Medvedev through at Shanghai Masters in first match since disqualification

SHANGHAI: Daniil Medvedev fought back to beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, the Russian’s first match since being disqualified from the China Open.

Medvedev was defaulted from his semi-final against Novak Djokovic in Beijing for hitting a spectator with a ball and ended the 500-level event with zero ranking points and no prize money.

The former world number one said it was an accident.

Playing five days later in Shanghai, sixth-ranked Medvedev overcame an early wobble to hold off 59th-ranked Struff.

He sent down 21 aces to advance.

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“When I broke him I felt like I could win it,” the 30-year-old Medvedev said of a dominant third set in which he despatched a masterful backhand volley during the sixth game that helped him go up 4-2.

The court was “different from Beijing”, he told an on-court interviewer, adding “it was a bit tough to get used to”.

He faces either Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina in the next round.

Later on Saturday, second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz was due to start his title bid in Shanghai against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round.