In a dramatic showdown at the Shanghai Masters, wildcard entry Diego Schwartzman pulled off a stunning upset by defeating world number eight Taylor Fritz in a nail-biting third-set tiebreaker on Monday.
Despite a significant disparity in rankings and age, Schwartzman displayed his best tennis to secure a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Fritz.
The Argentine, whose ranking had fallen from eighth to 130, engaged the crowd throughout the intense three-hour match, rallying them to support him vociferously. In contrast, Fritz appeared increasingly frustrated and error-prone, even slamming his racket in irritation at one point.
Fritz struggled from the start, falling behind by four games in the opening set. Schwartzman's joy was palpable when Fritz's final shot hit the net, prompting him to throw both arms in the air and scream in celebration.
"I think it was a great match," Schwartzman commented after the hard-fought battle. "At some point, he started to serve much better, so it was very difficult for me." He expressed gratitude to the tournament organisers for granting him the wildcard, acknowledging that this year had not been his best.
Grigor Dimitrov, another fan favourite, advanced to the round of 16 after enduring a rain delay and a closely contested match against Russian Karen Khachanov. Dimitrov managed to secure a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory after the match was briefly suspended at 6-6 in the first set due to heavy rain. The Bulgarian world number 19 narrowly clinched the tiebreaker and followed it up with a win in the second set.
French 19-year-old Arthur Fils showcased his potential by coming from a setdown against world number 12 Tommy Paul. Although he won a tiebreaker in the second set, Fils eventually fell to Paul in a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4 battle.
Meanwhile, world number seven Andrey Rublev swiftly dispatched Adrian Mannarino, winning 6-3, 6-0 in just one hour.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz is set to vie for a place in the fourth round against Britain's Daniel Evans, ranked 33rd in the world. Jannik Sinner, who defeated Alcaraz in the China Open semi-finals in Beijing last week, has already secured his spot.
In a surprising turn of events, defending champion Daniil Medvedev suffered a setback.
