Shanghai Masters: Holger Rune fights back to beat Matteo Berrettini as Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov also win

Holger Rune came from behind to win a thrilling contest with Matteo Berrettini and reach the third round of the Shanghai Masters.

The 12th-seeded Dane produced a resilient display to beat former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini 4-6 6-4 6-3 in just over two hours.

In a match that had originally been scheduled for Saturday but was delayed by persistent rain at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, Berrettini broke for a 5-4 lead in the first set before calmly closing it out.

Berrettini appeared to be on the brink of closing out of the match as he continued to ease through his service games, but Rune raised his level to strike in the 12th and final game of the set and level the match.

The decider ultimately came down to two epic games, with Rune saving a break point on his way to holding serve for 1-0, before taking his third break point opportunity of the eighth game to claim the advantage.

He then served out the contest to set up a third-round meeting with 33rd seed Jiri Lehecka.

“I think [the match] was pretty good,” Rune said.

“It felt like he didn’t do many things wrong in the first set. I made a few errors, but then he was just on me. He didn’t allow me to make many mistakes. I think the same happened in the second and third sets, just the other way around. Every time he got slightly central or short, I was there to punish his shots.

“It was a good match, honestly. I think the tennis was very high quality. We were hitting a lot of winners, good serves, good movement, so I’m very happy to start my tournament like this.”

Fritz, Dimitrov finally advance after rain delays

Two days after starting, seeded duo Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov finally sealed victories in their second-round matches.

US Open finalist Fritz had led 4-3 in the opening set against Frenchman Terence Atmane when rain suspended play on Saturday, and then washed out all matches on the outside courts until Monday.

The 26-year-old American needed two tie-breaks to see off the No 161-ranked Atmane 7-6 7-6 with only one break of serve for each in the 122-minute match. Fritz will play Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki in the third round.

Dimitrov, playing in his 100th Masters event, resumed Monday with a set lead but down a break in the second against Zizou Bergs.

The No 73-ranked Belgian converted his advantage to take the second set before Dimitrov responded by breaking Bergs three times – for the loss of one of his own service games, to clinch the match 6-3 3-6 6-2.

The 33-year-old Bulgarian will play the 20th seed, Australian Alexei Popyrin in the third round.

Italian 15th seed Lorenzo Musetti made a surprise exit at the hands of David Goffin, with the Belgian coming from behind to win 1-6 7-6 6-2.

US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe, the 13th seed, routed Zhou Yi of China 6-2 6-4 to set up a third-round meeting with Roman Safiullin, who upset 23rd seed Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-2.

Another seed to suffer a surprise exit was Australian Jordan Thompson, who was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

Haddad-Maia beats Keys in Wuhan | Osaka withdraws from Japan Open

Beatriz Haddad-Maia beat Madison Keys of the United States 7-6 6-2 in the opening match of the Wuhan Open.

The Brazilian ninth seed, winner of the Seoul Open last month for her fourth career title, converted five of her eight break point opportunities – to Keys’ three from 12 – as she advanced in 128 minutes at the tournament in China.

Former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez of Canada rallied to beat 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider 6-7 6-3 6-3.

Rain in Wuhan meant play on the outside courts was suspended.

The top eight seeds, including second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and China Open champion Coco Gauff, received a first-round bye.

British No 1 Katie Boulter is set to begin her campaign against Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka has pulled out of next week’s Japan Open due to the back injury that forced her to retire from her China Open clash with Gauff last week.

“Due to injury, Naomi Osaka has decided to withdraw from the tournament,” the Japan Tennis Association said in a statement.

Osaka is scheduled to play in another tournament in her home nation, the Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament, which will take place in Tokyo from October 21-27.

The 26-year-old has not played a WTA tournament on home soil since 2022, when she was forced to withdraw from the Pan Pacific Open with abdominal pains.

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?

Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (October 2-13)
Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (October 6-12)
Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.

Source link