Arthur Gea retires in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Thursday 15 October, trailing Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (No. 25) 4-1 in the first set. Two days earlier, he beats Jakub Mensik (No. 13) 7-6(4), 6-4 in the last 16 and secures his place in the top 50.
What came next: Davidovich Fokina knocks out Zverev, Jodar beats Medvedev, an all-Spanish final.
Why did Arthur Gea retire?
A hip injury. Davidovich Fokina breaks his serve twice in the first set; at 4-1, Gea calls for the physio, receives several minutes of treatment, then gives up, in tears.
It ends the run of the last Frenchman in the draw, who had knocked out Ugo Humbert in the second round and Ben Shelton (No. 3) in the third.
How did he beat Jakub Mensik?
On serve: 11 aces to 6, and 80% of points won behind his first serve. Trailing 0-3 in the first-set tie-break, Gea takes seven of the next eight points. In the second set, he serves for the match at 5-4 and saves a break point to close it out, in 1 hour 37 minutes.
The Czech is world No. 15: Gea is now 4-1 against top-20 players. The 21-year-old Frenchman is playing the first Masters 1000 of his career in Shanghai.
Where does Arthur Gea stand in the ATP rankings?
Ranked 56th at the start of the tournament, he sits 44th in the live rankings on the evening of his win over Mensik: he breaks into the top 50 for the first time in the rankings of Monday 19 October. A first-time champion in Los Cabos in August, then a last-16 finisher at the US Open as a lucky loser from qualifying, he had won thirteen of his fifteen matches since July before this quarter-final.
Who plays in the semi-finals?
- Alexander Zverev (No. 1) v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (No. 25)
- Rafael Jodar (No. 12) v Daniil Medvedev (No. 5)
Both matches are on Saturday 17 October. Zverev beats Alex de Minaur (No. 9) 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals; Medvedev knocks out Tommy Paul (No. 15) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, and Jodar comes from a set down to beat Casper Ruud (No. 20) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Davidovich Fokina, who won the Chengdu title two weeks earlier against Hubert Hurkacz, reaches the semi-finals after two final-set tie-break wins: against Frances Tiafoe, saving a match point, then against Hurkacz again, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(6).