get the joy back on the court, and, let’s say, being focused on what’s next. I came here to Asia with a lot of energy, enjoy every single second that I step on the court, and that for me it’s really important.

“Right now, I’m ready for the next tournaments, I really want to play the next tournaments, and have the joy back. So, it was a great month of preparation, hard working with my team, and of course feeling great off the court with everyone, so, for me it was a great time.”

— World No. 2 and third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, from his pre-tournament news conference, on the importance of getting his energy back.

 

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