Zverev celebrates becoming year-end No 1 with Bublik win in Shanghai

Alexander Zverev celebrated becoming the year-end No 1 with a 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-6 (7-1) victory over Alexander Bublik to reach the quarter-finals at the Shanghai Masters.

Zverev, who won the French Open and US Open this year, never looked 100 per cent comfortable, and admitted his "ankle was acting up" following his win.

The top seed will take on ninth seed Alex de Minaur next after the Australian produced one of his best performances of the year to beat Karen Khachanov in straight sets 6-3 6-4 to advance.

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Zverev said: "I'm starting to feel my body more and more, but happy to be through because it was a difficult match. He's been playing amazing tennis this week. I think the most important thing was that I won today."

With current world No 1 Jannik Sinner out for the rest of 2026 due to a knee injury and Carlos Alcaraz unable to overtake Zverev this year, the German was competing for the first time since he clinched the year-end No 1 honours for the first time on Monday.

"It is very, very special. To finish the world No 1 is a different kind of feeling," said Zverev. "It's a different kind of responsibility on your shoulders. I'm looking forward to that because I'm close to being 30 years old. It's a special feeling to achieve that."

Zverev vs Bublik: Tale of the Tape

Former British No 1 Tim Henman was full of praise for Zverev at the Laver Cup in London last month.

"You've got to earn the ranking points, and the way he's played this year has been absolutely phenomenal," he told the ATP Tour.

"He was a service game away from being in all four Slam finals. To have been working so hard and then not being able to win a Slam, and winning two this year and reaching the Wimbledon final, it's phenomenal.

"Twelve months ago, he had a tough time. He wasn't playing well, and he didn't play well in the Laver Cup. The transformation 12 months on is phenomenal."

Henman added: "When you see the way he's been stepping up in the big matches, he hasn't always played his best, but he's found a way to win. Then you give yourself a chance to play better. The way he's played in the Slams speaks for itself."

Boulter suffers early Wuhan exit

Katie Boulter was beaten by 11th seed Diana Shnaider in the first round of the Wuhan Open.

The British No 1 struggled to hold serve against Russian Shnaider, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open, and fell to a 6-3 6-1 loss.

Boulter, who has been mourning the death of her grandfather, began well and led by an early break but she was under constant pressure on serve and was unable to match the consistency of her opponent.

The 22-year-old left-hander, who beat Boulter in the 2024 Hong Kong final, is now 3-0 against the Brit and has 30 tour-level wins this season.

Swiatek aiming to end year on a positive note as WTA Finals spot hangs in balance

Iga Swiatek has played at every edition of the WTA Finals since ‌2021, but with the Pole running out of time to claim a place at this year's season-ending tournament ‌she knows the importance of going deep at her few remaining events.

The six-time major ​champion has won only one tournament this year at the Canadian Open in August and failed to advance beyond ​the quarter-final stage at all four Grand Slams.

The 25-year-old, ‌who won the WTA Finals in 2023, is 10th in the qualifying table for the November ​8-15 tournament at Indian Wells with only four of the eight spots still up for grabs.

"Obviously I'm aware of the situation and it would be great to get into the Finals, ‌for sure it's our goal," Swiatek said.

"It's the first time I've faced a situation like that, to ‌get into the finals.

"It's a challenge, but I feel like it's a positive one and I'm really motivated. There are still a few tournaments ahead."

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