Stefanos Tsitsipas beat 11th seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the Shanghai Masters on Monday, surviving a bizarre third set in which balls fell from Fritz’s pocket on consecutive points. He reaches the last 16, where Daniil Medvedev awaits.
Shanghai, China: With Taylor Fritz serving at 2-5 down in the deciding set, a ball dropped out of his pocket mid-rally, then another did on the very next point, and a match that Stefanos Tsitsipas was winning became a tangle of replays, video reviews and umpire explanations before it was done.
A slow-burning comeback
Fritz won the first set 6-3, and Tsitsipas struggled to break Fritz’s serve early. The Greek hung on, took the second set 7-5, and carried that momentum into the decider. The match lasted two hours and 13 minutes, and the victory moved him to 5-2 against the American in their head-to-head.
Two balls, two lets, one confusing game
The confusion began with Fritz serving at 2-5, 30-all. A ball fell from his pocket during a rally, and chair umpire Adel Nour called a let only after Fritz had hit an errant forehand. A video review showed the shot was struck before the call, so the point stood and Tsitsipas had a match point.
On the next point another ball fell from Fritz’s pocket as he returned a forehand, and Tsitsipas hit his next shot out. After he protested, the 30-40 point was replayed, and Fritz won it. Tsitsipas needed five match points in all, converting the fifth to close the match out 6-3.
Medvedev next
Tsitsipas moves into the fourth round against fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6-2, 6-3 earlier on Monday. Medvedev leads their overall head-to-head 10-5, but Tsitsipas won their only meeting of 2026, in Doha. Medvedev arrives in Shanghai after being defaulted from the China Open earlier this month for hitting a spectator with a ball.
An early exit for Fritz
For Fritz, who won the Washington DC Open in August, it was a frustrating exit in a tournament that has already claimed several big names, among them Novak Djokovic. Tsitsipas, a Shanghai semi-finalist in 2019, had reached 400 career tour-level wins in the previous round, and finished by describing this match as a test that he had answered well.
Result: Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) bt Taylor Fritz (USA, 11) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in 2h 13m. Rolex Shanghai Masters (ATP Masters 1000), third round, Monday 12 October 2026.
Next: Tsitsipas v Daniil Medvedev (5) in the fourth round.
