SHANGHAI — Rafael Jodar became the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai Masters history on Friday and will next meet Daniil Medvedev.
The 20-year-old Spaniard rallied to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win against Casper Ruud, while Medvedev overcame American Tommy Paul 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
It was the fourth straight match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in which Jodar had mounted a comeback from losing the first set.
“Casper, I think, played the important points in the first set better than me," Jodar said. "I couldn’t win the break points because of his serve, so I knew I wanted to come back again. It was very tough, so I had to give my best level today to win this match.”
Jodar powered to victory in 2 hours 20 minutes by breaking Ruud's serve five times in the second and third sets.
Medvedev, a former Shanghai Masters champion, looked in trouble when losing the second set but recovered to claim victory in 2 hours 9 minutes.
"I think today I was a tiny bit off from time to time but the third set was great,” Medvedev said. “I managed to regroup myself and serve better in the third and get the win, which is a great feeling.”
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