Alexander Zverev dug deep to beat Jeremy Chardy on Wednesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he is the defending champion.

The fifth-seeded German saved three set points in the first-set tie-break en route to a 7-6(13), 7-6(3) victory over French qualifier Chardy in one hour and 47 minutes. Zverev returns to eighth position in the 2019 ATP Race To London on 2,345 points, usurping Belgium’s David Goffin.

The 22-year-old Zverev will next play Russia’s Andrey Rublev, a 6-2, 6-0 victor over last week’s Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships runner-up, John Millman of Australia, in 65 minutes.

After an early break exchange, the first set was decided by an epic 16-minute tie-break. Zverev missed out on set points at 6/5, 8/7, 9/8, 10/9 and 12/11, while Chardy could not convert set point chances at 7/6 (Zverev ace), 11/10 (blocked forehand return into the net) and at 13/12 (return long). With Zervev serving at 14/13, Chardy ripped a deep forehand return that was deemed long by Hawk-Eye, the electronic line-calling review system.

Chardy regrouped and broke Zverev for a 3-2 advantage in the second set with a deep forehand return to the feet of Zverev, who couldn’t deal with it. But Chardy committed three unforced errors when serving for the set at 5-4 and paid the price as Zverev broke with a forehand volley winner.

A terrific, low crosscourt forehand from Zverev to win the first point of the tie-break, and a forehand winner down the line at 4/2, helped to propel the German to victory.

Zverev is now 38-20 on the season, which includes his 11th ATP Tour title at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open (d. Jarry). Chardy, who has lost 10 straight matches against Top 10 opponents since defeating then-No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov at the 2018 Miami Open presented by Itau, is now 24-25 on the year.

Earlier in the day, seventh seed Karen Khachanov was impressive in his 6-2, 6-4 win over American Taylor Fritz over 69 minutes. The Russian, who lost just two of his first-service points (24/26), goes on to meet Italian No. 10 seed Fabio Fognini, a contender for the season finale to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has accomplished plenty of first-time moments in his breakthrough year on Tour, but one thing he’s yet to do is beat Felix Auger-Alaissime. The sixth-seeded Greek will have another chance to beat his fellow #NextGenATP rival when they meet on Wednesday in second-round action at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Auger-Aliassime leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0, with both wins coming this year in Indian Wells and Queen’s Club. The 20-year-old also won their three ITF junior circuit meetings. Tsitsipas’ most recent loss to him at Queen’s Club left him feeling despondent about whether he’d ever be able to pick up a win over the Canadian.

“It does worry me. It’s upsetting obviously that he’s better than me. I have to accept that he’s better than me. I might never beat him, but if I think that way, just need to wait, years maybe, for that chance to come,” Tsitsipas said after his most recent loss to the Canadian this June at Queen’s Club. “There’s not much to come up with when you play against him. He’s pretty much solid from everywhere.”

But the Greek arrives in Shanghai with confidence after a runner-up finish last week in Beijing (l. to Thiem). Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime enjoyed his own milestone moment this week by joining Tsitsipas as the second player to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals, held in Milan from 5-9 November. Their showdown in Shanghai is the latest chapter of a rivalry that has all the potential to blossom for many years to come.

“All the young guys get along pretty well,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Most of us played juniors together and I think they’re good people with good heads on their shoulders. We’re able to compete and have a good time as well.”

With four titles and a 32-4 record, Shanghai has become one of Novak Djokovic’s most successful stops. The top-seeded Serbian hopes for even more success at this event as he starts his title defense against #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

”I love being back in China. I have lots of support here [and] they make me feel like at home,” Djokovic said. “They do things that I don’t think any other fans do the world. They wait for you in front of the hotel. They give you presents. They have amazing gestures. They’re ready to wait for entire day just to have a photo, to say hello.”

Djokovic is 2-0 against Shapovalov in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, with both wins coming this year at the Australian Open and Rome. The World No. 1 got his Asian swing off to a perfect start last week by taking the title in Tokyo (d. Millman) without dropping a set. A fifth trophy in Shanghai would give Djokovic his 34th ATP Masters 1000 crown and help close the gap on Rafael Nadal in their battle for year-end No. 1. Nadal leads Djokovic by 1,465 points in the ATP Race to London, but the Serbian can earn 1,000 points with a title on Sunday.

More From #RolexShMasters
* Shanghai Singles Draw Preview
* Shanghai Doubles Draw Preview
* All You Need To Know
* Can You Pass Our Quiz?

Fourth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem begins his week against Spanish qualifier Pablo Carreno Busta. The Austrian holds a flawless 5-0 record in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. Not only did Thiem prevail last week in Beijing (d. Tsitsipas), but his semi-final win over Russian Karen Khachanov made him the fifth singles player to qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, held from 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

Fifth-seeded German Alexander Zverev takes on French qualifier Jeremy Chardy in a match that could have significant implications for the Nitto ATP Finals. Zverev, the reigning champion, currently holds the eighth and final qualification spot for the Nitto ATP Finals. He’s in eighth place in the ATP Race to London with 2,255 points, but a big week will help him hold off ninth-placed David Goffin (2,235) and tenth-placed Matteo Berrettini (2,185). All of them are still alive in Shanghai.

Other notable matches on Wednesday include seventh-seeded Khachanov battling American Taylor Fritz and eighth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut squaring off with American Reilly Opelka.

SCHEDULE – WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER 2019
CENTRE COURT 1 start 12:30 pm
[6] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
[5] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs [Q] Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
Not Before 6:30 pm

Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
[4] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs [Q] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)

SHOW COURT 3 start 12:30 pm
[11] Matteo Berrettini (ITA) vs Cristian Garin (CHI)
[7] Karen Khachanov (RUS) vs Taylor Fritz (USA)
John Millman (AUS) vs Andrey Rublev (RUS)
Not Before 5:30 pm
[13] David Goffin (BEL) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)

View The Remainder Of Wednesday’s Schedule

Welcome to the 2019 ATP Awards, where we recognise outstanding players and tournaments. Vote for your favourite players now and come back on Monday, 21 October, to view the nominees for the player-voted categories.

Voting for the ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite Awards closes at 11:59pm GMT on Friday, 1 November. 

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Note: Fans’ Favourite candidates are the Top 100 players in the ATP Rankings and Top 25 teams in the ATP Doubles Race To London as of 9 September 2019. The Top 100 includes players with protected ATP Rankings who have played at least one tour-level match in 2019. Candidates with protected rankings are noted in the list with (PR). 

Roger Federer’s eighth appearance at the Rolex Shanghai Masters just began on Tuesday in China, but already, Federer’s father is pleading with him to come back in 2020.

Robert Federer, who’s making his first trip to China with his 38-year-old son, is having that much fun in the city of more than 24 million people.

“He told me, ‘Can you please play next year so I can come back again?’ Because he’s having such a great time,” Roger Federer said.

So far, Federer is having a similar great time at the season’s penultimate ATP Masters 1000 event. The World No. 3 arrived early in Shanghai to participate in sponsor activities. On the court, he started with a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory on Tuesday against Albert Ramos-Vinolas to avenge his 2015 Shanghai defeat against the Spaniard.

“ I enjoy it a lot,” Federer said earlier in the week about Shanghai. “It’s so very different to where I come from. I have lived in many different places in Switzerland and then travelled extensively. But this is pretty special, the way this city and this country is set up and everything.

“The size, when it comes to anything, is just off the charts. The fans get together, really make a conscious effort and want to show me how excited and happy they are… Means a lot to me. Don’t get that kind of fan grouping like this together anywhere else in the world.”

Leading the fan base in Shanghai have been Federer’s parents. His mom, Lynette, is making her third trip to the city after coming in 2002 and 2005.

“They’re having a good time. They are sightseeing. So this was the first time my dad has seen the centre court and the site. Very impressed, very excited,” Federer said.

“And I’m happy that they’re here. They are also going to travel with me to Tokyo next Monday. They have never been to Japan, my parents. That should also be an exciting trip. And they have just came from Singapore where my sister was, so they are on an Asia tour. They are having a good time.”

As for his father’s request, Federer said he will try to please his dad. “’All right. I will try my best to be back here again next year,’” Federer told him.

Russian Daniil Medvedev improved to 25-3 in his past 28 matches on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, breezing past Briton qualifier Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-1.

“It was a great match. As I say, it’s never easy to play a qualifier. [It] was my first match here in Shanghai after few weeks without a tournament finally, so I was a little bit even stressed about my level, but finally I managed to show a really good level, get out from there in less than one hour. Really happy and looking forward,” Medvedev said.

He sprinted to a 4-1 lead in the opening set and never let up, breaking Norrie three times in the second set to cruise in only 55 minutes. The Russian, who leads all players with 55 wins and eight finals in 2019, is trying to reach his sixth consecutive final. He last played at the St. Petersburg Open, where Medvedev won his first title on home soil.

Most Wins In 2019

“I don’t feel invincible, because I still lost some matches. If I would have won, let’s say, five tournaments in USA that I played, then I would tell you, ‘Yeah, maybe I am,’” Medvedev said. “I’m trying my best to keep the form I have. It’s really not easy, because as soon as you relax a little bit, the results will start to fall. That’s why I’m trying not to relax. I’m practising as hard as I can and playing my best in the tournaments also.”

By reaching five consecutive finals (Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati, US Open, St. Petersburg), Medvedev joined the last four players to finish No. 1 in the ATP Rankings going back to 2004, who all have reached five or more consecutive finals in their careers.

Rare Company: Active Players Who Have Reached Five Or More Consecutive Finals

The US Open finalist will next meet Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil, who has been on a serving tear in China. The 29-year-old Canadian has dropped only three first-serve points in his first two matches.

Pospisil won 100 per cent of those points (33/33) in his first-round upset of 14^th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, and the Canadian dropped only three (31/34, 91%) in the second round against Portugal’s Joao Sousa to advance 6-3, 7-5.

Pospisil underwent back surgery on 18 January and missed the first six months of the season. He had only one tour-level win – a first-round upset of No. 9 Karen Khachanov at the US Open – before this week.

Fabio Fognini knuckled down on Tuesday and kept alive his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals with a hard-fought victory over former World No. 1 Andy Murray, a three-time former champion at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Murray twice served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the deciding set, but Fognini dug deep to record a 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(2) victory over three hours and nine minutes for a place in the third round.

Fognini, who is currently 13th in the 2019 ATP Race To London, remains 110 points behind Alexander Zverev, who sits in the eighth and final qualification spot for the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. Fognini will next play seventh-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov or Taylor Fritz of the United States in the third round on Thursday.

Murray, who was riding a six-match winning streak at the Qi Zhong Stadium, dating back to his 2016 title run (d. Bautista Agut), was attempting to record the biggest win of his comeback from right hip surgery in January. At World No. 289, the Briton was also bidding to become the lowest-ranked player to reach the round of 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament since No. 467-ranked American Taylor Dent in March 2009 at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

“There is a lot of things that I need to get better at, and I can do much better,” said Murray. “I will go away and I’ll work on those things and be in a better position next time I play against him.

“I served for the match twice and lost after three hours, so, I want to say that’s the first time ever in my career that that’s happened,” said Murray. “I don’t know. But I think it’s the first time I served for a match twice and not won. So I’m disappointed about that.

Although Murray’s serve was broken in the third game of the first set, the 32-year-old Briton worked his way back to a 4-2 advantage before 10th seed Fognini staged a comeback.

Fognini saved two break points in a 22-point opening game to the second set, but Murray grew in confidence and from 1-2 down he won the next five games.

Fognini momentarily wobbled at 3-3 in the decider, when, having led on serve at 40/0, Murray won four straight points for a break-point opportunity – only to see Fognini strike a forehand winner.

Murray first served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set after Fognini was deemed not to have picked up a drop shot, but the Italian immediately bounced back after a Murray forehand error.

Then, in a tense finale, Murray set himself on a path to a seventh straight victory in Shanghai with a forehand crosscourt winner to break for a 6-5 advantage. The Scot served for a second time to close out his sixth victory over an injury-protracted season, which saw him miss five months, but Fognini’s groundstroke consistency and net play helped him to the tie-break.

Murray underwent his second right hip surgery on 28 January. Last week, he advanced at the China Open to his first ATP Tour quarter-final for 12 months (2018 Shenzhen).

Felix Auger-Aliassime is coming to the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. The 19-year-old prodigy is set to make his debut at the 21-and-under event, to be held 5-9 November in Milan.

Auger-Aliassime, a three-time ATP Tour finalist this season, punched his ticket after both American Frances Tiafoe and Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia fell in their openers at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

“I’ve heard great things in the past about this competition and what it brings new to tennis, so I’m looking forward to playing good tennis there and to have many of you guys come. So see you in Milan,” Auger-Aliassime said in a message to fans.

Here are five things to know about the #NextGenATP star.

1. He’s the youngest three-time finalist since Rafael Nadal.
Back in February, Auger-Aliassime had yet to crack the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings. Heading into the Rio Open presented by Claro, he was No. 104.

In Rio, however, he quickly changed that, reaching his first semi-final and final and becoming the youngest ATP 500 finalist (l. to Djere) in series history (since 2009).

Auger-Aliassime, who reached a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 19 in August, has reached three ATP Tour finals this season. On clay in Lyon, he fell to home favourite Benoit Paire, and on grass in Stuttgart, he lost to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini. Auger-Aliassime is the youngest three-time ATP Tour finalist since Nadal, ages 17-18 (2004 Auckland, 2004 Sopot, 2005 Costa do Sauipe).

“I think I surprised myself every match this week being able to reach another final and my first one on grass, so it’s been amazing,” Auger-Aliassime said after Stuttgart.

He was competing in his first grass-court tournament as a professional.

2. He shares a birthday with Roger Federer.
Auger-Aliassime turned 19 on 8 August, the same day Federer celebrated his 38^th birthday. But while Federer was prepping for the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Auger-Aliassime was celebrating with 11,000 of his closest friends in his hometown of Montreal.

Auger-Aliassime took the opening set against World No. 8 Karen Khachanov in their third-round contest, which enlivened the packed IGA Stadium.

“I never heard a stadium yell like this, sound like this, an atmosphere like this. It was incredible. At the changeover at 6-all, I could see the people there. I was raising my fist, and I felt energy coming up my legs. It was the first time I ever felt that. It was incredible,” he said.

Khachanov came back to make the quarter-finals, but Auger-Aliassime left his home Masters 1000 event encouraged.

“I have to stay proud of what I’ve done. For sure I’m frustrated because it was a big occasion. There was a lot of expectations, pressure, you name it. I think I handled that well,” he said. “But to be playing good and to lead in a match, to have a chance to win… It’s tough to see it slip away, but there’s a reason for that. It just means that I still have things to improve to win these types of matches and to deal better with these types of moments.”

3. He’s the youngest player inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings.
Auger-Aliassime is the only teenager inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings. Alex de Minaur, 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up, and Auger-Aliassime’s countryman Denis Shapovalov, both 20, are the second and third youngest, respectively.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner, 18, is close to cracking the Top 100 at No. 127.

4. His rapid improvement should be ‘scary for a lot of people’.
Auger-Aliassime has been tapped by some, including former World No. 1 Andy Roddick, as the best of the #NextGenATP. Earlier this year, the American explained to ATPTour.com what he specifically likes about the Canadian’s game.

“Something I look for is easy power. I think most guys on Tour, if they set up and want to hit a ball hard, they can. The really, really great ones — you think of Roger, I think of a guy like Tomas Berdych — it doesn’t look like he’s swinging out of his shoes, but the ball kind of launches off of his racquet. And maybe you can’t see the ball on TV, but you can feel it playing against him,” Roddick said. “Felix seems to have that easy power. When he’s going after a ball, it doesn’t look out of sorts. It looks like the technique is pretty much the same.”

More On Felix:
Roddick Explains Why Felix Is ‘Next Best Prospect’
Where Were Federer, Nadal, Djokovic & Murray At Nadal’s Age?
Felix Taking Flight: The Rapid Ascent Of Auger-Aliassime
Felix On Nadal Compliment: ‘It’s Just Amazing’

Roddick, a five-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, also said that Auger-Aliassime’s rapid improvement is perhaps the most encouraging attribute about the teenager.

“Things that will improve when you’re young, when you’re 18, movement always gets better, power always becomes more. That’s just going to happen, and he already does both of those things pretty well,” Roddick said.

“Even looking at his serve from last summer, I’ll get the statistics wrong, but I want to say it looked like a 115, 120 serve and now all of a sudden you look at him this summer and it’s looking like 125, 130, starting to look like a weapon, and that should be scary for a lot of people.”

5. He’s been on tennis fans’ radar for years.
Auger-Aliassime has been making headlines since he was 14, when he became the first player born in the 2000s to earn a position in the ATP Rankings.

In 2017, Auger-Aliassime, then 17 years, 1 month and 5 days old, became the fourth-youngest player to crack the Top 200 of the ATP Rankings. Only Richard Gasquet, Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt had accomplished the feat earlier.