Zverev into Shanghai semis without dropping serve – Jódar beats Ruud
Alexander Zverev beats Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4, saving all five break points. In the semi-finals he meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, whom he leads 6-1 in their head-to-head.
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Alexander Zverev is through to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters. The top seed beat Australia's Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4 in 77 minutes on Thursday, landing 80 per cent of his first serves, hitting ten aces and saving all five break points he faced. It was his ninth win over de Minaur at an individual tournament. "I was a lot of times out-hitting Alex, which is difficult to do from the baseline," Zverev said, according to ABC News. He has reached the Shanghai semi-finals for the third time and for the first time since 2019.
In the semi-finals he faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard advanced after France's Arthur Gea was forced to retire injured while trailing 4-1 in the first set. Zverev leads their head-to-head 6-1. According to The Tennis Gazette, he has passed 10,000 points in the live rankings for the first time and is certain to finish the year as world No. 1.
The other semi-final features Spain's Rafael Jódar. He beat Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Friday, dropping the opening set for the fourth match in a row before coming through. According to Tennis Temple, he moved up to a virtual ninth place in the race for the ATP Finals in Turin, which is enough to qualify after Jannik Sinner's withdrawal. His opponent will be the winner of Friday's match between Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul.