Resurgent Stefanos Tsitsipas Makes ‘Statement’ Against Taylor Fritz in Shanghai: “A Great Win”

Stefanos Tsitsipas is finally back? It may be too early to say, but if one former top player has struggled this season, it’s Tsitsipas.

The Greek ace is competing at the Shanghai Masters, where he went past Kimmer Coppejans and Luciano Darderi in straight sets before he locked horns with Taylor Fritz in the third round. Against the American, Tsitsipas came from a set down to clinch a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win.

It is a statement. It’s a great win against a player who has earned his stripes on the highest level of the ATP Tour for many years now. He’s been there consistently playing the finals, and playing the biggest, going deep in the Masters 1000s and Grand Slam tournaments. So, for me, it is an important win that I was able to capture that.

Stefanos Tsitsipas said at the press conference (H/T: Tennis365)

Tsitsipas has improved his head-to-head record over Fritz to 5-2. It was also his second consecutive win over the 2024 US Open runner-up, following their clash in this year’s United Cup.

I knew there was a lot of difficulties that were presented to me, especially given the serve. It’s easy to lose your focus for a split second, and suddenly you are not in control of your serve, you are a break down. That was the thing with Taylor. Like, we both had to be careful with our serves. And, you know, there might be a window, one or two points, where you can might be able to do something, and it happened towards the very end.

Stefanos Tsitsipas added

Tsitsipas has already lifted one title this season. The former World No.3 ended his title drought at the Swiss Open by defeating Raphael Collignon in three sets, also winning his first title since the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships.

Prior to the Shanghai Masters, the two-time Grand Slam runner-up competed at the Japan Open, where Valentin Vacherot ended his run in the second round. Because of his ranking, Tsitsipas had to play in the Tokyo qualifiers.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Daniil Medvedev next

In the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas will face a familiar opponent, whom he has already faced 15 times. And it’s none other than Daniil Medvedev.

The 2021 US Open champion overcame Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets before cruising past Dalibor Svrcina in the third round to set up his next match against Tsitsipas. Medvedev holds a 10-5 head-to-head lead over Tsitsipas but lost their previous meeting in the round of 16 of this year’s Qatar Open.

Before arriving in Shanghai, Medvedev competed at the China Open, where his run ended after he was disqualified. Medvedev, when he was on the verge of defeat in the semifinal against eventual champion Novak Djokovic, smashed a ball toward the crowd, and it hit a spectator in the face.

He was immediately defaulted from the match, then apologized to the spectator in person and gifted him a racket with the message, “I’m sorry.”

In Shanghai, the 30-year-old is chasing his fourth title of the season. He won the Brisbane International by beating Brandon Nakashima, then took home the Dubai Tennis Championships after Tallon Griekspoor retired. Following his defeat to Jannik Sinner in the Indian Wells Masters final, Medvedev went past Andrey Rublev at the Hangzhou Open.

Medvedev is a former Shanghai champion and lost in the semifinals last year. He won his second Masters 1000 title here in 2019. Tsitsipas is a one-time semifinalist in the tournament, reaching the stage in 2019. He skipped the event last year.

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