De Minor Into Shanghai Quarterfinals, Djokovic Eyes Paris
The Australian beat Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 and has not dropped a set in Shanghai, while Djokovic has only the Paris Masters left on the road to Turin.
Novak Djokovic plans to play only the Paris Masters for the rest of the season, and Alex de Minor has just made his Turin math harder in Shanghai. The Australian beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 in the last 16 to reach the quarterfinals, without dropping a set at the tournament.
How did De Minor get past Khachanov in Shanghai?
The match lasted 1 hour and 26 minutes. De Minor is ranked ninth in the world and Khachanov 27th on the ATP list, and the gap showed on serve: the Australian hit 22 winners and four aces and won 80 percent of his first-serve points. Khachanov created one break point all match and did not convert it.
According to Novosti, De Minor made the key break in the first set at 5-3, while a single early break at 2-1 was enough in the second. The win levels their head-to-head at 2-2.
The road to the quarterfinals was smooth even before this match. De Minor had a bye in the first round, and in the second Alexei Molcan withdrew before taking the court. RTS points out that the Australian recently pulled out of the Beijing final against Djokovic with an injury, yet shows no sign of trouble in Shanghai. After Monte Carlo, this is only his second masters quarterfinal of the year. Next he plays the winner of Alexander Zverev vs Alexander Bublik.
What does this mean for Djokovic in the Turin race?
The sources disagree on one detail here, so it needs a careful reading. B92, citing Tanjug, reports that De Minor’s win widened his lead over Djokovic in the race for the Finals to 40 points. Novosti writes that the Australian moved ahead of the Serb on the live list. Both say De Minor has improved his position, but neither fully proves the exact order right now. As we reported earlier, Djokovic is ninth in the Turin race and plays only Paris from here.
Djokovic went out in Shanghai at the first hurdle, losing to Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-3, so all that was left for him there was to watch his rivals. According to B92, if De Minor keeps winning the gap will grow, and Djokovic will need the best possible result in Paris and some early exits among his rivals. Those named include:
- Rafael Jodar
- Taylor Fritz
- Jakub Mensik
- Tommy Paul
- Felix Auger-Aliassime
Novosti reports that Djokovic needs a semifinal or final in Paris, played November 2 to 8, to qualify for Turin. He holds the record of seven titles at Bercy. His math is helped by the fact that Jannik Sinner ended his season early with an injury, which opens one extra spot in Turin.
Who else is in the Shanghai quarterfinals?
Frenchman Arthur Gea beat Czech Jakub Mensik 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in the last 16, according to B92. That puts Mensik, one of the Turin rivals B92 mentions, out of Shanghai. Gea plays the winner of the match between Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz and Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarterfinals.
The Shanghai prize fund is $9,415,725.
Djokovic’s next date is November 2 and the start of the Paris Masters. For De Minor it is the Shanghai quarterfinal against the winner of Zverev vs Bublik.
