NOEL CELIS/Getty Images

Shanghai Rolex Masters 2019: Saturday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule

James Dudko

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev will meet in the final of the 2019 Shanghai Rolex Masters after winning their respective semi-final matches on Saturday.

Medvedev beat the conqueror of Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in straight sets, while Zverev did the same against Matteo Berrettini at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena.

      

Saturday Scores

    

Sunday, October 13 Schedule

      

Medvedev reached a sixth tour-level final in this calendar year after surviving a closely fought tussle with Tsitsipas, per the ATP official website. Although he lost the ace count, Medvedev thrived because of the way he was eventually able to attack the Tsitsipas serve.

He won 14 of 25 points returning second serve, ultimately helping the Russian amass a quartet of crucial break points. Handling the pressure was also a key factor for Medvedev.

The 23-year-old held his nerve during the tiebreak in the opening set, and he manufactured the telling shots in the right moments:

To Tsitsipas' credit, he kept up the fight during the second set. Yet the man who saw off Djokovic after three sets on Friday was unable to conjure more of the same magic.

Zverev sent Roger Federer packing on the same day, and the confidence accrued from that win was obvious when he dominated the opening set against Berrettini. The German boomed four aces and won 17 of 18 points on his first serve.

He also earned the lone conversion of a break point in the set to give Berrettini too much to do to catch up:

The second set was more intensely contested, with fifth seed Zverev looking unsettled at 4-4 before the 22-year-old regained his composure and took the next two games to close out the match.

It means Zverev has built on the progress he made during this tournament last year:

A final between two of the sport's rising young stars could be the signal men's tennis is beginning to move on from an era bossed by Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.  

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)