Zverev survives ankle scare to beat Wu Yibing and reach Shanghai Masters third round

Alexander Zverev survived a late ankle scare to beat Chinese wild card Wu Yibing 6-4, 7-6(4) at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Friday and move into the third round. The Zverev Shanghai Masters campaign nearly unravelled in the second set before the top seed steadied himself to close out the match in one hour and 36 minutes.

The German was leading 6-4, 5-5 and held a break point on Wu’s serve when he stumbled out wide chasing a backhand and grabbed his left ankle. After a brief pause he rose to his feet, declined a medical timeout and moved with relative freedom through the rest of the set. He held serve to force a tiebreak and sealed victory on his second match point when Wu fired long.

“He hits every ball as hard as he can,” Zverev said of the world No. 113 afterwards, crediting his serve for carrying him through. “I am pleased to have got through in straight sets.” It was his 30th hard-court win of the season and took his head-to-head record against Wu to 2-0.

Zverev Shanghai Masters run keeps the year-end No. 1 race alive

The win keeps Zverev on course for the biggest prize in the rankings race. The 29-year-old can clinch the ATP year-end No. 1 honours in Shanghai: a semi-final berth seals it, and he would also clinch it if Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton both lose at any point in the tournament.

Zverev, the world No. 2, has been the form player of the hard-court swing. He has won two majors in a standout 2026 season and is chasing his first ATP Masters 1000 title since his Paris triumph in 2024. Whatever happens in Shanghai, he cannot rise above Jannik Sinner when the rankings re-run on the Monday after the event, with Sinner having ended his 2026 season because of a knee injury.

Zverev next faces France’s Quentin Halys, who beat Belgium’s Alexander Blockx in three sets to set up the third-round meeting.

Shelton, Mannarino advance on busy Friday

Earlier on Friday, third seed Ben Shelton celebrated his 24th birthday by beating Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6(6) in just under two hours. The American, who double-faulted five times in a gritty performance, will play France’s Arthur Gea in the third round.

There was also a shock as Frenchman Adrian Mannarino upset sixth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Cobolli, the French Open finalist, committed 42 unforced errors and twice fell to the ground chasing break points in the final game. Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto beat Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4, while ninth seed Alex de Minaur advanced on a walkover after Alex Molcan retired with an undisclosed ailment.

What happened to Zverev’s ankle in Shanghai?

Zverev stumbled chasing a backhand at 5-5 in the second set against Wu Yibing and grabbed his left ankle. He took a brief pause but needed no medical timeout and finished the match without visible trouble.

Who does Zverev play next at the Shanghai Masters?

Zverev faces France’s Quentin Halys in the third round. Halys beat Belgium’s Alexander Blockx in three sets on Friday.

How can Zverev clinch the year-end world No. 1?

A semi-final berth in Shanghai seals the year-end No. 1 for Zverev. He would also clinch it if Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton both lose at any point during the tournament.

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