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.”

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.

There were no breaks of serve in the first of final set, with Hurkacz creating the only two break points of either set in the opener. That was in stark contrast to a second set that saw five breaks, including in each of the final three games.

Into the last 🎱

Solid defence all evening from @HubertHurkacz to take down Zhang 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(4)!@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/zg4HWQ4rwg

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 10, 2023

In the decisive tie-break, Hurkacz kept the pressure on Zhang with several well-timed net approaches. He hit a brilliant drop volley to level at 3/3, sparking a run of three straight points that ultimately proved enough to seal the win. A single mini-break was the difference in a well-played tie-break, the quality of which measured up to the match as a whole.

Hurkacz hit 25 forehand winners and 16 aces in the match and won 21 of 26 net points. His overall winners-to-unforced errors count was a pristine 49-17, while Zhang recorded a 40-25 mark.

Next up for Hurkacz is a quarter-final meeting with Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, who beat eighth seed Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 earlier on Tuesday. With a win, the Pole will match his best ATP Masters 1000 result of the season: a semi-final showing in Cincinnati.

Did You Know?
Hurkacz has won (29) and played (53) the most tie-breaks on the ATP Tour this season.

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.

“I am addicted to playing on the big stages,” Shelton added. “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.”

Shelton, currently third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah, is chasing his maiden tour-level trophy and will next play countryman Sebastian Korda. Americans J.J. Wolf and Tommy Paul are also still alive in Shanghai, with both playing their fourth round matches on Wednesday.

In a dramatic match, Shelton turned the tables after Sinner came out firing in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The 21-year-old played with greater intensity as the match went on and improved on serve, winning 77 per cent (30/39) of points behind his first delivery in the third set compared to 67 per cent (8/12) in the opener. After leading 4/0 in the third-set tie-break, Shelton responded from falling 4/5 behind by winning the final three points to seal his 21st tour-level win of the year.

Sinner was aiming to reach his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season, highlighted by his maiden title at this level in Toronto. The Italian, who triumphed in Beijing last week, qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time after defeating Marcos Giron in his opening match in Shanghai.

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.

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.

They will take on second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the quarter-finals.

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.

“It’s just about playing tennis,” said Marozsan, when asked how he kept his cool against more established players. “Carlos is a great player, he [was] the No. 1 player in the world, so they are big names. I’m just happy to play here in the biggest tournaments on the ATP Tour. I’m feeling really good here.”

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.

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.

Two other seeded teams joined Gonzalez/Molteni in the quarters with Monday wins of their own. Second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski beat wild cards Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 7-6(2), 6-4 and eighth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer defeated Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-7(6), 6-4, 10-7.

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.

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.

Ben Shelton” />
Ben Shelton cuts his birthday cake as his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, watches on. Photo courtesy of Rolex Shanghai Masters/Frey TPN.

Serving Notice
While Shelton struggled to match the heights of his Melbourne run in the months to follow, he continued to develop his game — and his serve. Shelton routinely passed the 130-mph mark on his deliveries throughout the season and topped out at 149 mph at the 2023 US Open. Prior to his second appearance at his home major, Shelton won his very first clay-court match in Estoril (d. Lestienne), earned his first grass-court victory at The Queen’s Club (d. Wolf) and made a winning Wimbledon debut (d. Daniel).

Home Hero: US Open SFs
Just like in Melbourne, Shelton once again brought his best tennis to a hard-court Grand Slam in New York. The unseeded star lit up Arthur Ashe Stadium with back-to-back wins in all-American matches against Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, then put on a show in a valiant three-set defeat to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Shelton’s run lifted him to a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 19.

Pretty sick @GQMagazine 😉 pic.twitter.com/mMUCxPRdfa

— Ben Shelton (@BenShelton) September 14, 2023

Laver Cup King
Just like in his college days at the University of Florida, Shelton thrived in the team atmosphere at Laver Cup. The American debutant led captain John McEnroe’s Team World to victory with three match wins, including the clinching doubles victory alongside Tiafoe.

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.

Humbert improved to 9-9 against Top 10 opponents, including a 2-4 mark this season, with his previous Top 10 win coming last week against Rublev in Beijing, where he reached the quarter-finals before a three-set defeat to Daniil Medvedev.

The Frenchman broke in the opening game against Tsitsipas and fought off four break points to serve out the opening set. The Greek took set two, also behind a single break.

The drama peaked in set three, when Humbert saw his 3-0 lead erased and battled through deuce at 4-4 before breaking in the final game of the match. A brilliant backhand pass brought up match point, before a defensive backhand found the deep corner to force an error from Tsitsipas.

Next up for Humbert is a fourth-round meeting with J.J. Wolf, a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) winner against Matteo Arnaldi earlier on Monday. Humbert is seeking his second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final after reaching that stage on home soil in Paris in 2020.

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.”

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.

In other Challenger action, Czech Tomas Machac collected his second consecutive title at the Open de Vendée in France. The 22-year-old, who won in Orleans the week prior, defeated Stanford University star Arthur Fery 6-3, 6-4 in the final to earn his sixth ATP Challenger Tour title.

“It was very tough. I’m super happy to win this one because at the beginning of the tournament, I was a little bit tired but my level of tennis was great,” Machac said. “I’m super happy that I’m the winner today.”

Tomas Machac wins the Challenger 100 event in Mouilleron Le Captif, France.” />
^{Tomas Machac wins the Challenger 100 event in Mouilleron Le Captif, France. Credit: Un Oeil Averty}
Having won 14 of his past 15 matches at the Challenger level, Machac is up 17 spots to a career-high No. 79 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

American Zachary Svajda defended his title on home soil at the Tiburon Challenger. The third seed cruised past Adam Walton 6-2, 6-2 in the final to collect his second Challenger title of 2023, having won last month in Cary.

“I feel very comfortable on these courts,” Svajda told commentator Mike Cation. “It’s like a slower court, which I like and it’s usually not too warm here. I like the cooler weather. I think the atmosphere helps too.”

Zachary Svajda wins the Challenger 75 event in Tiburon, California.” />
^{Zachary Svajda wins the Challenger 75 event in Tiburon, California. Credit: Natalie Kim}

The 20-year-old Svajda twice won the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo (2019, 2021) and defeated Ben Shelton last year in the Tiburon Challenger final. On Sunday, the California native avenged his August loss to Walton, who graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2022, to lift his third ATP Challenger Tour title.

“With Adam, I played him last November and even though I won, I was like, ‘This guy is going to be good. This will be his first year coming up.’ I honestly said [he would be] Top 150 by this time and sure enough, he’s around that,” Svajda said. “I tried to be more consistent. My movement too, I thought I moved very well. I hit through my forehand. I kept competing hard.”

Constant Lestienne claimed his third Challenger trophy of the season by winning the Alicante Ferrero Challenger, where he also triumphed in 2021. On Sunday, the 31-year-old survived countryman Hugo Grenier 6-7(10), 6-2, 6-4 to be crowned champion.

“In the first set, we were both struggling with our fitness. I was thinking that this is the last effort of the week, so I will give everything and try to fight. It was really tight,” said Lestienne, who has won 16 of his past 18 Challenger matches. “I played really well this week and the level was hard.”

Constant Lestienne wins the Challenger 100 event in Alicante, Spain.” />
^{Constant Lestienne wins the Challenger 100 event in Alicante, Spain. Credit: equeliteferrero}
Players from France have combined for a record-breaking 24 ATP Challenger Tour titles this season. The previous record was set last season by Argentina. Lestienne is one of 16 different French Challenger champions this season and the only player from his country to win more than two Challenger titles in 2023.

Brazilian Thiago Monteiro won his ninth ATP Challenger Tour trophy and first on home soil when he rallied past Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to triumph at the Campeonato Internacional de Tênis in Campinas.

“It’s an incredible feeling to win my first title at home. It was an incredible week,” Monteiro said. “I’m very happy to get the support and all the energy from the crowd. It was very special. This is going to always be in memory and this is a title that is going to give me confidence for the rest of the year. Hopefully I can keep going with good results.”

Thiago Monteiro celebrates winning the Challenger 100 event in Campinas, Brazil.” />
^{Thiago Monteiro celebrates winning the Challenger 100 event in Campinas, Brazil. Credit: João Pires}
Rain on Saturday forced Monteiro and Ugo Carabelli to play both their semi-final match and final on Sunday. Despite playing two matches in one day, the 29-year-old Monteiro held his nerve to capture his first Challenger title in 13 months.