French tennis player Quentin Halys advanced to the round of 32 at the Shanghai Masters on Friday, October 9, 2026, saving two match points to defeat Belgium’s Alexander Blockx 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in a two-hour and nine-minute second-round encounter at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena.
Halys Saves Match Points Against Blockx
The 48th-ranked Frenchman faced an uphill battle against the 28th-ranked Blockx in their first career meeting. After dropping the opening set when he surrendered his serve at 3-3, Halys won a tense second-set tiebreak. Blockx missed a match point at 6-5 and another at 8-7, both on Halys’s serve. Halys capitalized on his own opportunity at 10-9 to claim the tiebreak, shifting the momentum of the match.
Both players relied heavily on their serves throughout the afternoon, combining for 37 aces. Halys delivered 18 aces while dropping his serve only once, and Blockx fired 19 aces with a single break conceded.
Upcoming Match Against Alexander Zverev
With the three-set victory, Halys secured three virtual ranking spots and earned a spot in the round of 32. He will next face incoming world number one Alexander Zverev. Zverev advanced earlier on Friday by defeating China’s Yibing Wu 6-4, 7-6 in one hour and 35 minutes.
The two players met roughly a month prior at the US Open, where Zverev edged out the Frenchman in a five-set second-round battle that finished late into the night at 2:15 AM. Halys has repeatedly pushed top-tier opponents close in recent weeks, recording tight losses against Zverev at Flushing Meadows, Felix Auger-Aliassime in Davis Cup play, and Alex de Minaur in Beijing, though he has yet to secure a victory against that elite tier.
Tiafoe and De Minaur Advance at Shanghai Masters
Elsewhere at the Shanghai Masters on Friday, eighth-ranked Frances Tiafoe defeated Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 16 minutes, ceding his only service game early in the opening set. Ninth-ranked Alex de Minaur advanced without hitting the court after his scheduled opponent, Alex Molcan, withdrew from the tournament. De Minaur will face 137th-ranked Rei Sakamoto in the next round after the Japanese qualifier upset 23rd-ranked Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes, striking eight aces and avoiding any service breaks.
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