Jannik Sinner jolts Daniil Medvedev, moves on to semis in Shanghai

Top-seeded Jannik Sinner breezed to a 6-1, 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev on Thursday to advance to the semifinals at the Shanghai Masters.

Sinner, of Italy, recorded nine aces and benefited from four double faults to defeat Medvedev for the seventh time in their last eight matches. The Russian received treatment on his shoulder midway through the second set before ultimately falling in 1 hour and 24 minutes.

"Obviously I'm very happy how I handled today and this match," Sinner said. "It felt like he had a bit of shoulder pain and couldn't hit his forehand as well as he wished to. Hopefully he can recover as fast as possible, but from my side it was a great match, a great battle, and let's see what I can do now in the semifinals."

Sinner advanced to his 10th Masters 1000 semifinal and will face 30th-seeded Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, who notched a 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory over third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.

"It's better (than my career expectations)," Sinner said. "You cannot plan when you are young. You never know what is going to happen in your career. You just try to improve daily.

"Obviously I'm very happy to be in this position. Being in the semifinals of a Masters is always a big step forward. It's a huge accomplishment from my side, but we try to keep going, we try to improve and see what I can do. But talking about today, it was a great match, and I'm looking forward to the semis."

He's not alone.

"I am looking forward to it," Machac said of his upcoming encounter with Sinner. "I am really enjoying it and am happy that I can play against the best (players)."

Machac had five aces and saved seven of eight break points to snap Alcaraz's 12-match winning streak in 1 hour and 54 minutes.

"I knew that the level of my tennis would be great because I am playing the best right now, for sure," Machac said. "I beat Tommy Paul (in my) last match with an unbelievable performance. With these types of players, I have to play this level otherwise it's 6-2, 6-3 (and) you go home, there is no other option. I am happy I managed to play like this for two sets.

"I knew that I had a chance (to beat Alcaraz), but you never know, even with a set and 5-4 (lead) it's still so far from winning the match. I played great tennis against him in the Davis Cup (in September), but there was this level (for) only one set. Today it was (for) two, so it was enough."

--Field Level Media