Alexander Zverev earned his first Top 10 win of the season on Friday, defeating Roger Federer in a three-set thriller to reach the semi-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The 22-year-old showed how much the victory meant to him after clinching the match, immediately turning around to his camp to let out a massive roar.

“It’s my [expletive] time now!”

For one, it’s his time to make a big move in the ATP Race To London. Zverev, the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion, is now in pole position to book his spot at the season finale for the third consecutive year. After Stefanos Tsitsipas qualified on Friday, there are only two spots remaining, and Zverev is in seventh place in the Race.

“Obviously it was an important match. The head-to-head [against Federer] is obviously a great thing to have, but more importantly for me is it was a match to maybe turn my year around a little bit, and the Race to London is also very important,” Zverev said. “So I’m happy to be in the semi-finals now and give myself the best chance to win maybe two more matches here.”

It’s not that long ago that Zverev’s prospects of qualifying for London appeared in question. The German arrived in Montreal in August in 10th place in the Race.

But Zverev never panicked, even if he did not maintain the momentum of his victory from last year at The O2. This week in Shanghai, Zverev is into the semi-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 event or Grand Slam for the first time this year.

“You can always see things with the glass half empty or half full,” Zverev said in Montreal. ”It has not been the best year for me, but I am still… competing for London and the biggest tournaments in the world. For me, the year can only get better.”

Zverev (2,615 points) knows his spot is nowhere near booked though, leading eighth-placed Berrettini (2,525) by just 90 points and ninth-placed Roberto Bautista Agut (2,485) by 130 points.

However, defeating Federer to take a 4-3 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series gives the German plenty of confidence heading into a crucial showdown against Berrettini in Saturday’s semi-finals, in which he can give himself more cushion in the Race.

“It helps a lot. I mean, obviously the five match points I had in the second set, them going away and still knowing that I can win in three sets is very important, especially against someone like Roger, because normally he doesn’t let go of these kinds of matches,” Zverev said. “It was great and very important for me… going into the next few tournaments and going into the next few matches here is also going to be, I think, a big thing for me, knowing that I can win these kinds of matches.”

Perhaps most importantly, Zverev showed signs against Federer that he is getting closer to playing the tennis that helped him to the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals title. And that will be what pushes him back to London.

“[I am] finally starting to play the way I should play, really. I was playing really defensive the whole year round and was not with a lot of confidence,” Zverev said. “Finally maybe starting to play some better tennis and hopefully I can continue this way.”

Alexander Zverev held on, despite losing five match points in the second set, to upset Roger Federer 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3 and significantly bolster his Nitto ATP Finals chances on Friday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Zverev had three match points on his serve at 6-5, 40/0 in the second set, but lost the next five points, due, in part, to Federer’s best tennis of the quarter-final. The German had two more match points in the ensuing tie-break – 5/6 on Federer’s serve and 7/6 on his serve – but lost them both.

Zverev, however, regrouped in the third, crushing more backhand passes on the run for his first Top 10 win of the season and his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since 12 months ago in Shanghai (l. to Djokovic).

Zverev adds 180 points to his ATP Race To London tally (2,615 points) to pass Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut (2,485) and move into seventh place. The top eight will compete at the prestigious season finale, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

The 22-year-old Zverev now leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Federer 4-3. Only two other active players who have faced Federer at least seven times have a winning record against the Swiss: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (26-22) and No. 2 Rafael Nadal (24-16).

Zverev resembled the player who won the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals last November, his biggest title to date, with aggressive play in the opening sets. He was stepping into the court and outhitting Federer from the baseline, and when the Swiss forayed forward, Zverev smacked passes from both wings.

The German broke in the sixth game of the opener and again at 5-5 in the second set before he stepped up to the line to serve for the match at 6-5.

Federer, however, facing match points, delivered his best shots of the match, including two volleys that Zverev could only attempt to chase down as the pro-Federer Shanghai crowd roared with approval.

The Swiss let out a shout after winning five straight points from 0/40, 5-6 down and, in the tie-break, won his first set point to force a deciding set.

Zverev, though, broke in Federer’s first service game of the third set and stayed locked in, despite Federer’s frequent discussions with the chair umpire. The 28-time Masters 1000 champion received a point penalty for ball abuse at 0-3 down in the third set.

Zverev served out the quarter-final to 15 and set up a semi-final against the winner of London hopeful Matteo Berrettini of Italy and Austrian Dominic Thiem, who has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has successfully transitioned from lifting the Next Gen ATP Finals trophy in November 2018 to qualifying for the first time to the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals. The Greek star, who will compete among the world’s best eight singles players at The O2 in London, stamped his ticket for the 10-17 November event as a result of early play on Friday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The 20-year-old Tsitsipas, who beat Alex de Minaur in the title match of the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan 11 months ago, has compiled a 44-21 match record and won two ATP Tour titles in a career-best 2019 season. He joins Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem at the elite season finale next month.

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Tsitsipas became the first Greek player to break into the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings (at No. 5) on 5 August 2019, during a season which has included titles at the Open 13 Provence (d. Kukushkin) and at the Millennium Estoril Open (d. Cuevas). Additionally, he upset World No. 2 Nadal to reach his second ATP Masters 1000 final at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Djokovic) and beat Federer at the Australian Open, en route to becoming the youngest Grand Slam championship semi-finalist since 20-year-old Djokovic at the 2007 US Open. He finished as runner-up to Federer at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and, last week, reached the China Open final in Beijing (l. to Thiem).

Two singles spots are now left up for grabs at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals. Roberto Bautista Agut and 2018 champion Alexander Zverev are currently in seventh and eighth places respectively in the 2019 ATP Race To London, but Matteo Berrettini, David Goffin, Fabio Fognini, Kei Nishikori and Gael Monfils are also among the contenders with one month to go until the start of the prestigious event.

The ATP’s crown jewel event is to be held at The O2 in London through to 2020, where it has been staged to wide acclaim since 2009. The event has successfully established itself as one of the major annual sporting events worldwide, broadcast in more than 180 territories with global viewership figures reaching an average of 95 million each year.

With more wins than any other player on Tour this year, Daniil Medvedev has become a constant face in the locker rooms of ATP Tour events.

The third-seeded Russian aims for his 57th victory of the season on Friday when he plays Fabio Fognini in the quarter-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. But while his peers are used to seeing him around as he winds down his sixth year on Tour, Medvedev admitted the vibe around him has shifted after reaching five consecutive finals over the past two months.

“I do think [they treat me differently]. I start to feel different even if I try to stay the same. Other players talk to you differently,” Medvevev said after his third-round win on Thursday over Vasek Pospisil. “It’s done unconsciously. It’s the way it is and the way it will be for everyone who makes these kinds of results. The better results you do, the more different everything is.”

His winning ways have also led to more attention from the fans at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center. Medvedev has played all of his matches this week on Center Court 1 and his practise sessions are filled with fans hoping to catch a glimpse of him. But even if others view him differently, he’s working hard to not alter his own thinking.

”I actually do not take it as a positive or a negative because it’s kind of normal. I just have to do my best to handle my obligations and then step up on the tennis court and try to win the match,” Medvedev said. “No matter if you drop [in the ATP Rankings] or if you go higher, there are going to be different situations in your life that you have to deal with and still be able to play good on the tennis court. Hopefully I’m just going to be better and better on the court.”

The Russian’s modest, workmanlike approach has led to him currently riding a six-match winning streak after taking the title last month in St. Petersburg (d. Coric). Medvedev has also won 26 of his past 29 matches. That aura of dominance can get in the minds of his opponents, as evidenced by him saving five set points in his opening set against Pospisil.

But while his career-high standing of No. 4 in the ATP Rankings carries the pressure of being a title contender in any event he plays, he still prepares for every match as though it’s a final. His showdown against Fognini will be no exception.

“I don’t feel invincible, because I still lost some matches. If I would have won, let’s say, five tournaments in USA that I played, then I would tell you, ‘Yeah, maybe I am,’” Medvedev said. “I’m trying my best to keep the form I have. It’s really not easy, because as soon as you relax a little bit, the results will start to fall. That’s why I’m trying not to relax. I’m practising as hard as I can and playing my best in the tournaments also.”

Clinch a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals. Beat the World No. 1. Defeat all members of the ‘Big Three’ in the same season. Reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas can accomplish all of that on Friday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

But Tsitsipas faces a stern challenge in top seed Novak Djokovic, who rides a seven-match winning streak into their third FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Tsitsipas defeated Djokovic last year in Toronto in their only hard-court meeting, and the Serbian got his revenge this year in the Madrid final.

If the Greek superstar upsets Djokovic, he will become the sixth player to qualify for the season finale, which will be held at The O2 from 10-17 November. But the 20-year-old can also qualify if Italian Fabio Fognini beats Cincinnati titlist Daniil Medvedev earlier in the day.

Both players carry a lot of momentum into the clash, with Djokovic fresh off the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships title he won last week and Tsitsipas has earned five Top 30 wins in the past week and a half, after earning only five of them between the start of Rome in May and the beginning of last week’s ATP 500 event in Beijing.

Tsitsipas is already the youngest player to defeat each member of the ‘Big Three’ — Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — and now he can do it in a single year, having beaten Federer at the Australian Open and Nadal in Madrid.

“It’s going to be very interesting the next couple of years to see how tennis will evolve and how the young guys are going to dominate the game,” Tsitsipas said after his second-round win in Shanghai. “I have been trying really hard to be up there, and I know that it’s not easy for me to maintain that level, because if I keep doing the same thing, my opponents will know what I’m doing and what works for me, so I always have to constantly improve and get better.”

It is also an important match for Djokovic, as the Serbian continues to close on Rafael Nadal in the battle to finish year-end No. 1. Djokovic can pull to within 460 points of Nadal in the ATP Race To London if he lifts his fifth Shanghai trophy this week.

“There is always something to work on. That’s the beauty of sport and life in general, you can always improve,” Djokovic said. “But I am very happy with the way I’m playing, with the way I’m feeling on the court.”

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There will be another battle of the generations between 38-year-old Roger Federer and 22-year-old Alexander Zverev. There is a lot at stake for both men, with Federer pursuing his 29th ATP Masters 1000 crown and reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Zverev scratching and clawing to return to The O2.

Zverev is currently in eighth place in the Race, as he is pushing to compete in the season finale for the third consecutive year. The German impressively bagelled good friend Andrey Rublev in the first set of their third-round match, eventually triumphing in straight sets,

“I think it was very good tennis, but I know against Roger it’s going to be very, very difficult,” Zverev said. “He’s going to try to different things and it’s going to be a difficult match.”

Federer, a two-time Shanghai champion, is trying to take a 4-3 lead in his rivalry with Zverev, who ousted the Swiss superstar in the semi-finals of last year’s Nitto ATP Finals. Federer is also trying to make the last four of a tournament for the first time since Wimbledon.

Medvedev and Fognini have split their two previous meetings. And while Medvedev has already booked his London spot, Fognini is trying to compete on the singles court at The O2 for the first time, and a victory against the Russian would catapult him into the Top 10 in the Race.

“I think it’s the worst player that I can play at the moment, because he changed completely in the summer. Of course he was also great before, but he made an unbelievable change during the U.S. swing, and he’s dangerous. He’s really dangerous,” Fognini said. “He’s really comfortable inside the court. But I’m here to try to complicate [the match for] him, try to take my chances, have the chance. If not, I fly home.”

The final singles match of the day pits last week’s Beijing winner, Dominic Thiem, against another London hopeful in Matteo Berrettini in what promises to be a big-hitting match. Thiem won their only previous match at Roland Garros last year on clay, his favourite surface.

One year ago, Berrettini lost in Shanghai qualifying as the World No. 54. Now he is No. 13 in the ATP Rankings and in contention for a spot in the Nitto ATP Finals. If the Italian beats the Austrian and Zverev loses to Federer, Berrettini will climb into seventh spot in the Race.

Did You Know?
In the doubles draw, defending champions Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo can qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals with a victory against Cincinnati champions Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek.