Shanghai Masters: Superb Seb Korda takes down Medvedev to book spot in last 16

Seb Korda had too much quality for Daniil Medvedev, beating the second seed 7-6 (8), 6-2 to advance to the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters at the Qi Zhong Stadium.

Korda has backed up his victory over the Russian at the Australian Open at the start of the season, where he knocked out the two-time finalist in the fourth round.

The American now holds a 2-1 lead in the pair’s head-to-head, having shown once again that his flat, crisp groundstrokes and all-round game are a potent blend to puncture Medvedev’s iron-clad defensive abilities.

Korda frequently drew the world No 3 into the net to excellent effect, giving himself the options of lobbing or passing Medvedev – both of his which he executed brilliantly on several occasions.

The first set went down to the wire, but it was Korda who showed the greater composure when it mattered the most, clinching the opener by coming through a tight tiebreak, winning the breaker 8-6. The American saved three set points en route to taking the first set, one after a breathtaking rally that drew gasps from an enthralled Shanghai crowd.

From there, however, the momentum was all with the American, who broke twice in the second set to storm to a highly impressive victory – one that reverberates loudly around the rest of the draw.

Korda bookends frustrating year with two excellent wins

It is the performance many have been waiting for all season from the supremely talented young American, after he had put together what appeared to be a breakthrough run in Melbourne at the turn of the year.

However, it has been a frustrating year for the current world No 26, as injury and a battle to return to full form and fitness has once again dominated his season’s campaign.

The signs over the Asian hard-court swing have been promising, however. Korda reached the last four in Zhuhai before losing a close encounter with Adrian Mannarino in the final of the Astana Open.

The signs are yet more encouraging so far in Shanghai, as Korda earns his biggest win since that initial victory over Medvedev in January.

The American will face the winner of the match between Marton Fucsovics and Francisco Cerundolo, the No 20 seed, in the next round as he looks to close out a patch, disrupted season in positive style.

Ahead of his victory, Korda won against Chinese wildcard Yunchaokete Bu (6-1, 6-4).

Medvedev, ranked No 3, won against Chilean Cristian Garin (6-3, 6-3) in the previous round of the Shanghai tournament, but his title defence (from 2019) has ended prematurely after another humbling run-in with Korda spoiled the party.

Shanghai Masters, other third-round results (Qi Zhong Stadium, hard, USD 8.800.000, most recent results first):

• Tommy Paul vs. Arthur Fils
• Matteo Arnaldi vs. J.J. Wolf
• Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Ugo Humbert
• Lorenzo Sonego vs. Nicolas Jarry
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Daniel Evans
• Zhizhen Zhang vs. Brandon Nakashima
• Jannik Sinner vs. Sebastian Baez
• Marton Fucsovics vs. Francisco Cerundolo
• Ben Shelton vs. Roman Safiullin
• Dusan Lajovic vs. Fabian Marozsan
• Hubert Hurkacz vs. Yu Hsiou Hsu: sunday
• Casper Ruud (8) beat Christopher Eubanks (29): 6-4, 6-2