SHANGHAI:
Daniil Medvedev overcame a wobble to beat a fighting Tommy Paul on Friday and reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, setting up a showdown with rising star Rafael Jodar.
At age 20, the Spaniard is the youngest player to reach the Shanghai semi-finals since the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2009.
Medvedev, the 2019 Shanghai champion, overcame inconsistent serving to beat Paul 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
The 30-year-old saved seven break points to hold back the American in a marathon sixth game, giving little away as he broke to take the first set when Paul fired long.
But the 18th-ranked Paul returned inspired in the second set, displaying fantastic defence as Medvedev drove him around the court.
He was rewarded when Medvedev double-faulted twice in a must-win game to tumble into a decider.
The Russian, ranked sixth, cruised to a 2-0 lead in the third set and carried that momentum to the end, breaking again to win on his second match point.
Earlier, 13th-ranked Jodar beat Norway’s Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 — recovering from a set down for the fourth time in a row this week.
Both players were tested but held serve to start with until Ruud capitalised on a break point, taking the first set with a searing forehand into the corner.
But Jodar’s brilliance shone through, dazzling the crowd with a gorgeous over-the-shoulder smash in the fourth game of the second set.
Despite losing that game, the Spaniard held his nerve and won a crucial break point to go up 5-4 before closing out the set at the first time of asking.
Ruud, ranked 24th, saved three match points in the third set but double-faulted to hand Jodar victory.
“Casper is a very tough player,” Jodar said afterwards. “I had to give my best level today to win this match.”
Top seed Alexander Zverev faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the other semi-final on Saturday.