Davidovich gets ahead of Alcaraz and Jódar in Shanghai by saving a match ball
A couple of points unbalanced a battle of 2h.47′ which ended just shy of midnight in the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000. The winner scored 114 and the loser 112. The winner captured the match point, after previously saving one against a rival who slipped at the worst moment. Passed Alexander Davidovichsmashed the racket Frances Tiafoe.
Davidovich, 27 years old and world number 26, maintains his romance with China. Recent champion of the ATP 250 in Chengdu, he enters the round of 16 in Shanghai after eliminating the American Tiafoe, 28 years old and number 10, by 6-7 (4), 4-6 and 7-6 (6).
He shouted looking at his team, with the coach Pepo Clavet in front, like a possessed Davidovich, who was continually on the edge against a Tiafoe with whom he had lost in three of four previous duels. He had to come back from 0-40 in the seventh game of the third set, he lost the match point at 5-6 in the tiebreak, in the rest he suffered, he only had one break point in his favor, which he did not touch.
But Davidovich held on against a rival with extra pressure since he is in the fight to get into the ATP Finals in Turin, he is sixth in the ‘Race’. With his elimination the Andalusian did a favor to Rafa Jodar, eleventh in that classification.
In Shanghai Davidovich overtook Pablo Carreño, Rafa Jódar and Carlos Alcarazwho are on the other side of the table and will compete this Monday to follow in their footsteps, accessing the round of 16. Their respective rivals are the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassimethe Czech Jiri Lehecka and the belgian Zizou Bergs.
Davidovich will have a rest to regain strength, a tournament champion awaits him on Tuesday, the Pole Hubert Hurkacz, the best of 2023, who has won his last nine games in the competition, which he could not attend in 2024 and 2025. He beat the Chinese in the third round Yizhou by 6-2, 3-6 and 6-3.
The game started with a scare for Davidovich, who after the fifth game asked to be seen by the physiotherapist. He lifted his shirt, his lower back was red, as if it were an allergic reaction, a burning sensation. They applied wet towels to alleviate the pain he felt. It didn’t go any further.
He got rid of a fierce opponent, who had dominated 12 of their 15 matches, although he is not maintaining the positive dynamic in his country, where he was a finalist in Cincinnati and a semifinalist in the US Open.
