De Minaur Advances to Shanghai Masters Quarterfinals While Auger-Aliassime Stuns Musetti

Alex de Minaur Advances to Shanghai Masters Quarter-Finals, Sets Sights on Second Title

De Minaur Overcomes Borges in Straight Sets

Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur secured his spot in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters by defeating Portugal’s Nuno Borges with a score of 7-5, 6-2. With several top seeds already ousted from the competition, de Minaur is emerging as a strong contender, currently standing as the highest-ranked player remaining, following Novak Djokovic.

Key Moments in the Match

The first set of the match saw de Minaur, ranked seventh in the world, strategically leveraging five break points in the 11th game to gain a crucial edge over Borges. His skillful backhand ultimately clinched the decisive break point. Carrying this momentum into the second set, de Minaur quickly established dominance by breaking Borges in both the first and third games.

Reflecting on his performance, the 26-year-old shared, “The first set was very tight, as we were both assessing each other’s strategies. However, in the second set, I began with an aggressive approach, showcasing some intense tennis, even though the match remained physically demanding.”

Remaining Competitive Despite Key Exits

Despite the early exits of many top seeds like Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, de Minaur remains cautious about his championship prospects. “There’s still a lot of high-quality players left, making it a challenging battle on our side of the draw,” he noted.

Auger-Aliassime Shines Against Musetti

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime showcased an impressive performance, defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2, adding another top-10 player to the list of eliminations. Ranked 13th in the world, Auger-Aliassime broke Musetti in the fifth game of the first set and continued to dominate, breaking him again in the fifth and seventh games of the second set.

“I expected this to be the toughest match of the week so far, and knew I needed to up my game,” stated the 25-year-old Canadian. “I was able to execute my game plan almost perfectly.”

Upcoming Quarter-Final Matches

Next, Auger-Aliassime is set to face France’s Arthur Rinderknech, who reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final by beating Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). Notably, Rinderknech’s cousin Valentin Vacherot advanced to the last eight and will take on Denmark’s Holger Rune for a semi-final spot.

In other anticipated matches, Novak Djokovic is scheduled to play Belgium’s Zizou Bergs on Thursday, competing for a place in the semi-finals as the tournament progresses at a thrilling pace.