World No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Monday said that he was playing “terrible tennis” after he was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters by France’s Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
His exit leaves Novak Djokovic as the tournament’s top-ranked player, increasing the 38-year-old Serb’s chances of winning a record-extending fifth title in the Chinese financial hub.
In stifling conditions, world No. 54 Rinderknech came back from a set down to stun an increasingly rattled Zverev into submission.
Photo: EPA
It is the second time the Frenchman has beaten him, after bundling him out of Wimbledon earlier this year.
A despondent Zverev told reporters the match had been “nothing unusual for me, unfortunately, these days.”
“Just no confidence, no belief in the shots... My year has been terrible, I’m just playing terrible tennis all round,” he said, visibly emotional.
Photo: AFP
The German had injured his big toe toward the end of his previous match in Shanghai, but on Monday showed no sign of discomfort as he broke Rinderknech in the third game with a forehand.
He nearly went ahead early in the second set, but Rinderknech recovered his composure and broke in the fourth game.
“I’m not very sure [how I managed to turn the game around],” Rinderknech said. “I fought like hell, tried everything. [Zverev] is such a good player... I knew it was going to be a battle. Starting in the second set... I was able to be offensive at the right moment, in a smarter way.”
Keeping up the momentum, in the third set the 30-year-old broke in the third game.
Zverev had to pause to change his shoes because sweat was pouring out of them, as spectators wafted fans and wore cool packs on their foreheads to counter the suffocating humidity, but switching footwear was not enough to save the German, and a double fault in the seventh game led to Rinderknech breaking again.
Holding with an ace to win, the Frenchman lolled his body in delighted disbelief, then danced around the court in glee.
Zverev’s loss means world No. 5 Djokovic now leads ranking-wise as the tournament heads into the last 16, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner due to face Spain’s Jaume Munar.
On Sunday the competition lost both defending champion Jannik Sinner, who was forced to retire with extreme leg cramps, and fourth-ranked Taylor Fritz.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz withdrew at the last minute to rest. Alex de Minaur is the next highest seed after Djokovic through to the fourth round, comfortably getting past Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 6-1, 7-5.
The Australian next faces Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who put an end to the hopes of home favorite Shang Juncheng 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3.
Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 Shanghai champion, is through, too, after beating Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 7-6 (7/5).
“I haven’t had a title since two years, so [I’m] not a favorite yet, but I will take it match by match, and I’m happy with the way I play so far,” Medvedev said.
The Russian broke early to take the first set, before edging a sweat-soaked tiebreaker in the second.
Medvedev said he relished the conditions.
“Whenever it’s above 28[°C] and humid, I suffer and many players don’t. Here everyone suffers,” he said.
He was due to take on US teenager Learner Tien, who defeated him last week in the China Open semi-finals.
The 19-year-old beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to make the last 16.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
Yesterday morning in Japan began with a palpable buzz after the Los Angeles Dodgers announced Shohei Ohtani would start Game 7 of the World Series. By the time countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered the final out, Tokyo was erupting with joy. “I am so proud today to be Japanese,” said cab driver Seiichiro Okada, who pulled his car to the side of the road to watch the ending. “To be able to watch these legends in real time is something else.” Ohtani had two hits and also pitched, while Yamamoto earned World Series Most Valuable Player after yet another stellar pitching performance as the
RSS