Ben Shelton, a rising star in the tennis world, rallied from a set down to secure a thrilling victory over Jannik Sinner at the Shanghai Masters, marking one of the standout wins of his burgeoning career.
The 19th seed endured an intense third set to emerge victorious with a scoreline of 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). His next challenge in the quarterfinals will be fellow American Sebastian Korda.
Shelton, who recently reached the semi-finals of the US Open before facing Novak Djokovic, celebrated his first-ever quarter-final appearance in a Masters event with his trademark "dialled-in" celebration.
Meanwhile, 26th-seeded Sebastian Korda fought off a late challenge from 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, prevailing with a score of 7-5, 7-6 (8/6).
Shelton, who celebrated his 21st birthday the day before the match, had a challenging start against the in-form sixth seed Sinner, marked by a crucial double fault that conceded the seventh game in a tightly contested first set.
Italian player Sinner, fresh from his victory at the China Open in Beijing, claimed the opening set with a well-executed smash.
However, Shelton bounced back in the second set, sealing it with an ace and a resounding roar. He quickly put Sinner on the defensive at the beginning of the deciding set.
Sinner, aged 22, managed to withstand Shelton's initial onslaught, saving five break points in a marathon game that lasted nearly 10 minutes. The set eventually went to a tiebreak, where Shelton emerged as the victor. The crowd, firmly in Shelton's corner, celebrated by singing happy birthdays.
The day began with another surprise as the 91st-ranked Fabian Marozsan claimed a belated birthday present for himself by defeating the eighth-seeded Casper Ruud. Marozsan secured the victory with a score of 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-4, and will face either Poland's 16th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz or the home player Zhang Zhizhen in the quarterfinals.
Marozsan, who turned 24 just two days prior, marked his maiden Masters quarterfinal as the perfect birthday gift. Reflecting on his achievement, he said, "This is just my second Masters tournament, so it's kind of a new tournament series for me."
The Shanghai Masters, returning to the ATP calendar for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, have witnessed a series of upsets, including Korda's victory over second-seeded Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas' loss to France's 32nd seed, Ugo Humbert.
The tournament now sets the stage for top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, who faces 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16. Notably, world number one Novak Djokovic is absent from the competition in China.
