Ankle trouble, but into the last eight: Zverev edges Bublik in three tie-break sets
7-6, 4-6, 7-6 after 2 hours 41 minutes: Alexander Zverev reaches the Shanghai quarter-finals for the first time since 2019. Alex de Minaur awaits on Thursday.
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Alexander Zverev has reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters. The top seed beat Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-6 (1) on Tuesday. According to the ATP, he saved four set points in the opener, while in the second set Bublik became only the second player in the tournament to break him. Zverev hit 14 aces and is into the Shanghai last eight for the first time since 2019 – his 40th quarter-final at Masters 1000 level.
Zverev repeatedly held his right ankle during the match. "My ankle was acting up, unfortunately," he said, according to the ATP. He described the match as difficult because Bublik "has been playing amazing tennis".
In the quarter-finals on Thursday, the future world No. 1 faces Australia's Alex de Minaur, who beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 and has yet to drop a set in Shanghai. Zverev is chasing his eighth Masters 1000 title and his first in Shanghai.