Big names Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner crash out of Shanghai Masters in round of 16
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Fabian Marozsan defeated Casper Ruud in the round of 16 match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament on Tuesday.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SHANGHAI – The shocks kept coming at the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday as the 91st-ranked Fabian Marozsan gave himself a belated birthday present by beating eighth-seeded Casper Ruud to reach the quarter-finals, before sixth seed Jannik Sinner was also ousted.
The unseeded Marozsan won 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4 and will next face Poland’s 16th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, who beat home player Zhang Zhizhen 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4).
He was joined in the quarter-finals by the 26th seed Sebastian Korda, who fended off a late fightback from the 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina to go through 7-5, 7-6 (8-6).
Marozsan sealed the deal against the fancied Norwegian Ruud in two hours and 38 minutes with a stinging forehand down the line on his second match point.
He called his maiden Masters quarter-final the perfect present, having turned 24 on Sunday.
“This is just only my second Masters tournament, so it’s kind of a new tournament series for me,” said the Hungarian, who beat current world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz
“I’m really enjoying this, I’m very proud for this one,” added Marozsan, who is playing in Asia for the first time.
Later on, US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton fought back from a set down to defeat Sinner and reach the last eight in one of the biggest victories of his young career.
The 19th seed emerged from an excruciatingly tight deciding set to battle through 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) and will face fellow American Korda in the quarter-finals.
Shelton, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the last four
Shelton, who turned 21 on Monday, endured a torrid opening set against the in-form Sinner, summed up by his double fault to concede the seventh game of an error-strewn first stanza.
The Italian, fresh from winning the China Open in Beijing, clinched the opening set with a well-placed smash.
The athletic Shelton was a changed man in the second, sealing the set with an ace and a roar, and then immediately put his opponent under the cosh to start the decider.
The 22-year-old Sinner survived the initial onslaught, saving five break points to seal a game that lasted nearly 10 minutes, and the set went with serve to force a tiebreak.
But it was Shelton who prevailed – and a crowd that had been on his side serenaded him by singing happy birthday.
He said: “This is a pretty crazy atmosphere. 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 am addicted to playing on the big stages. I have not had a normal upbringing or usual first year on Tour. It has been a little bit backwards but I am just trying to keep going and improving each week.”
The Shanghai event, which is back on the ATP calendar for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, has witnessed several shocks.
Korda dumped out second-seeded Daniil Medvedev on Sunday.
Referencing his win over the Russian after beating Cerundolo, he said: “You’ve got to play some really good tennis to beat some of the best in the world, so I gained a lot of confidence from that match and I really used it today, especially in some of the crucial moments.
“I just stayed calm, believed in myself and really went after it.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fourth seed from Greece, lost on Monday to France’s 32nd seed Ugo Humbert in a three-set battle that stretched beyond midnight.
The upsets have paved the way for top seed Alcaraz, who faces 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16 on Wednesday. World No. 1 Djokovic is not entered. AFP
