Montreal’s rising star Felix Auger-Aliassime progressed to the next stage of the men’s singles competition at the prestigious Rolex Shanghai Masters tennis tournament on Monday. Auger-Aliassime secured a solid victory over Jesper de Jong from the Netherlands with a score of 6-4, 7-5 in the Round of 32. The Quebecer had previously defeated de Jong back in February during the semifinals of the Open Occitanie in Montpellier, France.
However, Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., faced disappointment as he failed to move forward in the tournament after a defeat by Jiri Lehecka from the Czech Republic, who outplayed him with a score of 6-4, 6-4.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded 12th, is set to compete in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, with his opponent yet to be determined. Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo also advanced to the Round of 16 and is scheduled to face Zizou Bergs from Belgium on the same day.
In a surprising turn of events, the third-seeded Alexander Zverev suffered a defeat at the hands of the 54th-ranked Arthur Rinderknech from France with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Despite taking the first set, Zverev struggled to maintain control and secure a win, allowing Rinderknech to take the victory after a tough match lasting over two hours. Rinderknech had previously bested Zverev in five sets during the first round at Wimbledon this year.
Novak Djokovic faced a challenging match against German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann before eventually rallying to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. On the other hand, defending champion Jannik Sinner retired due to severe leg cramps during his match against Tallon Griekspoor, after winning the China Open in Beijing.
The tournament also saw seventh-seeded Alex De Minaur securing a victory against Kamil Majchrzak and advancing to the fourth round. De Minaur will face Nuno Borges in the upcoming match. Additionally, big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard caused an upset by defeating fourth-ranked Taylor Fritz to advance to the next round.
Top-ranked player Carlos Alcaraz, who recently triumphed at the Japan Open, was absent from the Shanghai Masters due to minor health issues.
