Shanghai Masters 2024 Round 4 Recap – Perfect Tennis

The 2024 Shanghai Masters quarter-final lineup is set. Four of the top five seeds will compete in Thursday and Friday’s quarter-finals.

Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic and Medvedev all won in straight sets to book their places, but Sascha Zverev couldn’t complete the quintet, falling to David Goffin 4-6, 5-7.

In the other matches, Taylor Fritz dominated Holger Rune in the most one-sided game of the day, 19-year-old Jakub Mensik took out Grigor Dimitrov, and Tomas Machac came from a set down to defeat Tommy Paul.

You can see the full results below.

Shanghai Masters 2024 Round of 16 Results

Winner	Loser	Scoreline
Jannik Sinner (1)	Ben Shelton	6-4 7-6(1)
Daniil Medvedev (5)	Stefanos Tsitspas (10)	7-6(3) 6-3
Carlos Alcaraz (3)	Gael Monfils	6-4 7-5
Tomas Machac (30)	Tommy Paul (11)	3-6 6-4 6-3
Jakub Mensik	Grigor Dimitrov (9)	6-3 3-6 6-4
Novak Djokovic (4)	Roman Safiullin	6-3 6-2
Taylor Fritz (7)	Holger Rune (12)	6-1 6-2
David Goffin	Alexander Zverev (2)	6-4 7-5

Sinner Silences Shelton

Ben Shelton couldn’t do the Shanghai double over Jannik Sinner as the Italian avenged his loss to the 14th seed at the same stage last year with a 6-4, 7-6(1) victory in the opening match of the day on Wednesday.

Shelton, celebrating his 22nd birthday, made a rapid start, booming down his serve to win 16 points without an answer and creating two break points at 2-1.

However, Sinner isn’t the tour wins leader this season for nothing, and his methodical approach held firm. He weathered the storm and broke late at the end of the opening set before serving it out 6-4.

The second set was a close affair. Shelton held a break point when leading 3-2 in the second set but couldn’t convert, and the set was ultimately decided by tie break.

Shelton took the opening point, but Sinner dominated, winning seven points in a row to close the match in one hour and 28 minutes.

It was very tough. He played only first serves, except one second serve. I tried to wait a little bit. Obviously playing against him, even if it’s a second serve, it’s very tough to return. But if I look the positive picture, how I ended the match, I tried to stay a bit more aggressive, which I’ve done, and this hopefully can give me confidence for the for the next round. Sinner on his win over Shelton.

Alcaraz Moves Past Monfils

Gael Monfils gave himself a 1% chance heading into his fourth-round match with Carlos Alcaraz, and while his assessment was ultimately correct, he at least offered some resistance before succumbing to a 5-6 5-7 defeat.

No, no, I think he will beat me. He will crush me a hundred per cent, you know. I think I was just lucky, as I said. Last time I was very fortunate, and it was not a good match from him, and one of my good matches from me. His level is unbelievable. I have also done great myself, but he’s, as I say, coming up legend. So, I guess he will crush me, but as I say, I will do everything not to be crushed too easily, in a way. But everything is a bonus, it’s a bonus, you know. It’s not like I come up on the court, of course, with the attitude because I have the experience. But now I have the experience, and I can talk like for real, you know, this kid is something else. So, honestly, it’s going to be a 99 per cent chance for him, but to get a per cent, you know, so that’s why you go. I will enjoy myself, but as a real man, I tell you, no, this kid is something else. Monfils pre match comments before facing Alcaraz.

Alcaraz has won 12 matches on the spin and has yet to drop serve in Shanghai. As you’d expect, the match showcased impressive ball-striking from both, and Monfils certainly had his moments.

Still, Alcaraz played steadily throughout, coming out of a close deuce game in the second set to book his spot in the quarter-final and I liked his composed play.

Perhaps that’s easier to pull off against someone like Monfils, who isn’t exactly known for his dialled-in approach but Alcaraz clearly likes the condition and the balls (unlike some players 😁)

The main thing I tried in this match was to stay calm, to control my emotions and wait for my chances. I had a few opportunities to break his serve at the beginning of the second set [and] I couldn’t take them. In those times, I tried to stay calm and think ‘I am going to have more’. That helped me a lot to show my best tennis during the match. I am feeling the ball really well, much more than I was during the American swing. So, I am happy to be able to do it and keep going. Alcaraz on his win over Monfils.

Djokovic Sinks Safiullin

Novak Djokovic is the most successful player in Shanghai history. He defeated Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-2 to qualify for the quarter-finals. 

Djokovic’s game looks to be improving round by round, and Safiullin will provide a stern test to all comers on these hard courts, so dropping only five games is impressive.

Safiullin was under pressure early, but after erasing a breakpoint, he created two break chances, which Djokovic snuffed out to take control. In the second set, Djokovic dominated, breaking Safiullin twice to cruise to victory.

Next, He will face Jakub Mensik, who defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, making him the youngest quarter-finalist in the history of the Shanghai tournament.

Both last night’s match and tonight have been, maybe, some of the best matches I have played in a while, so I am just enjoying myself on the court. When you play well and feel good, there is obviously a lot of joy in striking a tennis ball on the court. These sensations I have on the tennis court are some of the reasons why I keep on playing and keep on competing because I really believe that I can play at a very high level. Now, it’s a matter of keeping that consistency and also having a good time off the court. Djokovic on his Shanghai so far.

Other Last Sixteen Matches

Daniil Medvedev performed commandingly over Stefanos Tsitsiaps in their match, coming through 7-6(3), 6-3 in one hour and 50 minutes.

The World No. 5 was forced to close out the opening set via a tie-break after failing to convert any of the six break points he produced in the first twelve games.

Tsitsipas surged to a 2-0 lead in the second set, but after receiving a time violation at 2-1 15-30, the Greek argued with the umpire. Medvedev rattled off six of the next seven games to seal victory and book his ticket to his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final this season.

While Medvedev was impressive, I wouldn’t read too much into it. Tsitsipas had a poor returning day, as 50% of all serves went unreturned, and he got far too invested in arguing with Fergus Murphy about the time violation.

Grigor Dimitrov then lost to world No. 65 Jakub Mensik in the round of 16. After starting the match passively, Dimitrov struggled to regain momentum. Following their earlier encounter in Madrid in April, this was his second defeat to the Czech player this year.

In the day’s final match, David Goffin outperformed Sascha Zverev with a display of attacking tennis that Zverev couldn’t counter.

The Belgian is enjoying a revival on tour and is on the brink of the top 50 after a solid few weeks. In this match, while Zverev had the upper hand in the baseline exchanges, Goffin employed a swashbuckling style, coming forward to win 27 of 30 net points, which prevented Zverev from being able to grind out from the baseline. 

As Federer stated in a recent interview, Zverev plays too passively. Goffin played to win and got his just deserts. 

2024 Shanghai Masters Quarter Final Matches