Stefanos Tsitsipas came from a set down to beat 11th seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Monday, reaching the fourth round after a dramatic finish that included two replayed points.
The Greek needed two hours and 13 minutes to get past the American, ATP Tour reported, recording his 34th tour-level win of the season and his seventh win over a top-20 player in 2026.
Tsitsipas struggled to make inroads on Fritz’s serve in a nervy opening set before his attacking game clicked over the second and third sets.
The win improves his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Fritz to 5-2.
Ball falls from Fritz’s pocket
The finish was anything but routine. With Fritz serving at 2-5 in the third set, the ball fell out of the American’s pocket on consecutive points and both points were replayed, according to ATP Tour.
Read more: Alex de Minaur Beats Rei Sakamoto at Shanghai Masters
The second incident came at 30/40, when Tsitsipas had match point but sent a forehand wide. Fritz then called a let on himself, acknowledging that the ball had fallen from his pocket before the point.
Tsitsipas missed three match points in that game but responded emphatically in the next to seal the win.
“I was manifesting today’s match and trying to put myself in a victorious situation,” Tsitsipas said. “I’ve always had big fights against him. Some of my biggest matches were played facing him on the other side of the court.”
Read more: Taylor Fritz wins 2026 Mubadala DC Open
He added: “I had to up my level… Once I started doing that, a lot of doors were open and I was really able to unleash my biggest potential out there.”
Tsitsipas resurgence continues
After a 2025 season hampered by inconsistent form and a persistent back injury, and with no top-20 wins that year (0-5), Tsitsipas ended a 16-month title drought in Gstaad in July. Shanghai is the second ATP Masters 1000 event this season where he has reached the fourth round, after Madrid.
The former world No. 3, a Shanghai semi-finalist in 2019, will next face fifth seed and 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev, who beat qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6-2, 6-3. Australian Alex de Minaur is also through to the last 16 in Shanghai after beating Rei Sakamoto.
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