Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul’s success on Chinese soil continued Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where the French duo downed second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.

Doumbia and Reboul, who lifted their maiden ATP Tour title in Chengdu two weeks ago, delivered a top-class serving performance against Koolhof and Skupski to reach the last four at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. They won 81 per cent (38/47) of points behind their first delivery for a one-hour, 48-minute triumph.

The sixth seeds Doumbia and Reboul are now 26-18 for the season. The pair has won two ATP Challenger Tour titles this year, alongside its Chengdu triumph, and is currently 16th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. Lifting the biggest title of their careers in Shanghai would boost Doumbia and Reboul as they look to make a late charge at qualification for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.

Their semi-final opponents in China will be the winner’s of Thursday’s night-session match between fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden and eighth seeds Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer.

Hubert Hurkacz kept his cool in the face of an early Fabian Marozsan onslaught to book a semi-final berth Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The 16th-seeded Pole prevailed 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to end Marozsan’s dream run at the ATP Masters 1000 event. After twice dropping his serve in the opening set as his Hungarian opponent made inroads with clean baseline hitting off both wings, Hurkacz dialled in behind his delivery and lost just nine points on serve across the second and third sets for a one-hour, 43-minute triumph.

“He came with some really great shots, and I just needed to stay positive and keep committing to the gameplan,” said Hurkacz after his win. “To be aggressive, because if I dropped anything short he was just taking advantage of it and coming with some really incredible shots. I knew I had to stay on point today.”

“What did you have to do to turn the match around?”

“Keep coming into the game plan, and be aggressive because if I dropped anything short, he was taking advantage of it…”@HubertHurkacz did exactly that‼️

A massive #InAttack increase in sets 2 & 3 📈 @SH_RolexMasters pic.twitter.com/gZKkLWUUHU

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) October 12, 2023

Hurkacz converted five of 11 break points he earned overall in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Hungary’s Marozsan, who had upset Alex de Minaur and Casper Ruud en route to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final. The six-time ATP Tour champion Hurkacz finished with 39 winners, including 18 aces, to improve to 6-5 in Masters 1000 quarter-finals.

It was a Tour-leading 21st deciding-set victory of the 2023 season for Hurkacz, who is five clear of second-placed Francisco Cerundolo in that category. Now into the last four for the first time in three Shanghai appearances, he will meet 19th seed Ben Shelton or 26th seed Sebastian Korda next as he chases his second Masters 1000 crown (after Miami 2021).

Thursday’s comeback win could also prove crucial in setting up the Pole for a late charge towards Nitto ATP Finals qualification. The 26-year-old Hurkacz, who made his only appearance at the prestigious season finale in 2021, is currently 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He is 975 points behind eighth-placed Holger Rune but could close that gap to 335 points by lifting the trophy in Shanghai.

Despite defeat, Marozsan can look back on another breakthrough run in Shanghai. The 24-year-old, who upset Carlos Alcaraz in May en route to the fourth round as a qualifier in Rome, has risen 26 spots to No. 65 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his exploits in China. The Hungarian will comfortably improve on his previous career high of No. 82 in Monday’s update of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Carlos Alcaraz does not plan on dwelling too much on his three-set defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in the Round of 16 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Instead, the Spaniard is eager to return to the practice court after tallying a 5-2 record during the Asian Swing.

“I always say that you can improve more from the defeats than the wins. After this trip, I took a lot of lessons to improve, to be better,” Alcaraz said in his press conference. “As I said in Beijing, I have to work on a few things to beat the best guys and after this loss, it [happened] not too much time ago, so I have to think about it. But I will take a lot of lessons to improve in practice before the tournaments that I have ahead.

“I think I’m playing great tennis. Even if I didn’t make the quarter-finals [in Shanghai] or lost in the semi-finals [in Beijing], I think I’m playing great tennis. So I have to practise at my 100 per cent in the weeks before Basel. That is the next tournament for me, so I’ll try to make my best in that tournament.”

The No. 2 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings appeared in good position to battle through against the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion after winning the first set. But Dimitrov maintained his level and Alcaraz was never able to find the answers he so often does to turn the momentum back in his favour.

“Probably I had to start the second set better. I think I made a few mistakes in the first game that I shouldn’t do. That is the truth,” Alcaraz said. “It was a little bit of a surprise for me as well, the way that he started the second set after let’s say a tough first set for him.

“He didn’t make up and downs in his game after a really good first set. He started really well the second set, and kept that level, that intensity during the second set and the third set. He didn’t let me put my game on the match. I was all the time fighting to find a way to put the match on my own game, but I couldn’t. And I think that was the key of the match.”

He never left 🔥

Dimitrov used his forehand as his biggest weapon v. Alcaraz 🫡#ShotQuality | @tennis_insights pic.twitter.com/JJjmv2VJA9

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 11, 2023

Although Alcaraz lamented a missed opportunity in Asia to make up ground on Novak Djokovic in the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone, he made sure to credit Dimitrov for his performance to earn his first win in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I think he played great. He played a great match since the beginning until the last ball. No up and downs in his game,” Alcaraz said. “Comparing to the matches that we’ve played before, he was on another level today. So congratulations to him and I have to be better if I want to beat this Grigor.”

Carlos Alcaraz had an opportunity to seize control of the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone in Shanghai. Instead, Novak Djokovic remains in pole position to claim the honour.

Had Alcaraz reached the final of the Rolex Paris Masters, the Spaniard would have passed Djokovic for first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, which serves as a barometer for the year-end No. 1 battle. However, the 20-year-old lost in the Round of 16 to Grigor Dimitrov.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin Standings

That result leaves Djokovic in the lead by 500 points with one month to go until the Nitto ATP Finals. There is time for Alcaraz to bridge the gap, but his defeat to Dimitrov could prove an important moment in the battle.

“With this loss, I’m a little bit farther and it’s going to be tougher if I want to be No. 1,” Alcaraz said. “I have a few tournaments ahead, so I will try to do my best. I will try to win them if I want to have a chance to end the year as No. 1. I don’t know, but right right now I lost a lot of opportunities to make it.”

Djokovic owns the record for most ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone finishes with seven, the most recent of which came in 2021. Alcaraz last year became the youngest player in history to achieve the feat.

Alcaraz is next scheduled to compete in the Swiss Indoors Basel, an ATP 500 event at which he could earn 500 points and tie Djokovic by winning the title. Both men are set to play in the final ATP Masters 1000 event of the year, the Rolex Paris Masters, the following week.

Roger Federer was named by Forbes as one of the world’s 10 highest-paid athletes, a list led by football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

According to Forbes, the 20-time major champion Federer earned $95.1 million dollars between 1 May 2022 and 1 May 2023. Federer’s lone on-court appearance in that 12-month period came at the Laver Cup. Federer, who is ninth on the list, earned the most ‘off-field’ out of the Top 10 athletes.

The 42-year-old played his final match at last year’s Laver Cup, where he partnered longtime friend and rival Rafael Nadal in a doubles match against Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. Last month in Vancouver, Federer returned as a spectator at the Laver Cup, an event the Swiss co-founded and also competed in four times, lifting the trophy with Team Europe in its first three editions from 2017-19. 

The exclusive highest-paid athletes list also includes icons such as Kylian Mbappé and LeBron James. Ronaldo topped the list at $136 million, with Messi not far behind at $130 million.

Indian Leander Paes topped the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Fan Vote for the Class of 2024 while Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic finished second in the vote and Spain’s Carlos Moya placed third, the International Tennis Hall of Fame announced Thursday.

Fan Voting is one of two steps in the Hall of Fame’s election process. In addition to the Fan Vote, an Official Voting Group comprised of tennis journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers, vote on the Class of 2024 ballot. By winning the Fan Vote, Paes will receive an additional three percentage points added to his vote total.

During the 10-day voting window, tens of thousands of fans representing 145 countries cast their ballots for candidates in the Player Category. Fans were able to vote for as many of the nominees they believe are deserving of induction into the Hall of Fame.

To be elected into the Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive an affirmative vote of 75 per cent or higher on combined results of the Official Voting Group and any bonus percentage points earned in the Fan Vote. Once voting is complete, the Class of 2024 will be announced later this year.

Paes is the first Asian man and the first individual from India to be nominated for the Hall of Fame in the Player Category. He is a winner of 18 major titles, including eight in doubles and 10 in mixed doubles, and is one of only three men in tennis history to achieve a career Grand Slam in both disciplines. Paes topped the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings for 37 weeks, and spent an additional 462 weeks inside the Top 10.

Paes, who retired in 2020, competed for India in on the international stage for three decades, finishing his Davis Cup career as the record-holder for the most doubles tie victories (43). He competed in a record seven Olympic games, capturing the bronze medal in singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Paes, Ivanovic and Moya join Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, Canada’s Daniel Nestor, and Italy’s Flavia Pennetta on the ballot in the Player Category. Vijay Amritraj and the United Kingdom’s Richard Evans are nominated in the Contributor Category, which is not considered as part of Fan Voting and is determined by the Official Voting Group only.

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 to play defence 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.”

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.

“I’m playing really well since the US Open,” Rublev said. “I felt that in practice but it just takes time to transfer to tournaments and to get confidence. But this week I’m feeling really well so we’ll see what happens next.”

Rublev’s deep run in Shanghai also boosts his chances for Nitto ATP Finals qualification for a fourth consecutive year. Having won two titles this season, Rublev is fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

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.”

Dimitrov, who also reached the last eight in Shanghai in 2017, will next play 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry as he seeks his first title since his 2017 Nitto ATP Finals triumph. The World No. 19 has earned 17 wins against Top 5 opponents, with his previous victory against a player ranked in the Top 2 coming in October 2021 against Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells. Earlier this month, Dimitrov upset then-World No. 4 Holger Rune in Beijing.

In a tight clash, Dimitrov was on the front-foot throughout against Alcaraz. He followed his low slice into the net, winning 73 per cent (16/22) of points when moving forward, while he was rock-solid on serve in the decider. The Bulgarian won 89 per cent (16/18) of his first-serve points in the third set and sealed the fourth Top 2 win of his career with a smash.

“I knew what I had to do,” Dimitrov said when reflecting on his win. “I knew I had to apply constant pressure against him. Even if I was down, even if my shots were not good enough, I had to put him in uncomfortable positions. He doesn’t like being on the back foot. I was coming in quite a little bit and trying to put him in awkward positions.”

Alcaraz now holds a 63-9 record on the season, with his defeat to Dimitrov damaging his ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone chances. The 20-year-old Spaniard leaves Shanghai trailing Novak Djokovic by 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

The World No. 2 was chasing his seventh crown of the season and third at ATP Masters 1000 level. Alcaraz has clinched trophies in Indian Wells and Madrid in 2023.

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.

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.

It was a third straight Match Tie-break victory for Hijikata and Norrie, who upset third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the third round. They held their nerve to win three points in a row from 7/8 in the decider against Gonzalez and Molteni for a tense one-hour, 36-minute victory.