Stefanos Tsitsipas Meets Daniil Medvedev in the Last 16 of the Shanghai Masters“/>
STEFANOS Tsitsipas will revive his rivalry with Daniil Medvedev after beating Alexandre Muller at the Shanghai Masters.
The Greek’s 6-3, 7-5 victory means he will face his 14th head to head match with Medvedev, their first meeting in almost a year.
In a match delayed two days due to rain, Tsitsipas was in control of Muller until he dropped serve in his bid to close out the match at 5-3 in the second set.
Also read: Defeating Tsitsipas, Medvedev Advances to the Final of the ATP Vienna Tournament
However, he came back to break the opponent’s serve in the final game, found the range of his forehand to get match point, then hit a powerful and fast forehand to seal the win.
“I lost concentration (after) I was able to play well throughout the match,” said Tsitsipas, when asked about losing serve at the end of the match, quoted from the official ATP website, Wednesday (9/10).
“I think it frustrated me a bit, because two of my nets jumped off the court and landed on the outside. One on serve, one on forehand. It only took a few millimeters to get through.”
Also read: Medvedev and Tsitsipas Advance to Second Round of Australian Open
“A few unforced errors here and there led to the break. I was frustrated because I didn’t feel like I deserved it
break it. Regardless, I kept going,” continued the 26-year-old.
“I know that I’ve faced moments like this before, and my biggest asset is getting rid of those negative thoughts, getting back into the game and getting things going again.”
The 10th seed earned his 200th win on hard courts by beating Kei Nishikori in the opener and saving the first six break points he faced in Shanghai — three against Nishikori and three against Muller.
Also read: Tsitsipas predicts that he and Medvedev and Zverev will become the Big Three
Having advanced to the last 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 for the fourth time this year, the defending Monte Carlo champion will next face fifth seed Medvedev for a place in the Shanghai quarter-finals.
Medvedev won his first five meetings against Tsitsipas before the Greek responded with victory in the group stage on his way to the 2019 ATP Finals title.
Medvedev leads their head to head 9-4, including wins in both of their meetings in 2023, in the Rome and Vienna semifinals.
“He’s someone who loves courts like this,” Tsitsipas said of 2019 Shanghai Masters champion Medvedev.
“I feel like I’m getting better as time goes by. I feel like I’ve developed some good shots over the last few weeks. So far, I’m happy with the way my tennis is performing,” he concluded. (Ant/Z-1)
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