Novak Djokovic Slays Flavio Cobolli: In less than one hour, Novak Djokovic easily defeated Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 6-2 to go to the Shanghai Masters final 16.
The 30-year-old Cobolli was soundly defeated by the four-time Shanghai champion, who also broke him in the opening set’s second and sixth games.
Djokovic remarked, “I can’t complain about anything in the game; I was able to play aggressively.”
I’m happy to be moving forward in a competition that has had a significant impact on my professional life.
When the former world number one scrawled a portion of his name in Chinese characters on a camera lens at the conclusion of the match, fans rejoiced and waved Serbian flags.
The Russian Roman Safiullin, who defeated American Frances Tiafoe in three close sets, will face Djokovic next.
“After three days of rain, I’m happy to play a match at last, as it’s been a hassle for many players,” Djokovic remarked.
The last sixteen have nearly come together following days of rain-related schedule disruption.
Ben Shelton overcame Roberto Carballes the author Baena of Spain 6-3, 6-4 to force another match in Shanghai versus Italy’s top participant, Jannik Sinner.
Novak Djokovic Slays Flavio Cobolli to Advance to the Round of 16:
The American knocked Sinner out of the tournament at the same stage last year.
Shelton remarked, “Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it, that will be fun. I probably watched the tape of that a couple times so far this year, but I have) great memories from that match last year.”
Gael Monfils, an experienced player, will take on Sinner’s main opponent Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated him in last week’s China Open final.
The 38-year-old Frenchman prevailed 7-6 (9/7), 2-6, 6-1 over his younger and more highly ranked countryman Ugo Humbert.
After losing focus in the second set, Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame Alexandre Muller of France 6-3, 7-5.
In the following round, the 26-year-old will take on Daniil Medvedev, ranked fifth in the world.
Medvedev enjoys courts such as these. With time, I think I’m improving. The Greek acknowledged his patchy previous performance and stated, “What is missing is attempting to get a nice win under my belt.
“I may have made some hurtful remarks regarding (Medvedev’s) game in the past, but… I believe that was a huge mistake on my part. There’s a lot of interesting things in his game that he brings that are very different from other players.”
The world no. 10 Grigor Dimitrov defeated Alexei Popyrin of Australia 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, to advance.
The Bulgarian will take on Jakub Mensik, a youthful Czech player who last week sent Russia’s Andrey Rublev home, dash[ing] the hopes of one player ranked in the top ten.