Shanghai Masters 2023: Jannik Sinner loses to Ben Shelton who makes it to quarterfinal

The 19th-seeded Shelton defeats fourth ranked sinner and will next play Sebastian Korda, who advanced to his second Masters quarterfinal.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner loses against Ben Shelton of the U.S in the Round of 16 of Shanghai Masters | Photo Credit: ALY SONG

Ben Shelton advanced to his first Masters quarterfinal by beating fourth-ranked Jannik Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old American, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open, had 15 aces as his serve improved throughout the match.

“I had a lot of belief in my ability to serve and hang tough and to make it deep in sets,” Shelton said. “My serve wasn’t working that well in the first set, I felt that he was really on top of me. I really started to find my groove and had one of my best serving days in the second and third sets.”

The 19th-seeded Shelton will next play Sebastian Korda, who advanced to his second Masters quarterfinal with a 7-5, 7-6 (6) victory over Francisco Cerundolo.

Fresh from his upset over third-ranked Daniil Medvedev in the previous round, Korda held off a late rally by Cerundolo and saved a set point in the second-set tiebreaker.

“I’m just super happy with the way I played in the tiebreak. I stayed calm when he was a couple of mini-breaks up and I’m just happy with how I played overall,” Korda said.

Eighth-seeded Casper Ruud lost to Fabian Marozsan 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4. The 82nd-ranked Marozsan will next play either 16th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz or Zhang Zhizhen in his maiden Masters quarterfinal.