SHANGHAI: Top seed Jannik Sinner and fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev survived opening-set losses to move on to the fourth round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Sunday in China.
Meanwhile, third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz bested Yibing Wu in straight sets to knock out a home-country favorite.
Sinner dropped a first-set tiebreaker to Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry but rebounded to win 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2. Etcheverry presented a stiff challenge late in the match. With the World No. 1 serving at 4-2, Etcheverry had three break points but couldn't convert, and Sinner went on to break service in the next game to cruise to the win.
After the match, the Italian knew he had dodged trouble.
"It was a very tough match, physically mentally, so I am very happy to get through this one," said Sinner, the World No. 1. "I felt like it was a tough set that I lost. I had my chances [to win the set], but these things can happen.
"Sometimes you have to wait for your chances, which I have done, trying to stay calm mentally, and today that was the key."
Sinner is seeking a seventh tournament title in 2024.
Medvedev, on the other hand, still is looking for his first 2024 tournament win. The Russian, who won the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai in 2019, topped Matteo Arnaldi of Italy 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to keep his title hopes alive.
The two-hour, 44-minute match featured numerous extended rallies, and the players were separated by just three points, with Medvedev winning 109 compared to 106 for Arnaldi, the 29th seed.
"It was a very tough match, a very close one," said Medvedev, who served 10 aces but had six double faults. "I actually felt like that's where tennis is funny. I felt like in the first set, I was probably the better player, had more opportunities. I didn't manage to it, played a bad game at the end of the set.
"In the other sets, I thought it was closer. Maybe even he had the edge on some of the moments, but that's why tennis is crazy. You can win when you don't expect it, and lose when you expect to win, so I'm happy to be here again in two days."
Medvedev moved to 9-3 in Shanghai in his career. Should he win the title, it will be the first time the Russian has won the same tournament twice. He has 20 ATP Tour career victories.
Tommy Paul, the 11th seed, also needed three sets to advance, beating 19th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 in two hours, 43 minutes. Paul had 13 aces among his 39 winners.
Alcaraz captured his 50th match win of the season with his 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 win over Wu, a wild card. It was the 11th straight match win for Alcaraz, who won the China Open earlier this week.
Next up for Alcaraz is the winner of the match between Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Ugo Humbert for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Sinner will face the winner of today's contest between Ben Shelton and Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena, while Medvedev gets the victor of the match pitting Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, the 10th seed, against France's Alexandre Muller. Paul booked a date with either Czech Tomas Machac or Aleksandar Vukic of Australia. - REUTERS