| October 6, 2024 | by Vivienne Christie |
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Daniil Medvedev is in a familiar and comfortable setting on the courts of the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre in Shanghai.
The 28-year-old has claimed 18 of his 20 career titles on a hard court - with none bigger than at Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he triumphed in 2019 without the loss of a set.
But for all that he enjoys about his time on the Stadium Court, the No.5 seed would have preferred less of it on Sunday. Medvedev toiled for two hours and 44 minutes to overcome No.29 Matteo Arnaldi, with his progress to the fourth round eventually secured with a 5-7 6-4 6-4 win.
"Oh, I love quick matches, 6-2, 6-2, 50 minutes is the best match possible, honestly," he laughed.
That scenario appeared unlikely as Arnaldi, a world No.36 from Italy, quickly settled in for a battle against the former champion. While Medvedev held an early break of serve, his 23-year-old opponent soon recovered, with many of the extended rallies finishing with an Arnaldi winner.
With service breaks secured in the sixth and final games, the Italian gained the first set lead after exactly an hour on court.
But as frustrations grew for Medvedev, so too did his determination. Service breaks were exchanged at the start of the second set, but Medvedev secured one more to send the match to a deciding set. The turning point at last came when he broke in the ninth game and served out the win.
The hard-fought victory sets a meeting with either No.10 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or 74th-ranked Frenchman Alexandre Muller, whose third-round match was delayed due to rain.
While noting that Tsitsipas "is a strong opponent for a fourth round", Medvedev is equally wary of Muller. "I played Alex this year at Wimbledon, and he played out of this world," he said.
In the bigger picture, Medvedev is maintaining his focus on a first 2024 title. Should he add to his 20 career titles in Shanghai, it will be the first time he has lifted a trophy in the same city twice.
"I definitely want to win the same tournament. I mean, I'm 28, I'm not anymore 22," he said. "This year without the title so far, so I definitely want to win a title somewhere in a city where I won before, a tournament I won before."
For Jannik Sinner, already the winner of 16 singles titles, there's the opportunity to lift a trophy in a new city - although he was required to work hard against No.31 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry to keep his 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters hopes alive.
The world No.1 recovered from a first-set deficit to record his 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 victory in two hours and 39 minutes. In managing a high-intensity battle against the Argentine, Sinner equalled his best performance in Shanghai, having exited to Ben Shelton at the same stage in his 2023 debut.
"It was, for sure, a tough match. In moments you have to be very, very careful in what you do, but obviously it was a fun match, I really enjoyed it," said the 23-year-old, who will prioritise recovery after a busy week.
"I feel like I played quite a lot in the past week, you know, a lot of matches, a packed schedule," said Sinner, who arrived in Shanghai immediately after contesting the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday.
For Alcararz, a similarly busy period now incorporates 11 straight match wins, with his latest coming over China's Wu Yibing. In a high-quality match, the 21-year-old was pushed to a first-set tiebreak, before closing out his 7-6(5) 6-3 win in a neat one hour and 40 minutes.
The Spaniard is targeting back-to-back titles in China after defeating Sinner for the Beijing title. He admits that maintaining his winning streak, which started at Davis Cup and extended through the Laver Cup, is a motivator.
"Honestly, I thought about it, I'm not going to lie. Yeah, it's great to have that winning streak, hopefully keep it going," smiled Alcaraz, ahead of a fourth-round showdown with either Ugo Humbert or Gael Monfils.
"I've been feeling really comfortable on the court the whole matches that I've been playing. Yeah, I've been playing great tennis, hopefully keep going."
Tommy Paul pulled off a great escape in the final Day 5 match at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre, with the American No.11 seed saving five match points against Chilean No.19 Alejandro Tabilo in his 6-7(2) 7-6(2) 6-2 victory.
Paul recovered from a set and 1-5 deficit over the Chilean, winning five straight games to force the second-set tiebreak and running away with the win.
In contrast to his previous match over Fabio Fognini, secured in straight sets in exactly one hour, Paul required two-hours and 43 minutes to progress against Tabilo.
Other scheduled Shanghai matches were halted due to weather, with persistent rain preventing play on outside courts.
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