Jannik Sinner avenged last year's Shanghai Masters exit to Ben Shelton, beating him in straight sets to progress to the quarter-final on Wednesday.

The American was hoping for another upset to mark his 22nd birthday, but Sinner triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-1) in 88 minutes.

Shelton started strongly, showing off a 95% first serve accuracy in the first set, as he matched the Italian in the opening games but could not force a vital break before Sinner's three-game winning run took the set away from him.

Sinner then had to dig deep as Shelton went on the attack once more, but he successfully defended all seven break points, five of which came in the second set.

He ramped up the pressure in the tie-break, cruising through to reach his 14th ATP Tour quarter-final of 2024.

"It was very tough. He played only first serves, except one second serve," Sinner said.

"But if I look at 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 next round."

He will face Daniil Medvedev in the final eight after the Russian saw off Stefanos Tsitsipas with a commanding performance.

Medvedev triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 6-3, hitting 28 winners and making just 20 unforced errors to the Greek's 34 as he came from 2-0 down in the second set, winning six of the last seven games to progress.

Data Debrief: Staying perfect

Sinner has made a 14th quarter-final from 14 ATP events in 2024, becoming only the fourth player aged 23 or under to do so in a single season after Jimmy Connors (1974), Guillermo Vilas (1976) and John McEnroe (1982).

Stefanos Tsitsipas (10) is now the second opponent Daniil Medvedev has defeated 10+ times head-to-head at ATP level, along with Alexander Zverev (12), while he will be searching for an eighth win against Sinner in the next round, having also beaten him at Wimbledon earlier this year. 

Novak Djokovic's hopes of claiming a 100th tour-level title are still alive after cruising past Flavio Cobolli at the Shanghai Masters.

After being pushed all the way by Alex Michelsen in his opener, the Serb looked much more comfortable as he triumphed 6-1 6-2 in the third round in just 64 minutes.

He got an early break to take control in the first set, racing into a 3-0 lead before Cobolli got on the board, but another three-game winning streak for Djokovic gave him the first set.

The Italian started the second set brighter, going toe to toe as they traded blows in the opening games.

However, Djokovic soon regained control, and though Cobolli managed to save five of the nine break points he faced during the match, he could do little as the 37-year-old won the final five games to progress.

Djokovic will now face Roman Safiullin in the fourth round.

Data Debrief: Cruise control

Since the format's inception in 1990, Djokovic (82.02%, 406-89) has surpassed Rafael Nadal (82.00%, 410-90) for the highest winning percentage of any player at ATP Masters 1000 events - minimum 10 matches.

And he did so in dominant fashion. He struck 11 winners in the first set (19 overall), and won 20 of his 24 first-serve points throughout the game (83%).

Carlos Alcaraz held his nerve against a spirited Wu Yibing to progress to the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.

Having already beaten another of the home favourites, Shang Juncheng, in his opener, the Spaniard had to dig deep but prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.

There was nothing to split the two in the opening set, though Wu caused some real problems with his power, and successfully defended two break points in the ninth game.

The tie-break was also tight, but Alcaraz found his edge at the right time, winning the last three points.

Buoyed by the home crowd, Wu started the second set strongly too, but Alcaraz absorbed the pressure well and got the only break of the match in a three-game winning run.

With his winning streak extended, Alcaraz will now face either Gael Monfils or Ugo Humbert in the next round.

Data Debrief: Alcaraz marches on

Alcaraz has put his shock US Open exit firmly behind him, with this his 11th win on the bounce since then. 

He coped well with the early pressure Wu threw at him, and put in another solid performance, hitting 11 aces and winning 71% of his points at the net (5/7).

Jannik Sinner came from a set down to overcome Tomas Martin Etcheverry to progress at the Shanghai Masters.

Sinner, who came from behind in both of his first two matches at the China Open, where he eventually lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz, had to showcase his fighting spirit once more on Sunday.

The world number one eventually prevailed 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2, requiring two hours and 39 minutes to get the job done.

Standing in the way of Sinner and a place in the quarter-finals will be either Roberto Carballes Baena or Ben Shelton.

Earlier on Sunday, Daniil Medvedev also came from behind to claim a 5-7 6-4 6-4 victory over Matteo Arnaldi.

"It was a very tough match, a very close one," said Medvedev. "I actually felt like that’s where tennis is funny. I felt like in the first set, I was probably the better player, had more opportunities. I didn’t manage to [win] it, played a bad game at the end of the set.

"In the other sets, I thought it was closer. Maybe even he had the edge on some of the moments, but that's why tennis is crazy.

"You can win when you don’t expect it, and lose when you expect to win, so I’m happy to be here again in two days."

Data Debrief: Master of the Masters 

Moving to a record 74-26, only four players since the format's introduction in 1990 have claimed more wins from their first 100 ATP 1000 matches than Sinner (74).

Sinner is behind only Rafael Nadal (83), Stefan Edberg (77), Pete Sampras (76) and Jim Courier (75).

Novak Djokovic was relieved to edge past Alex Michelsen at the Shanghai Masters as his quest for a 100th career title got up and running. 

Djokovic, who has won the tournament in China on four occasions, needed almost two hours to overcome his American opponent on Saturday, eventually doing so 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9).

The Serbian's slow start was punished by Michelsen, who raced into a 4-1 lead in the opening set, with Djokovic managing just three points from the first three games. 

But the 24-time grand slam champion rallied to take the first set to win his 11th tie-break from the 15 he has played this season.

"It was the first match against Alex and I also hadn't played in a while, so it took me a little time to get the rust off," said Djokovic after his first match sine the US Open.

“He started off terrifically; big serves and an aggressive style of tennis, he's not afraid to step it up and take it to his opponent."

Djokovic then led 4-1 in the second, only to allow Michelsen back into the contest, but the Serbian held his nerve in the decisive tie-break, saving two set points to advance. 

The 37-year-old has now won 35 of the 40 matches he has contested at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai - more than any other player.

Djokovic is also the only player in history (since 1990) to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles, a feat he has achieved twice on his way to a record 40 titles at this level.

He is yet to reach a final in the series this year, with the Serbian acknowledging the difficulties he faced against his American opponent. 

"I was 4-1 up, 15/40, and he hit the net-cord that went over. It could easily have been 6-1 for me in the second,” Djokovic said.

"But at this level, things can change very quickly.

"It was a very close encounter and I thought a high level of tennis in both sets. I'm just glad to keep calm when it mattered in the second-set tie-break.

"I'm glad to really be challenged by a young player, and I'm looking forward to the next one."

Up next for Djokovic is either Italian Flavio Cobolli or wildcard Stan Wawrinka.

Jannik Sinner notched up his 250th career win after defeating Taro Daniel in his Shanghai Masters opener.

The world number one wrapped up a commanding 6-1 6-4 victory over his Japanese opponent in just over an hour-and-a-quarter on Saturday.

Sinner, who is fresh from reaching the Beijing final last time out, is targeting his seventh silverware of the season, in which he has already triumphed at the Australian Open and US Open.

"I felt quite comfortable today," said the Italian, who set up a clash with 31st seed Tomas Etcheverry. "I also feel in good shape physically, which is very important for me.

"Of course, I will try to improve for tomorrow's performance, but today I was serving really, really well - especially in important moments - and was moving well."

Data Debrief: 250 up for Sinner

Sinner became the first player born in the 2000s to reach 250 career wins, while taking his tally for a remarkable campaign to 60.

The Italian, who won 64 matches last term, is the sixth player aged 23 or under to record 60 or more ATP wins in successive seasons, after Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Sinner also maintained his perfect record in opening-round matches this year (14-0), and is now 51-0 against players ranked outside the ATP top 20.

Carlos Alcaraz began his Shanghai Open campaign with a straight-sets win over China's Shang Juncheng, bringing up his 10th straight victory.

Just three days on from his epic victory over Jannik Sinner in the China Open final, Alcaraz recorded a 6-2 6-2 win over Shang inside one hour and 17 minutes.

The four-time grand slam winner wasted no time by breaking in the very first game of the encounter, then repeated the trick six games later to take the opener, avoiding any pressure as he won 82% of his first-serve points.

Alcaraz produced the shot of the match early in the second set, producing a brilliant backhand flick to salvage a point while backtracking from the net.

Back-to-back breaks midway through the second set sealed Alcaraz's 10th straight victory, after which he hailed the performance of his 19-year-old opponent.

"I'm not used to playing against players younger than me," Alcaraz said. "He has been playing good tennis lately, winning his first ATP title [in Chengdu], so I'm pretty sure he's going to climb the rankings. 

"At the net he told me that it's a pleasure share the court with you. So these kinds of things that I hear from younger players, it's great."

Data Debrief: Double figures for Alcaraz

Alcaraz's victory was his 10th in succession since he suffered a shock second-round defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open in August.

He will face another Chinese player in the next round, taking on world number 560 Wu Yibing. 

Daniil Medvedev held off a stern test from Thiago Seyboth Wild to edge through his Shanghai Masters opener on Friday.

The Russian won the tight contest in straight sets, prevailing 7-5 7-5 in just under two hours.

Seyboth Wild started brightly, superbly defending five break points in the opening game before breaking Medvedev to take a 3-1 lead.

A three-game winning run at the end of the first set was enough for the world number five to edge in front.

The Brazilian made another strong start in the second but was his own worst enemy as he racked up 47 unforced errors throughout the match to Medvedev's 28.

Despite going down a break again, Medvedev rallied, staying patient to mount another comeback and book his place in the next round against Matteo Arnaldi.

Data Debrief: Patience pays off

Last year, Seyboth Wild stunned Medvedev in the opening round at Roland Garros, as his high-risk, high-reward method paid off and he earned the win with 69 winners and 77 unforced errors.

Despite pushing the 28-year-old all the way, it did not garner the same reward this time around, despite getting 29 winners to Medvedev's 17.

Stan Wawrinka reflected on a "really tough year" after racking up a new ATP 1000 milestone with his first-round victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Shanghai Masters.

The three-time grand slam champion secured a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) victory in China in what was the first ATP meeting between the two.

According to Opta Ace, it represented Wawrinka's landmark 100th hard-court victory in ATP 1000 events, becoming the 12th player to do so.

Speaking on court after the victory, the veteran 39-year-old said: "It's been a really tough year so far, but I'm not getting younger so I'm trying to keep pushing myself.

"I'm happy with the match. I think it was a really good level. I was playing really good, one of the best matches of the year for me.

"He's such an aggressive player. It was great to be here, so much support here, so I'm enjoying my time in China."

Wawrinka, who only had five ATP wins this year before featuring in Shanghai, next faces  Flavio Cobolli in round two.

Carlos Alcaraz described Jannik Sinner as "a beast" and the world's best player after downing the Italian in Wednesday's remarkable China Open final.

Alcaraz and Sinner battled it out for over three hours in the Beijing showpiece match, with Alcaraz eventually triumphing 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

The Spaniard took the decisive tie-break with a remarkable run of seven straight points, having lost a tie-break in the opening set to fall behind.

At the age of 21 years and 150 days, Alcaraz is the youngest player to defeat the world number one in an ATP event final after losing the opening set since Juan Martin del Potro (20 years, 356 days), who came back to beat Roger Federer at the US Open in 2009.

Speaking after his sixth career win over the Italian (four defeats), Alcaraz outlined his belief he had overcome the very best in the sport.

"He could have won in two, I could have won in two, he could have won in three. It was a really close match," said Alcaraz. 

"Jannik, once again, he showed that he's the best player in the world, at least for me. 

"The level that he's playing, it's unbelievable. It's a really high quality of tennis. His shots, physically, mentally... he's a beast."

Sinner breezed into a 3-0 lead in the third-set tie-break, only for Alcaraz to show extraordinary resilience to maintain his 100% record against Sinner this year, having previously beaten him at Indian Wells and Roland Garros.

"I never lost hope. Honestly I knew that every tie-break Jannik plays is almost on his side," Alcaraz said of the decider. 

"I thought that in the third set, I'm not going to lie down after two mini-breaks for him. I thought, 'okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close'.

"During the whole week I've been playing great tennis. Probably sometimes the luck went to my side a little bit in the matches."

Carlos Alcaraz struck seven successive points in a deciding tie-break to seal a remarkable victory over world number one Jannik Sinner in the China Open final.

The leading lights of tennis' next generation of stars battled it out for well over three hours in Beijing on Wednesday before Alcaraz finally prevailed 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

Having cruised into a 5-2 lead in the opening set, Alcaraz wobbled to allow defending champion Sinner to reel off four of the next five games to force a tie-break that the Italian won with three breaks of serve.

An hour-long second set was settled in Alcaraz's favour, but a topsy-turvy decider went the distance.

Having given up the first break, Sinner responded by hitting back in game eight to restore parity, with another tie-break required.

Sinner breezed into a 3-0 lead, only for Alcaraz to string together an extraordinary run of seven straight points to claim the crown.

Data Debrief: King Carlos

It is now 6-4 to Alcaraz in the head-to-head between the Spaniard and Sinner.

Alcaraz has now won all three of their matches this season, triumphing previously at both Indian Wells and Roland-Garros. It is the first time either of the duo has won three straight matches against the other.

At the age of 21 years and 150 days, Alcaraz is the youngest player to defeat the world number one in an ATP event final after losing the opening set since Juan Martin del Potro (20y 356d), who came back to beat Roger Federer at the US Open in 2009.

Jannik Sinner will face Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster China Open final after the Italian downed home favourite Buyunchaokete in the last four.

Sinner, who overcame Daniil Medvedev in last year's final in Beijing, beat Buyunchaokete 6-3 7-6 (7-3) on Tuesday, extending his winning streak to 15 matches.

Buyunchaokete did well when standing up to Sinner in baseline rallies early on, also impressing when under pressure by saving eight of the nine break points he faced.

Sinner did manage to break six games into the opener, however, and he drew on all his experience in the second-set tie-break, surging into a 6-1 lead before seeing out his two-hour, seven-minute victory.

Sinner has won four of his nine head-to-head meetings with final opponent Alcaraz, beating him in their only previously final clash for the Umag Trophy in 2022.

"Of course, tomorrow is going to be completely different," Sinner said. "We know each other very well. It's going to be tactical, but I'm looking forward to it.

"I'm happy to be here again in the final. My season is going very, very well and playing finals is always great. I just hope tomorrow is going to be a good match from both of us."

Data Debrief: Sinner stands alone

Since the start of 2023, Sinner (13/23) has reached the final on 56.5% of his ATP main-draw entries on hard courts.

He has now surpassed Novak Djokovic (54.5%, 6/11) for the highest rate on the surface over that span, among players with a minimum of 10 tournaments entered.

Carlos Alcaraz is through to the China Open final after powering past Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Tuesday.

The Spaniard prevailed 7-5 6-3 in the semi-final in Beijing in 86 minutes, extending his hard-court hot streak.

The pair were evenly matched in the opening exchanges and traded breaks, with Medvedev defending three of the six break points he faced in the first set, as both failed to find an early edge.

Eventually, Alcaraz nosed in front, winning the last three games in a row to take the lead.

The second set followed a similar story, though Medvedev would lose his serve in the fifth game, giving himself a mountain to climb.

Alcaraz stayed in control after that, even as the Russian valiantly defended three match points in the final game, setting up a meeting with either reigning champion Jannik Sinner or home wild card Bu Yunchaokete.

Data Debrief: Coming in hot

Alcaraz has won each of his last eight tour-level matches and is in strong form as he bids to finish the year as world number one. 

This win over Medvedev moves him to a record of 7-1 against ATP top-five opponents this year, surpassing Sinner (six) for the outright most ATP top-five wins of any player so far in 2024. 

Jannik Sinner reached the last four of the China Open after defeating Jiri Lehecka 6-2 7-6 (8-6) on Monday.

The world number one will face Bu Yunchaokete in the semi-finals in Beijing, with a final against Carlos Alcaraz an intriguing prospect.

In the process, Sinner brought up his 58th win of the season, seeing him surpass Alexander Zverev as the player with the most TATP our-level wins in 2024.

"We always try to improve day by day and I feel like the result is coming in what level you’re playing throughout the season, how consistent you are as a player," said Sinner, who has now reeled off 14 successive victories.

"You also have to be ready mentally to do that. So we just try to stay in the present moment.

"We know what we have done this season, which is great for me. But every match we see we can improve, which is very good."

Data Debrief: The Italian job

Sinner has now become the first Italian in the Open Era to reach 10+ ATP event semi-finals in back-to-back seasons.

His next opponent, Bu, meanwhile, stunned Andrey Rublev 7-5 6-4.

Bu is the first Chinese player to claim multiple ATP top 20 wins at a single event on hard court, and the first player representing the host nation to reach the last four at the China Open.

Carlos Alcaraz will face Daniil Medvedev in a blockbuster China Open semi-final matchup after downing Karen Khachanov in the last eight.

The four-time grand slam champion needed just 96 minutes on court to beat Khachanov 7-5 6-2, easing through the second set after fending off some early pressure.

Alcaraz, who registered his 200th career victory last time out against Tallon Griekspoor, went a break up five games into the opener but was immediately pegged back, only to convert his seventh break point to seize the initiative once more. 

Back-to-back breaks midway through the second set then did the trick for Alcaraz, who dropped just two points on his own serve after clinching the opener.

The 21-year-old, whose victory saw him leapfrog Alexander Zverev to go second in the ATP rankings, said: "I always try to be aggressive, hitting strong shots, and I feel like I'm not afraid to show that. 

"That's what I'm feeling right now. In the past matches, everything went well, and I'm not letting my opponents show their best tennis. That's what I like and what I want in every match."

He will face Medvedev for a place in the final after the Russian registered his own straight-sets win over Flavio Cobolli on Monday.

Medvedev was forced to save 10 of 11 break points during his 6-2 6-4 win, which was far more competitive than the scoreline suggested.

Data Debrief: Medvedev's hard-court mastery 

Since the start of the 2020 season, Medvedev has now registered 186 ATP victories at hard-court events.

That is the most of any player on the surface and puts him some 22 wins clear of second-placed Jannik Sinner, who is a potential final opponent if he can overcome Alcaraz in the last four.