Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured win

SHANGHAI — World No 1 Jannik Sinner put some old demons to rest when he made it through to the Rolex Shanghai Masters quarterfinals on Wednesday, beating American Ben Shelton in straight sets.

Last year at the same stage it was Shelton, ranked 16, who was victorious, but on Wednesday the Italian looked confident from the start as he won 6-4, 7-6 (1) in 88 minutes.

Sinner pulled ahead in the ninth game of the first set, breaking when Shelton hit long, then dominated the second-set tiebreak.

"It was very tough, you don't have so much control when you play against him... I just tried to stay strong mentally," said Sinner.

Sinner will face Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

Medvedev took out Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (3), 6-3.

World No 5 Medvedev and Tsitsipas were meeting for the 14th time.

Tsitsipas started the second set strongly, breaking in the first game, but Medvedev broke in the fourth and eighth to progress.

Medvedev and Sinner have met four times this year already in the final stages of tournaments.

Sinner beat Medvedev in the semifinals at Miami, in the quarterfinals at the US Open and in the Australian Open final, but the Russian ended the Italian's hopes in the last eight at Wimbledon in an epic five-set battle.

Also through to the quarterfinals is world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in the China Open final a week ago.

The 21-year-old was facing off against veteran Gael Monfils, winning 6-4, 7-5 for a 12th straight victory. The 38-year-old Frenchman had upset Alcaraz at their last meeting in August at Cincinnati, and the Spaniard admitted that "was on his mind" during the match.

"I'm just really, really happy I won the match, and that I stayed calm through the whole match," he said.

"Playing against Gael is never easy... You need to be focused on every ball," he added.

Four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic and world No 3 Alexander Zverev are also taking part in the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters.

Tiafoe tirade

Frances Tiafoe has apologized for his foul-mouthed tirade directed at a chair umpire after the American received a time violation and then lost to Roman Safiullin in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.

Unseeded Safiullin beat 13th seed Tiafoe 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5) in a three-hour contest where the American initially lost his cool when he received a time violation while serving with the score tied at 5-5 during the final set tiebreak.

"No, no, I tossed the ball up... I was ready to serve. Dude, that's the rule," Tiafoe said repeatedly as he walked towards the net while trying to convince the Ecuadorian chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote.

"I'm not buying it, it's the second serve," the umpire said in response, putting an end to the discussion by announcing "second serve" on the microphone. Tiafoe went on to lose the point and eventually the match.

After shaking Safiullin's hand at the net, Tiafoe directed his anger at Pinoargote, repeatedly hurling expletives at the umpire as he walked back to his seat, as the small crowd of fans who had stayed behind laughed at his antics.

The ATP did not immediately comment on the incident but the rule-book says the 26-year-old can expect to be fined, with the amount going up to $60,000 for each violation at Masters 1000 tournaments.

Tiafoe later posted an apology on Instagram for the way he acted.

"That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people. I let my frustration in the heat of the moment get the best of me and I'm extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation," Tiafoe said.

"That's not acceptable behavior and I want to apologize to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans."

Tiafoe, who is ranked No 17 in the world, had enjoyed some late-season form where he reached the finals of the Citi Open and the Cincinnati Open while he also advanced to the semifinals of the US Open.

Agencies