Shanghai battle: Medvedev vs Masters youngest semi-finalist

Daniil Medvedev reached the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters, where he will meet with a rising star from Spain.

On Friday, the quarterfinal matches of the Masters tournament ended on the courts of Shanghai, which determined the participants of the semifinals. The former first racket of the world Daniil Medvedev defeated the American Tommy Paul, and his rival in the next stage was a 20-year-old Spaniard Jodar, who beat Kasper Ruud.

The fifth seeded Medvedev spent two hours and eight minutes on the court, beating the 15th seeding Paul with a score of 6:3, 1:6, 6:3. The Russian tennis player went through 16 times and completed 31 Winners. This success was the 70th semi-final of his career as part of the ATP tour and significantly strengthened his position in the race to get to the Final tournament in Turin. Despite losing the second set, in the decisive game, Medvedev took advantage of the decline in the opponent’s game and seized the initiative, improving the balance of personal meetings with the American to 5: 1.

In the semifinals, Medvedev will meet with Jodar for the first time. The Russian athlete, who won this tournament in 2019 and remained the only former champion of Shanghai in the current grid, praised the skills of the future opponent. Medvedev noted the powerful game of the Spaniard and expressed interest in the face-to-face confrontation, stressing that he intends to play his best tennis to counter the opponent’s aggressive style.

Jodar continues his triumphant march through Shanghai, having won for the fourth consecutive victory. In the match against Norwegian Kasper Ruud, seeded under the 20th number, the Spaniard lost the first game, but then seized control of the game. The match lasted two hours and 20 minutes and ended with the score 4:6, 6:4, 6:3 in favor of the 12th seeded Jodar. In two final sets, he took the opponent's serve five times, including a decisive break in the second set and three breaks in the third.

Jodar’s semifinal was his fifth in the Masters 1000 this season and second after Montreal. The 20-year-old, who was ranked 903rd in the world rankings just over a year ago, began his breakthrough in April with a win in Morocco and a semi-final in Barcelona. Later, he reached the quarterfinals in Madrid, Rome and at the French Open, where he lost to future champion Alexander Zverev.

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Jodar expressed satisfaction with the progress of his debut full season on the main tour. The Spaniard noted the high level of competition and stressed that he sees reserves to improve his game, which motivates him to fight for the final of the ATP Final tournament and give his best in the remaining matches of the season.

In the other semifinal, the first number of seeding Alexander Zverev will play with the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.