Revenge for Medvedev, Tsitsipas at Shanghai Masters

AFP | Shanghai

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Both Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas served sweet revenge at the Shanghai Masters yesterday, vanquishing old foes in straight sets as they progressed through to the third round.

World number five Medvedev came from behind in both sets to beat Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 7-5, while Tsitsipas battled through a tight match against Japan’s Kei Nishikori to win 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.

Medvedev and Seyboth Wild have only met once before, but it was memorable. The Russian, then world number two, was unceremoniously ejected from the 2023 French Open by qualifier Seyboth Wild in the first round.

The tenacious Brazilian did not make it easy for Medvedev yesterday, setting the tone by breaking first to pull 1-3 ahead. But Medvedev persevered, making up the gap and then getting a crucial break in the 11th game, before winning the set 7-5.

Seyboth Wild pulled ahead early in the second set too, but again Medvedev caught him and repeated his earlier feat.

“It was not easy,” Medvedev said on court after the match. “Thiago played great... some shots were unbelievable.” “It was a very tough night and I’m very glad I was able to stay in it... and give him pressure.”

‘Fighting spirit’

Tsitsipas -- who suffered a shock defeat to Nishikori in Montreal in August -- said he was happy with his own “great fighting spirit”. The Greek, once ranked third in the world, has slipped out of the ATP top 10 in recent months to now stand at 12th.

The loss in August to Nishikori, who is a former world number four but was ranked 576th at the beginning of the Montreal tournament, was followed swiftly by Tsitsipas dropping his father as coach after publicly criticising him.

“I did want to put out a fight and I wanted to show that I can go out there and play a good match against (Nishikori),” the 26-year-old said yesterday.

The match was closely fought, with the first set ending with a nail-biting tiebreaker that could have gone either way.

“Being able to win (the tiebreaker), coming back and helping me win the first set was an important and critical moment,” Tsitsipas told reporters after the match. “Overcoming it was good, because it felt like I was able to restart now with a new mindset and it helped me get a bit of confidence.”