Sixth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) in the Shanghai Masters second round on Wednesday for the Greek's first win in six attempts over his Canadian opponent.
The pair have met three times this season, with the other three games on the ITF Junior Circuit.
"Great. Very nice," said Tsitsipas, when asked how it felt to finally beat the 19th-ranked Auger-Aliassime. "I did things differently this time, but I prefer not to say what I did differently," he added with a smile.
Alexander Zverev of Germany gestures to spectators after defeating Jeremy Chardy of France in the men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (AP PhotoAndy Wong)
Fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev also advanced to the Round of 16 with a 7-6 (13), 7-6 (3) win over French qualifier Jeremy Chardy.
Zverev, who served 21 aces, saved three set points in the first-set tiebreaker. He won that tiebreaker on his sixth set point.
"It was a great tiebreaker obviously," Zverev said. "We both served incredibly well and didn't hit a lot of second serves ... Against Jeremy I always knew it was going to be tough especially on a surface like that, which is lightning fast. I think it's the fastest surface on tour."
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece shouts after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (AP PhotoAndy Wong)
Chardy has now lost 11 consecutive matches against top 10 opponents dating back to when he defeated then fourth-ranked Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the 2018 Miami Masters.
The 16th-seeded John Isner was the only one of three Americans, beating Lucas Pouille of France 7-5, 6-3.
Taylor Fritz fell to seventh-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-2, 6-4, and Reilly Opelka lost to eighth-seeded Robert Bautista Agut of Spain 6-4, 7-5.
Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada reacts as he plays against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (AP PhotoAndy Wong)
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Dominic Thiem were in action later Wednesday.
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Jeremy Chardy of France hits a return shot against Alexander Zverev of Germany during the men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (AP PhotoAndy Wong)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Blowing late leads has become a hallmark of Manchester United's season.
Erik ten Hag hopes that changes when Liverpool comes to Old Trafford on Sunday. United is still clinging to hopes of a Champions League spot, despite a stunning 4-3 loss to Chelsea on Thursday night.
United first gave away the lead in the 10th minute of stoppage time at Stamford Bridge and then the game a minute later — both goals coming from Cole Palmer.
That followed a blown lead in a 1-1 draw at Brentford last Saturday. United had just recovered from celebrating Mason Mount's goal in the 96th when Kristoffer Ajer tied it three minutes later.
“We can beat the best teams in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said. “When you beat them in the Premier League, you can do it across Europe, but we need to learn how you win games ... how you bring games over the line and get the three points. We have to step up."
Dropping five points in the past two games is “very expensive,” he added.
“Games are running out. We know that and we have to catch up and we are now many points behind,” Ten Hag said. “It will be difficult. We will keep fighting.”
With eight games remaining, United is nine points behind fifth-place Tottenham and 11 points back of fourth-place Aston Villa. Because of a format change to the Champions League next season, the Premier League might get a fifth spot in Europe's elite club competition.
Blowing leads is not a new problem.
United exited the Champions League at the group stage — in last place. They gave away second-half leads in three of those games: a 3-2 home loss to Galatasaray; a 4-3 defeat at Copenhagen; and a 3-3 draw at Galatasaray.
The good news? United has actually closed out a big win recently — over Liverpool 4-3 after extra time in a thrilling FA Cup quarterfinal match. Marcus Rashford tied it at 3-3 before Amad Diallo's winner at Old Trafford.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pointed to uncharacteristic errors that they'll need to avoid this time.
“We were really good that day but didn’t finish the situations off in extra time,” Klopp said. “We made mistakes we didn’t make before at all. We better play a really good football game to be honest, if we want something there.”
First-place Liverpool holds a two-point lead over Arsenal heading into the weekend.
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Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag gives instructions from the side line during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Manchester United players react after referee award a penalty to Chelsea during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
