Zverev advances to third round as Shelton beaten; Zheng triumphs

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev let two match points slip in the second-set tiebreaker before winning 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 against Quentin Halys at the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters on Sunday.

Zverev never gave up a break-point chance in a third-round match where the US Open champion needed seven of his own just to break the 48th-ranked Frenchman’s service in the opening game.

A 60th win on tour this season also was Zverev’s fourth against Halys, including a late-night five-setter at Flushing Meadows in the second round.

Earlier Sunday, US Open finalist Ben Shelton was beaten 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) by 21-year-old Frenchman Arthur Gea in the third round. The third-seeded Shelton, who won his first match in Shanghai on his 24th birthday, saw Gea convert his first match-point chance in the second-set tiebreaker.

Seventh-seeded Francis Tiafoe also lost, after having a match point in the decisive tiebreaker, to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who won 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6).

Ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur beat Rei Sakamoto 7-6 (6), 6-4 and 26th-seeded Karen Khachanov defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-4.

No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner withdrew from Shanghai this week when he announced he was taking the rest of 2026 off because of a right knee injury.

Zverev is closing in on finishing the season as No. 1 for the first time and found himself playing an extra set Sunday.

Twice Halys faced match point while serving in the tiebreaker, saved both, then clinched the set with an overhead volley winner at the net. Zverev regained control of the match by breaking Halys’s first service game of the deciding set.

In the round of 16, Zverev will play Alexander Bublik, who rallied to beat Brandon Nakashima 6-7 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen became the first home winner of the China Open on Sunday as she beat Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4.

The former world number four and current Olympic champion was a wildcard entry in Beijing, having struggled with form and fitness after elbow surgery in 2025.

It was the 54th-ranked Zheng’s first title in nearly two years, and tears filled her eyes as she fell to the court in celebration.

“The feeling was incredible to win here in Beijing... in front of my home crowd is one of my dreams,” she said during the trophy ceremony.

“I’ve been through a very, very tough year,” she added.

She congratulated Andreeva on her French Open win from earlier this year before serenading the crowd with a song about chasing the “light of dreams”.

Zheng, 24, is the first Chinese player to win the prestigious tournament since its inception in 2004.

Andreeva, ranked five, was more consistent to start with, but Zheng grabbed back a break and stayed with her 19-year-old opponent as they battled on the baseline.

Zheng saved three set points to level at 5-5 and won every single point after that, sending down an ace to take the first set.

Agencies