Alexander Zverev has reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. In the youngster duel against the Australian Alex De Minaur, the German number one clearly won with 6:1 and 6:4.
In the first game of the day at the Rolex Masters in Shanghai all eyes were on Alexander Zverev – and he did not disappoint from the beginning.
The 21-year-old aggressively put his two-year younger opponents in their place. The Hamburg player touched De Minaur’s serve early on and finally hit the break with a great baseline game and a 3-1 lead.
Zverev extended his lead with another break to 5:1 and then served it up after only 29 minutes to win the set 6:1. De Minaur on the opposite side seemed overtaxed and could not keep up with the solid, powerful game of the fifth in the world rankings.
In the second round, the spectators should get a different picture in the biggest city of China, which was mainly due to the outsider from Australia. De Minaur minimized his number of mistakes and could play his game better after a completely messed up first run. However, chances of a break should not arise for the fastest player on the tour.
Zverev served too hard and didn’t get into trouble in set two either. The co-favourite for the Shanghai title varied in service, serving with high speed and precision. Due to the well functioning service, Zverev opened the field and took control from the first ball.
At 3:3, Zverev struck again, took the third break of the match and took the lead 4:3. However, the well-known nerve game was supposed to catch up with Zverev – even if only for a short time – and De Minaur earned two break points in return, which Zverev defended brilliantly and set at 5:3. The service game for the 6-1 and 6-4 match win was then just a formality for the 21-year-old.
Zverev’s entry into the last eight is a premiere in Shangahi. In 2016 and 2017 Germany’s number one player failed in the last 16 rounds, while last year Juan Martín del Potro stopped the 21-year-old in a dramatic three-set thriller.