Stefanos Tsitsipas avenged his earlier loss to Kei Nishikori, defeating him at the Shanghai Masters with a score of 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Following the match, Tsitsipas expressed his satisfaction with the win, highlighting his “great fighting spirit” towards the end.
The Greek player, who was once ranked third in the world, has seen his ranking drop to 12th in recent months. His previous defeat to Nishikori in Montreal last August, where he lost despite Nishikori being ranked 576th at the time, led to Tsitsipas parting ways with his father as coach after publicly criticizing him.
“I wanted to show that I could put up a fight and deliver a good match against Nishikori,” Tsitsipas remarked. The first set was tightly contested, culminating in a tense tiebreak that Tsitsipas won, which he described as a critical moment that boosted his confidence for the remainder of the match.
In the second set, Nishikori, now 34 and struggling with injuries, took a medical time-out but was unable to regain his momentum. Tsitsipas seized control, winning four of the last five games to secure the match.
Earlier in the day at the Shanghai Masters, American players Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul both advanced to the third round with relative ease. Shelton defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov with a score of 6-3, 7-5, showcasing his strong serve and solid groundstrokes. Meanwhile, Paul dominated his match against Italy’s Fabio Fognini, winning 6-1, 6-3, and displaying impressive form throughout the encounter.
In another match, veteran French player Gael Monfils secured his place in the next round after a challenging victory over Argentina’s Sebastián Báez. The 38-year-old Monfils triumphed in a tightly contested match, finishing with a scoreline of 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Monfils will next face his fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert, promising an intriguing showdown between the two compatriots.
