Shanghai Masters 2023 Results Today: Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda score major upsets, Casper Ruud falls| Day 7
Ben Shelton and Sebstian Korda were among the four players who booked their spots in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Shanghai Masters after pulsating tennis action on Day 7 (October 10) of the ATP 1000 tournament.
The fourth-round action saw the American duo claim major upset wins over the recently-crowned China Open champion Jannik Sinner and Francisco Cerundolo, respectively.
Eight seed Casper Ruud was the other big casualty of the day as he fell to Hungarian surprise package Fabian Marozsan. Hubert Hurkacz, meanwhile, ended the local hope's dream of lifting the trophy by taking out China's Zheng Zhizhang in the last match of the day.
On that note, let's take a look at the results for Day 7 of the Shanghai Masters:
Sebastian Korda notches up another upset win
Having already posted what he described as one of the biggest results of his career by ousting Daniil Medvedev in the last round, Sebastian Korda took out another seeded opponent in the form of Francisco Cerundolo to book his spot in the last-eight.
The American was clinical in the match, pouncing on both the breakpoint opportunities that came his way to eke out a tight two-set win 7-5, 7-6(6).
Korda also remained solid on serve all along, winning 80% of the points on his first serve and fended off three of the four breakpoints that he faced in the match to keep his nose ahead all along. He will take on countryman Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals.
Jannik Sinner falls to Ben Shelton in nail-biter
On a day filled with upsets, Ben Shelton took the cake with his stellar three-set win over the in-form Jannik Sinner.
The Italian, who reached a career high ranking of No. 4 after lifting the China Open title last week, looked to be cruising after taking the opening set 6-2. His opponent, however, came back strong to level things at one set all.
The hotly-contested decider saw things go down to the wire, with some unbelievable scrambling from Shelton forcing Sinner into costly errors on the big points. The American sealed the 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) win with one such forehand error from the other side.
Casper Ruud's woes continue
Casper Ruud, seeded eighth at the tournament, also fell by the wayside after going down in three sets to No. 91-ranked Fabian Marozsan.
The Norwegian did well to fight back after dropping a tight opening set in a tiebreaker to level the match at one-set all. It was, however, the Hungarian who managed to steady the ship again and complete the job in three sets — winning 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.
Hubert Hurkacz survives scare
Hubert Hurkacz, meanwhile, survived a major scare, needing three sets to get the better of home favorite Zhang Zhizhen.
The Pole, who claimed the opening set in a tiebreaker, dropped his serve in the second set to find himself staring at a decider. Both players, however, went on serve and found themselves in a tiebreaker again.
The outcome was the same as the opening set, with Hurkacz sealing the 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(4) win to bring an end to the home hopes at the Shanghai Masters.
Shanghai Masters 2023: Day 5 Results at a glance
Men's singles
Ben Shelton def. Jannik Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)
Sebastian Korda def. Fracisco Cerundolo 7-5 7-6(6)
Casper Ruud def. Fabian Marozsan 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4
Hubert Hurkacz def. Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(4)