Novak Djokovic has continued his title defence at the Shanghai Masters with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Vasek Pospisil in the third round.
The encounter marked the fourth consecutive year that the two players have played each other on the tour. In their three previous matches, Djokovic has won all of them in straight sets. Number four soon came as the world No.1 capitalized of some tentative play from his opponent.
In what was a perfect start by the defending champion, he broke Pospisil two consecutive times to race to a 4-0 lead. Despite having the advantage, Djokovic had to contend with a surge in Pospisil’s form as the match progressed. Producing a series of blistering shots, the Canadian retrieved one of the breaks with the help of a winning forehand cross-court return. Despite Pospisil’s comeback, Djokovic’s early offensive was enough to secure the set. Racing to 40-0 at 5-4, he secured the lead on his third set point opportunity with the help of a winning backhand volley at the net.
Clinching the first set lead, there was little to distinguish between both men at the start of the second. Six games went without either player facing a break point before the top seed grabbed the breakthrough. A forehand error from his opponent handed Djokovic a double chance to break for 4-3, but he failed to convert as Pospisil clawed his way back to level 40-40. Despite the valiant efforts invested by the world No.131, back-to-back errors enabled the Serbian to break. The victory was then sealed thanks to a Djokovic forehand winner down the line on his first match point.
Reaching his fifth consecutive quarter-final at the tournament, Djokovic leaves his third round match satisfied, but far from happy with a winner-error ratio of 12-15. Ultimately it was Pospisil’s 33 unforced errors that aided Djokovic’s victory.
In the last eight the top seed will play qualifier Mischa Zverev. The German progressed to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since Rome 2009 after outlasting Marcel Granollers 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1. During the match, the two players valiantly battled against each other with a 59-shot rally occurring at the start of the deciding set.
As Zverev celebrates his achievement, there was disappointment for his younger brother Alexander. The 21-year-old, who recently won his maiden ATP title in St. Petersburg, squandered a 4-1 lead in the final set against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the Frenchman battled back to win 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5. The comeback from Tsonga during the closing stages of the match infuriated Alexander, who received a code violation for some fierce racket abuse.
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) 13 October 2016
Finally, Jack Sock recovered from a first set whitewash to knock out fifth seed Milos Raonic 0-6, 6-4, 7-6(8). The American will next play either Stan Wawrinka or Gilles Simon.
