Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech knocked out No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Monday to reach the fourth round at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Rinderknech, who defeated Zverev in a five-setter at Wimbledon this year in their first meeting, won 24 out of 29 points at the net in the last two sets to complete his comeback in two hours and 13 minutes.
“This is huge,” Rinderknech said. “I had my first Top 5 win at a Grand Slam at Wimbledon against Sascha (Zverev) and it happens again. I guess I am a bit lucky against him and able to play my best tennis. I need to play my best tennis to beat a guy like Sascha, at No. 3 for many years, such a steady player and a very good player. I am very happy.”
Rinderknech, 30, improved to 3-18 for his career against Top 10 opponents. Zverev had been the highest seed left in the field after No. 2 Jannik Sinner retired Sunday due to cramps.
Rinderknech had seven aces, saved three of four break points and broke Zverev’s serve four times in seven chances.
His next opponent is 15th-seeded Czech Jiri Lehecka, a 6-4, 6-4 winner against No. 23 Denis Shapovalov of Canada.
In other third-round matches involving top 10 seeds, No. 7 Alex de Minaur of Australia defeated Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 6-1, 7-5 and No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti ousted fellow Italian and No. 26 seed Luciano Darderi 7-5, 7-6 (1).
“There is no such thing as easy matches, especially in these conditions, so I’m glad I was able to compose myself in the second set, get the break back, and finish it off in two,” de Minaur said of the humid conditions. “If we had gone into a third, it would have been very physical.”
No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced with a 6-4, 7-5 defeat of Dutchman Jesper de Jong. No. 16 Daniil Medvedev of Russia defeated No. 18 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (5). Portugal’s Nuno Borges outlasted Chinese favorite Juncheng Shang 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes.
American teenager Learner Tien saved eight of 10 break points in a 7-6 (4), 6-3 upset against No. 30 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain.
Tien, 19, broke Norrie’s serve in the 12th game of the first set to force the tiebreak. He broke him for the fourth time in the final game of the match. Tien finished with a 28-15 advantage in winners.
Tien, who reached his maiden ATP Tour final last week in Beijing, will face Medvedev in the fourth round.
–Field Level Media
