SHANGHAI, October 12, 2018
A rematch of the Wimbledon final took place in the stage of the last eight at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Friday when No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic met No. 7 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa. The 31-year-old from Serbia won 7-6(1), 6-3 in one hour and 43 minutes.
.@DjokerNole continues his mastery of Kevin Anderson.
Moves onto the semi-finals 7-6(1) 6-3 over the South African.#RolexSHMasters pic.twitter.com/vlAIT0yTVv
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 12. Oktober 2018
“I faced one [break point] today, and it was a set point,” said Djokovic. “I managed to pull through that one, and I haven’t lost too many points on my serve. So I think that’s a part of my game that maybe is undervalued in a way. But that helps me obviously when I have an opportunity to step in on a second serve or swing through in the baseline points… The conditions are very quick, so holding your serve comfortably is probably the key.”
Zverev earns 49th match win in 2018
Next up for Djokovic will be Alexander Zverev, who edged past Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old German saved the only break point he faced, capitalizing on both of his own chances to prevail after one hour and 11 minutes. With this win, Zverev has become the fifth singles player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.
Zverev on winning the most matches of any male player on tour at 49 this year:
“That’s also obviously, you know, a great honor, because we have so many great players playing throughout the whole year, and obviously me winning the most matches means a lot to me. It means a lot, because I have kind of played only the biggest tournaments. I have played one 250 this year. I have won matches in big events, so this means a lot. Obviously, I don’t want to stop here. There is still a lot more tennis going on till the end of the year. I’m in semifinals now, and I obviously don’t want to be satisfied just yet.”
Federer to face Coric
Later in the day, Roger Federer defeated Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6(4). The top seed from Switzerland fired 10 aces, winning 65 per cent of his first service points to advance in one hour and 51 minutes.
Federer will play Borna Coric in the seim-finals. The 21-year-old from Croatia edged past Matthew Ebden of Australia 7-5, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 33 minutes.
Second Masters 1000 semi-final for @borna_coric 👏
Scores a solid victory over Ebden 7-5 6-4. Faces winner of Nishikori/Federer.#RolexSHMasters pic.twitter.com/pSndypl47p
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 12. Oktober 2018
Mercedes Benz Fun Fact of the day
The Rolex Shanghai Masters celebrates its landmark 10thanniversary this year. The only Masters 1000 event outside of North America and Europe, the tournament offers the highest-level prize money among the nine Masters 1000 events, with US$1.36 million going to the singles winner. All this week, players have been immersing themselves in the Shanghai experience, including Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic’s visit to the trendy Xintiandi district where the pair received gifts of lantern art. A favorite with players, the Rolex Shanghai Masters has been voted the “ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year” five times.
RESULTS:
QUARTER-FINAL SINGLES
[4] A. Zverev (GER) d [11] K. Edmund (GBR) 64 64
[2] N. Djokovic (SRB) d [7] K. Anderson (RSA) 76(1) 63
[13] B. Coric (CRO) d M. Ebden 75 64
[1] R. Federer (SUI) d [8] K. Nishikori (JPN) 64 76(4)
QUARTER-FINAL DOUBLES
[3] L. Kubot (POL)/M. Melo (BRA) d [7] R. Klaasen (RSA)/M. Venus (NZL) 76(3) 46 10-7
[2] O. Marach (AUT)/M. Pavic (CRO) d I. Dodig (CRO)/N. Mektic (CRO) 36 62 10-6
SEMI-FINAL DOUBLES
[6] J. Murray (GBR)/B. Soares (BRA) d [5] JS Cabal (COL)/R. Farah (COL) 63 64
