Francisco Cerúndolo secured a straight-sets victory over Russia’s Roman Safiullin at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, winning 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes during the second round of the Shanghai Masters. The win lifts the Argentine to provisional world number 18 in live rankings, which marks a return to his career-high position first attained in May 2025.
Breaking through a humid Shanghai opener
Cerúndolo took the early initiative by building a 4-1 lead in the opening set on court number 4. Safiullin responded by breaking back in the seventh game to force a tie-break, where the 21st-seeded Argentine regained control to take the frame.
Match statistics showed Cerúndolo hitting eight aces without committing a double fault. He landed 61 percent of his first serves, winning 80 percent of those points (28 of 35) and converting 73 percent behind his second delivery (16 of 22). During the first set, a brief stoppage occurred when Cerúndolo asked chair umpire Louis Boucharinc to remove a noisy spectator from the stands before play resumed without further incident.
Rematch awaiting against Jakub Mensik
Cerúndolo advances to face Czech 13th seed Jakub Mensik in the third round on Sunday, with match time scheduled not before 1:00 a.m. Argentina time. The pair met just one week prior at the Beijing tournament, where Cerúndolo won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 16. That victory forms part of a 3-0 head-to-head record for the Argentine against Mensik, which includes prior wins in Madrid 2025 and Beijing 2024.
Last year’s run to the round of 16 remains Cerúndolo’s best result at the Shanghai tournament, where he fell to Sebastian Korda in his tournament debut. With the win over Safiullin, Cerúndolo continues a strong swing in Asia following his quarterfinal finish at the ATP 500 event in Beijing.
Alexander Zverev overcomes an ankle scare
Alexander Zverev survived a second-round encounter against Wu Yibing, winning 6-4, 7-6 to reach the third round. Leading 6-4, 5-5 with a break point on Wu’s serve, Zverev tripped and twisted his left ankle. Following a brief pause, the German player returned to the court and completed the victory in one hour and 36 minutes. Zverev requires a run to the semifinals in Shanghai to claim the world number one ranking.
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