Félix Auger-Aliassime was given an early exit at the Shanghai Masters on Friday, falling to unseeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3.PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images
Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime did not last long at the Shanghai Masters.
Auger-Aliassime, the 14th seed in the tournament, was bounced from the second round by unseeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 on Friday.
The Montreal native, who won four ATP titles in 2022 along with shared victories at the Davis Cup and Laver Cup championships, sports a losing record this season with 16 losses in 31 matches.
Auger-Aliassime wasn’t the only seeded player to be given an early exit in Shanghai.
Third-seeded Holger Rune was humbled by 122nd-ranked Brendon Nakashima 6-0, 6-2 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters.
The 22-year-old American converted five of his 14 break points to claim a maiden victory over a top-10 player.
Nakashima will next play Zhang Zhizhen, who knocked out 28th-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Also, Roman Safiullin defeated ninth-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in a rematch of last week’s Chengdu Open final, which Zverev won.
Other players losing Friday included 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur and 17th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti.
Casper Ruud was one of the few seeded players to advance. He beat Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5, 6-0 and will next face 29th-seeded Christopher Eubanks, who rallied to beat Yannick Hanfmann 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz and second-seeded Daniil Medvedev play their second-round matches on Saturday.
China Open
Elena Rybakina advanced to her eighth semi-final of the year by beating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 6-2 Friday at the China Open.
In their third meeting of the year, after splitting the two finals they have contested this season, the fifth-seeded Rybakina was dominant on serve, hitting 12 aces and never faced a break point.
“I played really well today,” Rybakina said. “I served really well, so I’m really happy with my performance today. It’s always tough battles against Aryna and I really enjoy playing against her.”
In the semi-finals, Rybakina will face unseeded Liudmila Samsonova, who earlier defeated 13th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2.
Sabalenka had only four aces and eight double-faults, including two in the 11th game of the first set, and was broken another three times in the second.
Second-seeded Iga Swiatek also advanced by defeating Caroline Garcia 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 6-1.
With Swiatek serving to stay in the match in the second set, Garcia came within two points of closing out a straight-set win. However, Swiatek delivered two big points, pushing the match into a second tiebreaker.
Swiatek then powered through the decider to advance to her 11th semi-final of the season.
Third-seeded Coco Gauff extended her winning streak to 16 matches, beating No. 6 Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-4 and setting up a blockbuster semi-final with Swiatek. It’s the seventh semi-final of the year for the 19-year-old American, who hasn’t been beaten since a quarter-final loss to Jessica Pegula in Montreal at the start of August.