3 minute read
Alexander Zverev looked in ominous touch as he comfortably accounted for Alex de Minaur at the Shanghai Masters while Matthew Ebden also enjoyed a win.
There was no Shanghai surprise for rising Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur but compatriot Matthew Ebden continued his excellent run at the masters series tournament on Thursday.
De Minaur was swiftly dispatched from the third round by Alexander Zverev, 6-1 6-4 while Ebden won through to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-3 win over Peter Gojowczyk.
After a slow start De Minaur began to find his feet a little more in the second set and had two break points to level the match with the German at 4-4 but couldn't get the job done.
Still, it was another step forward for the 19 year-old in Shanghai, his last 16 appearance expected to propel him to a career high No.31 next week.
It also keeps him well-positioned for a seeding at January's Australian Open.
Zverev will face Britain's Kyle Edmund after the 11th seed conquered Chile's Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to advance.
For Ebden it was another good result after his upset win over Dominic Thiem.
He'll now take on the winner of the late match between Juan Martin del Potro and Borna Coric for a spot in the last four.
Regardless of his quarter-final result Ebden looks set for a career-high ranking of around 40 in the world. Another upset win would surprisingly take him to the No.1 Australian ranking.
Meanwhile Roger Federer had a tough three-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut - 6-3 2-6 6-4.
Novak Djokovic also earned a revenge 6-4 6-0 win over Italy's Marco Cecchinato to enter the quarter-finals.
The 14-time grand slam champion, who won the Wimbledon and US Open titles this year, had his run at the French Open stopped by Cecchinato in a shock quarter-final defeat in June.
Kei Nishikori and Kevin Anderson also won through to the last eight.
