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Fifth seed Andrey Rublev produced a clean performance Wednesday to down Tommy Paul 7-5, 7-5 and reach the Rolex Shanghai Masters quarter-finals.

The 25-year-old Rublev struck the ball with weight, crushing 23 winners as he forced the American deep beyond the baseline throughout the one-hour, 35-minute battle. Rublev earned a pivotal break in the 11th game of the second set before closing the match on his serve. The 14-time tour-level titlist improved to 5-1 in his Lexus ATPHead2Head series with Paul.

"I was able to be a bit more calm, [not] get frustrated, especially when he broke me in the first set," Rublev said when evaluating what made the difference in the match. "I was playing really well. I was a bit unlucky that I had 15/40 in the beginning and he played two points really good. Then he broke me and I was able to keep the same level. That's why I was able to break him back and in the end, I was able to be a bit more lucky and play a bit better at the end of both sets."

[ATP APP]

Shanghai marks the second time this season that Rublev has reached the last eight at an ATP Masters 1000 event, with the first coming at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he claimed his maiden trophy at that level. At World No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Rublev is the highest-ranked player remaining in China, where he will next meet 32nd seed Ugo Humbert.

Grigor Dimitrov earned his biggest win of the season on Wednesday when he upset World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Entering the match trailing the Spaniard 0-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, the Bulgarian produced a high-quality display at the hard-court event to turn the tables. He timed the ball cleanly off both wings while he used his backhand drop shot to great effect to tuck up Alcaraz, who was aiming to advance to his 13th quarter-final in 14 events in 2023.

The 32-year-old Dimitrov struck 29 winners and responded well after relinquishing a 5-3 lead in the first set to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the year and 17th in his career after two hours and 10 minutes.

"I stayed in the match, that was the first thing, especially after the first set," Dimitrov said. "I was serving very well throughout the first set and he made a few errors. I pushed him to make a lot of errors at certain moments. At 4-5 he played an amazing game and another at 6-5. I was creating a lot of opportunities.

"After the second break in the second set I think I understood his service games and was able to put more balls in and read his serve a bit better. I think in the third set it was a bit of cat-and-mouse. I think we both played a solid set. He made a few errors and I was very solid and served well when I had to."

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos maintained their perfect run Wednesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, but the seventh seeds had to be clinical with their chances to reach the semi-finals in China.

Granollers and Zeballos made it eight sets played, eight sets won at the ATP Masters 1000 event by beating Robin Haase and Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(2), 6-3. The Spanish-Argentine pair raised its level to claim the first-set tie-break before converting the only break point of a serve-dominated encounter early in the second set for a 73-minute quarter-final victory.

With their win, Granollers and Zeballos boosted their Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes. The duo has risen one spot to fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as a result of its Shanghai run, putting it in a good position to reach the prestigious season finale for the fourth consecutive year.

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Granollers and Zeballos’ semi-final opponents will be Rinky Hijikata and Cameron Norrie. The scratch Australian-British pair extended its dream run in Shanghai by beating fifth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 3-6, 10-8.

Nicolas Jarry celebrated his 28th birthday by reaching a maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final on Wednesday after he downed the resurgent Diego Schwartzman at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Chilean 22nd seed prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to book a quarter-final meeting with Carlos Alcaraz or Grigor Dimitrov in China. He outhit Schwartzman by 44 winners to 17 to claim his second win of the year against the Argentine and improve to 2-4 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I’m very happy to be able to come back after that second set,” said Jarry. “I was struggling a little bit. I tried to push myself. It’s very tough to play against Diego because of [our] history. Mentally he is so strong, a great competitor and he makes every ball. You have to work a lot and I’m very happy to overcome it.”

Serving big ? to set up #InAttack@NicoJarry continues his great year with another attacking performance @SH_RolexMasters

? 1. Serve #ShotQuality + #InAttack combination
?2. Serve placement #15aces #TennisInsights | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/MXrPYNveBY

Reaching the last eight in China was another milestone in a career-best season for Jarry, who has notched 36 tour-level wins in 2023. That tally includes title runs in his hometown of Santiago and in Geneva, and he now stands on the brink of breaking the Top 20 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time. He is currently 21st in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Rafael Nadal’s long-awaited return to competitive action will include an appearance at January’s Australian Open, tournament director Craig Tiley announced on Wednesday.

The Spaniard, who has hinted that 2024 may be the final season of his career, has not competed since his second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in January at the 2023 edition of the hard-court major in Melbourne.

"We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back,” Tiley told Australia’s Nine Network. "He's been off for most of the year, and in talking to him over the last few days he confirmed he will be back, which we're really excited about. That's awesome.”

The 22-time major winner Nadal underwent surgery on his iliopsoas muscle in his left leg in June, but recently revealed he is hopeful of being competitive when he returns to action. The 37-year-old is a two-time Australian Open champion, having lifted the trophy at Melbourne Park, where he lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2022.

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The Western & Southern Open will remain in Cincinnati, the tournament announced on Tuesday in a video featuring reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff.

According to a press release, the tournament will remain in Mason at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre for another 25 years. The 2024 edition will mark the 125th year of the tournament.

Our 2023 champions have some exciting news...@wta @atptour @usta @itftennis pic.twitter.com/g8i7nTGgik

Founded in 1899, the event is the United States' longest-running professional tennis tournament played in its city of origin. The announcement was made by Beemok Capital, the family office of Charleston-based businessman and philanthropist Benjamin Navarro.

“The passion and commitment of this community to keep the tournament here was an undeniable factor in our decision to stay,” Navarro said. “The city of Mason, Warren County, the state of Ohio and multiple corporate entities demonstrated their unwavering support for the tennis tournament. This tournament and its history are special. We’re excited to add to its legacy and create a world-class tennis experience for players and fans.”

Hubert Hurkacz kept his cool under pressure against home favourite Zhang Zhizhen at the Rolex Shanghai Masters to close Tuesday's play with a 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(4) win against the rising Chinese star.

In a match that finished shortly after midnight after two hours, 39 minutes, Hurkacz found his very best tennis in the decisive tie-break to deny Zhang a victory that would have lifted him into the Top 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Zhang, whose best ATP Masters 1000 result remains his Madrid quarter-final run earlier this season, was bidding to become the first Chinese man to break the Top 50 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (since 1973).

"Zhang was playing some really amazing tennis. It was a battle," said Hurkacz, who wrote "Fight" on the camera lens after the win. "We were both giving it all out there, leaving everything. Hopefully the fans enjoyed that match because I think that was a really high level. If you just left a little bit of space out there, you're running and fighting from behind."

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Hurkacz's win lifted him one place to 15th in the Peperstone Live Race To Turin, moving him ahead of Cameron Norrie and keeping alive his slim hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Pole remains 1,155 points behind the eighth-placed Holger Rune.

Ben Shelton ticked off another milestone in his breakthrough season on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he upset World No. 4 Jannik Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.

The 21-year-old, who reached the semi-finals at the US Open in September, hung tough in a heavy-hitting clash against Sinner. The American struck the ball with ferocious power, firing 15 aces to earn his biggest win by Pepperstone ATP Ranking.

"This is a pretty crazy atmosphere," Shelton said. "To think that a year and a half ago I was in college and a year ago playing Challengers, now I am on centre court in Shanghai with the crowd singing happy birthday. It is one of those pinch me moments.

"I had a lot of belief in my ability to serve and hang tough and to make it deep in sets. I trusted my fitness levels, being able to go the distance. That gave me a lot of confidence. My serve wasn't working that well in the first set, I felt that he was really on top of me. I really started to find my groove and had one of my best serving days in the second and third sets."

With his two-hour, 32-minute victory, Shelton earned his third Top 10 triumph. He defeated then-World No. 5 Casper Ruud en route to the fourth round in Cincinnati last year and then-World No. 10 Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals at this year’s US Open.

Cameron Norrie and Rinky Hijikata booked their spot in the quarter-finals at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Tuesday when they upset third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 4-6, 7-6(4), 11-9.

The British-Australian team, who are teaming for the first time this week, saved one match point at 8/9 in the Match tie-break before converting on their first opportunity to advance after one hour and 44 minutes. They will next play Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

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Robin Haase and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also joining forces for the first time this week and advanced, defeating Alex de Minaur and Max Purcell 7-5, 3-6, 10-5. The Dutch-Greek tandem won 75 per cent (38/51) of their first-serve points and will next meet Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos at the ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event.

Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul saved three match points en route to their 5-7, 7-6(1), 10-4 victory against Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The Frenchmen are chasing their second tour-level title of the season together, having triumphed in Chengdu last month.

Fabian Marozsan’s red-hot form carried him past eighth seed Casper Ruud on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where the Hungarian prevailed 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 in an intriguing fourth-round encounter.

The World No. 82 Marozsan stepped on court having won all six sets he had played at the ATP Masters 1000 event and he held his nerve in a tie-break to extend that streak to seven at the Qizhong Tennis Center. The 24-year-old then edged the World No. 9 Ruud in a tense deciding set to book a clash with 16th seed Hubert Hurkacz or home favourite Zhang Zhizhen in his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final.

“I’m very happy to beat Casper,” said Marozsan. “He’s a top-seeded player here in Shanghai. I just started very good. I played one of my best matches in Shanghai. I was just happy to win the first set. Of course, the second set was not easy, he started to play much better, and the third was also a tough one. I’m really happy to beat him here.”

Both players kept cool heads under pressure throughout their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, with Ruud saving 12 of 14 break points he faced and Marozsan saving eight from 11. It was the latter who found something extra at the tail end of the third set, however, as he clinched a decisive break in the ninth game before saving two break points to serve out a two-hour, 41-minute win.

It was a second Top 10 victory of the season for Marozsan, who stunned World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz with a free-hitting display in the third round in Rome on his Masters 1000 debut in May. He also defeated then-World No. 11 Alex de Minaur in the second round in Shanghai.

Fifth-seeded Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni fought off all five break points against them to earn a 6-2, 6-4 win against Jamie Murray and Michael Venus on Monday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The result boosts the Argentines' bid for the Nitto ATP Finals by adding cushion to their fourth-place standing in the Pepperstone ATP Live Double Teams Rankings. For Murray/Venus, their exit leaves them just outside of the all-important top eight in ninth place, though the British/Kiwi pair has moved up one place this week from 10th.

[ATP APP]

Gonzalez/Molteni picked up their second straight-sets win of the tournament in one hour, nine minutes thanks in large part to a strong performance on second serve. The pair won 83 per cent (10/12) of points behind their second delivery, trumping their 72 per cent mark (26/36) on first serve.

The Argentines are through to the Shanghai quarter-finals, where they will meet third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury or Rinky Hijikata and Cameron Norrie. Ram/Salisbury opened their campaign on Monday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Aussies Alexei Popyrin and Aleksandar Vukic, while Hijikata/Norrie edged the big-serving duo of Hubert Hurkacz and Ben Shelton 7-5, 5-7, 10-6.

Ben Shelton celebrated his birthday early at the Rolex Shanghai Masters with a pair of wins at the hard-court event. On Monday, the American's 21st birthday, Shelton marked the occasion with a cake, sharing the moment with his father and coach, Bryan Shelton.

The American has plenty of reason to celebrate, given his rapid rise on the ATP Tour. Before the World No. 20 takes on Jannik Sinner on Tuesday in Shanghai, ATPTour.com highlights five milestones that have fuelled Shelton's star power.

[ATP APP]

Shelton Stuns Ruud In Cincinnati, Turns Pro Soon After
After making his tour-level debut in 2022 with a win in his native Atlanta, Shelton upset then-World No. 5 Casper Ruud in the Cincinnati second round. He did not face a break point against the Norwegian, and the third-round run in his first ATP Masters 1000 proved the American belonged at the top level. Soon after the event, Shelton announced he would forgo the final two years of his NCAA eligibility to turn pro.

New Horizons: Australian Open QFs
Shelton closed the 2022 season by winning three straight ATP Challenger Tour titles on U.S. soil to enter the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, then left the country for the first time for the 2023 Australian swing. Playing in his second major at the Australian Open (he earned a wild card into the 2022 US Open as an American NCAA singles champion), Shelton announced himself as one of the hottest rising stars in the game with a stunning quarter-final run that included five-set wins against Zhang Zhizhen and J.J. Wolf.

Ugo Humbert picked up his second Top 10 win in 10 days and his third Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday night at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Frenchman earned a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 result to advance to the last 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 for the third time (twice in 2020) and equal a personal-best 24 wins in a season (also 2020). 

"I'm so happy. It's a big win against Tsitsipas, a Top 10 player," Humbert said after the two-hour, nine-minute match that finished after midnight. "Last week I beat [Andrey] Rublev so I feel a lot of confidence on court and I'm very proud that I won this match.

"I'm just enjoying playing tennis. It's a big passion for me. It's all the work during all the year. Since Davis Cup I've played really great tennis and I'm very happy to play like this.

Tsitsipas' recent struggles continued in the defeat, with the Greek still unable to notch consecutive wins since his Los Cabos title in early August. But the 25-year-old remains in strong position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, sitting in sixth place in his bid to return to the Nitto ATP Finals.

Italian Flavio Cobolli boosted his chances for Next Gen ATP Finals qualification after a title run this past week at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Lisbon, Portugal.

The 21-year-old, who is ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Race to Jeddah, dropped just one set all week at the Del Monte Lisboa Belém Open, where he defeated Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan 7-5, 7-5 in Sunday's final to earn his second ATP Challenger Tour crown and first of this season.

“The week was tough. I did good work, so I’m really happy about that,” Cobolli said. “I know [Benjamin] very well. At the beginning, it was tough because he played unbelievable the first three or four games. But I was solid, my focus was good so after that moment, I started to play better.”

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At a career-high No. 108 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, Cobolli boasts a 32-21 Challenger-match record this season. The Florence native is the fourth #NextGenATP Italian to win a title this year, joining Luca Nardi, Matteo Gigante and Luciano Darderi.

Carlos Alcaraz overcame a tricky test from Daniel Evans on Monday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, advancing 7-6(1), 6-4 to boost his ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone chances.

The Spaniard, who is making his debut in Shanghai, handled Evans’ court-craft with his own agility and power, prevailing in a series of lung-busting exchanges to improve to 41-1 on the year against players ranked outside the Top 20.

Alcaraz frustrated Evans with his depth and accuracy in the third-round clash and rallied from a break down in the first set to lead. He then committed just two unforced errors in the second set to improve to 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

"It was a really tough match. It was one of the toughest matches I have played outside of the Grand Slams," Alcaraz said. "Every time I play Daniel it is a tricky match and I have to play my best to beat him... Both of us played a high quality of tennis and I am really happy to get through."

With his Tour-leading 63rd win of the season, the 20-year-old has closed the gap on Novak Djokovic to 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. If Alcaraz reaches the title match he will leapfrog the Serbian into first place.

Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek and Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski are the first two doubles teams to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. The 2023 season finale will be played from 12-19 November in Turin.

Both pairs are returning to the year-end championships for the second consecutive season after making team debuts at the Pala Alpitour last year. 

Dodig and Krajicek, who became a team in the middle of 2022, have enjoyed a consistent 2023. They won their first major title together at Roland Garros and their maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy at Monte-Carlo.

They also secured ATP 500 crowns at Rotterdam, Queen's Club and Beijing, and reached the semi-finals of the US Open. Dodig and Krajicek reached the final at ATP 250 tournaments in Adelaide and Eastbourne.

Dodig has earned his place at the season finale for the ninth time (four different partners) and Krajicek is a two-time qualifier.

Diego Schwartzman won three consecutive matches for the first time since May 2022 on Monday when he upset World No. 8 Taylor Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Argentine wild card has endured a modest season by his standards, arriving in Shanghai 9-22 on the year. However, he has looked close to his best at the hard-court event and backed up wins against Luca Van Assche and Jiri Lehecka with a consistent returning display in his meeting with Fritz.

The 31-year-old won 54 per cent (22/41) of points on Fritz’s second serve to earn his first Top 10 win since April in 2022, when he beat then-World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime in Barcelona.

"I think since Roland Garros my tennis was changing. I was winning at least one match in every single tournament," Schwartzman said. "Obviously this is not my year, so that is why that at the end of the year to have these kinds of tournaments is great. Not many tournaments to come, but it is going to make a difference.

Schwartzman, who is up to No. 108 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, will next play Nicolas Jarry in the fourth round after the Chilean defeated Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-2.

Tommy Paul boosted his slim Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes on Monday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4 to reach the fourth round.

In a hard-fought clash, the American recovered from squandering two match points in the second-set tie-break, responding with consistent baseline play in the deciding set to advance after two hours and 40 minutes.

Paul is currently 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin on 2,525 points, trailing eighth-placed Holger Rune by 585 points. The 26-year-old is aiming to make his debut at the prestigious year-end event.

Paul has advanced to at least the fourth round at all hard-court ATP Masters 1000 events this season (Indian Wells, Miami, Toronto SFs, Cincinnati, Shanghai). He will aim to reach his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the year when he takes on Andrey Rublev or Adrian Mannarino.

[ATP APP]

Zhang Zhizhen made more history on Sunday when he became the first Chinese player to reach the fourth round at the Rolex Shanghai Masters in the history of the ATP Masters 1000 event. The World No. 60 overcame 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Brandon Nakashima 7-6(2), 6-2.

Competing on home soil, Zhang struck 18 winners and saved the one break point he faced to advance after one hour and 25 minutes. He also clinched seven consecutive points in the first-set tie-break to lead.

“I didn’t even know I won seven points in a row," Zhang said. "I just tried to go point by point. It was a very tough match because I couldn’t find any chance on his serve until the second set. I had to be patient and I’m glad I broke him in the end. I’m pretty happy.”

[ATP APP]

Zhang became the first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalist from China in May in Madrid and in July rose to No. 52 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the highest position ever held by anyone from the East Asian country. He beat Casper Ruud at the US Open to become the first Chinese man to beat a Top 5 opponent.

Second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski made a winning start to their Rolex Shanghai Masters campaign on Sunday when they defeated Americans Mackenzie McDonald and Frances Tiafoe 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-3.

The Dutch-British team reached the title match in Beijing last week and quickly adjusted to the hard courts in Shanghai, winning 85 per cent (29/35) of their first-serve points. Chasing their fourth ATP Masters 1000 title as a team, they will next play Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

Australians Alex de Minaur and Max Purcell upset top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek, claiming a dramatic victory to reach the second round.

De Minaur and Purcell edged a tight Match Tie-break to triumph 6-7(3), 6-1, 11-9 after one hour and 32 minutes. De Minaur and Purcell are teaming for just the second time this week, having played once together at the Australian Open in 2017.

[ATP APP]