Tennis LIVE: Novak Djokovic makes brutal admission as disqualified star gets redemption
The Shanghai Masters continues, and Daniil Medvedev got his redemption after being disqualified from the recent China Open. Earlier this week, the world No. 6 accidentally hit a ball at a spectator while facing Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals in Beijing, and officials had no choice but to default him from the match. But Medvedev is back to winning ways at the Shanghai Masters, as the former champion came from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff.
It wasn’t to be for Djokovic in Shanghai, though. After winning his 102nd title in Beijing earlier this week, the 39-year-old had just three days to prepare for his tough opening match here against Hubert Hurkacz, but lost 6-4 6-3 – his first ever opening-round exit in Shanghai. Afterwards, the 10th seed brutally admitted that he “wasn’t close” to the level he showed in Beijing, and came in feeling tired and out of sorts.
Carlos Alcaraz will begin his campaign for a maiden Shanghai Masters title against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, the man who handed Jannik Sinner a shock second-round defeat at Roland Garros earlier this year. This is Alcaraz’s first appearance in Shanghai since 2024, and he has never been beyond the quarter-finals.
And defending champion Valentin Vacherot is back to try and retain his crown. A year ago, he enjoyed a fairytale run to the title as a qualifier ranked at No. 204 in the world. Now, he’s the 17th seed, and he faces Sebastian Baez.
Over in Beijing, the WTA 1000 event is reaching a dramatic conclusion. Mirra Andreeva will face Nikola Bartunkova in the semi-finals, before home favourite Qinwen Zheng plays Elise Mertens for a place in the championship match.
World No. 277 causes huge upset
Late on Friday night, Chinese wildcard Zhou Yi earned the biggest win of his career as he took out 24th seed Lorenzo Musetti.
The world No. 277 earned the wildcard as one of the best-performing home players at the recent Shanghai Challenger, and he’s certainly making the most of it.
After beating Mattia Bellucci in round one, he stunned former world No. 5 Musetti 7-6(7) 3-6 7-6(1) on Friday night, reaching the third round of a Masters tournament for the very first time.
The 23-year-old will now face 2023 champion Hubert Hurkacz, who took out Novak Djokovic in round two.
After shocking Musetti, Zhou said: “It’s been amazing. It’s hard to describe. It’s got to be one of the toughest matches I’ve played.
“I really enjoy the process and I’m really happy to still stay on this court the next two days. I’m really happy to see myself play on the centre court again and see myself improve.
Djokovic ‘tired’ and not himself
Novak Djokovic suffered a first-ever opening-round defeat at the Shanghai Masters, losing to Hubert Hurkacz in a battle of the former champions.
It was a brutal draw for the No. 10 seed, who had won the China Open in Beijing just three days before running out of steam in the 6-4 6-3 defeat.
And the Serbian superstar has since admitted he didn’t feel close to the level he showed in Beijing earlier this week, and struggled to adjust to the fast court conditions in Shanghai.
“I wasn’t close to what I was playing in Beijing. I’m slightly more tired, not fresh. Hubi was serving very big and, you know, I didn’t feel myself on the court in terms of feeling the ball. It’s super quick surface, completely different from Beijing,” he said after losing to Hurkacz on Friday night.
“Yeah, if you lose your serve, it’s enough to lose the match, just once per set. That’s what happened. It’s very difficult to return his serve, almost impossible, he was serving big. So, yeah, I didn’t adjust, and it was a really tough draw for me to play him in the first match here.
Medvedev’s redemption
It’s been a difficult few days for Daniil Medvedev, who was defaulted during a thrilling semi-final match at the China Open on Monday.
Novak Djokovic was serving for the match at 5-3 15-15 in the second set when Medvedev hit a ball, which accidentally made contact with a spectator sitting behind the baseline. He was disqualified, but has since issued a public apology to the fan in question and visited them to apologise in person.
Medvedev has now shaken that off, coming from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-4 6-3 in Shanghai, his first match since that unfortunate incident.
