Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters on Friday following a 6-3, 6-4 defeat in the quarterfinals against France’s Arthur Rinderknech. Despite firing eight aces, the 12th-seeded Auger-Aliassime struggled with three double faults, all occurring in the opening set. Rinderknech, currently ranked 54th globally, showcased an impressive performance by winning 83% of points on his first serve, outperforming Auger-Aliassime’s 64%. The French player managed to break Auger-Aliassime’s serve once in each set and successfully defended all three break points against him. This victory marked Rinderknech’s third consecutive win against a top-20 opponent at the Shanghai tournament. The match concluded after one hour and 28 minutes.
Meanwhile, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario, partnered with Yue Yuan from China, faced elimination in the women’s doubles quarterfinals at the Wuhan Open in China. They were defeated 6-4, 7-6 (1) by Aleksandra Krunic and Anna Danilina. In another match, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is set to compete against Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals.
In a separate event at the Wuhan tournament, Aryna Sabalenka continued her impressive winning streak by securing a 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina, extending her unbeaten run to 20 matches in Wuhan. Sabalenka, the reigning U.S. Open champion, has previously clinched the Wuhan Open title in 2018, 2019, and last year. She broke Rybakina’s serve thrice during the match, lasting 1 hour and 25 minutes, advancing to the semifinals for the 11th time this season. Sabalenka expressed her respect for Rybakina’s competitive spirit, highlighting their intense matchups in the past. Next, Sabalenka is scheduled to face sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula, who secured a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory against Katerina Siniakova. Pegula’s recent wins include triumphs over No. 9 Ekaterina Alexandrova and Hailey Baptiste. In the upcoming quarterfinal matches, No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek competes against Jasmine Paolini, while No. 3 Coco Gauff is set to face Laura Siegemund.
