SHANGHAI: World No. 1 Alexander Zverev said he was feeling good on court after beating Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4 at the Shanghai Masters on Thursday.
Zverev landed 80% of his first serves and saved all five break points he faced, setting up a semifinal against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
“I felt both of us were playing really, really well. I was a lot of times outhitting Alex, which is difficult to do from the baseline because he is so fast and he loves this kind of court speed here,” said Zverev, who secured the year-end No. 1 ranking earlier this week.
“I felt good and I’m happy with the step up from the last couple of matches.”
Davidovich Fokina advanced to the semifinal after Arthur Gea retired following on-court treatment, with Gea trailing 4-1 in the first set.
Gea was forced to retire just 22 minutes into the match. The Frenchman quickly went for a double breakdown and called the physio for help, receiving a three-minute medical timeout. He played just three more points before calling it quits when he was trailing 1-4.
“Sad to end the tournament like this, but I’ll be back,” Gea wrote on Instagram. The French player has had a breakout 2026, rising from 244th in the world to 56th and winning his first tour-level title at the Los Cabos Open in August.
Zverev holds a 6-1 career head to head lead over Davidovich Fokina.
On Friday, the quarterfinals feature rising Spanish talent Rafael Jodar against Casper Ruud, followed by fifth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev facing American Tommy Paul. Agencies
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