Top seed Alexander Zverev continues his bid for a first ATP Masters 1000 title of the season Sunday when he meets Frenchman Quentin Halys on Day 5 of main draw play at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Zverev has won just two tournaments this year. But it’s a classic case of quality over quantity, with the German’s twin titles coming at Roland Garros and the US Open, his first two majors.
The 29-year-old has not won three or more titles in a season since a six-bagger in 2021, when he won two ATP Masters 1000s, Olympic gold and the Nitto ATP Finals. He’s hoping to claim a third title this week at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center and also lock up year-end No. 1 honours.
In a strange twist, Zverev cannot immediately rise to World No. 1 for the first time even if he wins the Shanghai title. Current World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has ruled himself out for the remainder of the season, but his late-season 2025 points remain on his ranking for now.
Should Zverev reach the semi-finals, he will clinch year-end No. 1 honours. He would also secure the honour if neither Carlos Alcaraz nor Ben Shelton emerge as the 2026 champion. Zverev claimed his 30th hard-court win of the year Friday when he defeated China’s Wu Yibing 6-4, 7-6(4).
World No. 48 Halys trails Zverev 0-3 in career meetings, all this year, but held a two-sets-to-one lead at the US Open, forcing Zverev to claw out a fourth-set tie-break win just to take it to a fifth set in a match that finished after 2 a.m. Zverev fired 29 aces and created 20 break-point chances, converting five.
“That’s what I go to the track for and train for — to be able to come out on top of these difficult moments when you’re not playing best, when you’re not hitting winners left and right, just getting through these kinds of matches,” Zverev said after the match.
In their earlier meetings this year, Halys pushed Zverev to four sets at Roland Garros and to two tie-breaks at the Miami Open.
Also on Sunday, third seed and recent US Open finalist Ben Shelton faces 21-year-old Frenchman Arthur Gea for the first time. Shelton, who defeated German Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6(6) in the second round, is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.
Chinese 21-year-old Zhou Yi faces an intriguing third-round challenge against 2023 champion Hubert Hurkacz after both players enjoyed upset wins on Friday. World No. 277 Zhou defeated former World No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti in a third-set tie-break right after Hurkacz scored his first win in nine meetings against Novak Djokovic, who showed signs of fatigue after his Beijing title run.
Ninth seed Alex de Minaur is set to play his first match of the tournament against Japan’s Rei Sakamoto, who upset 23rd seed Andrey Rublev in the second round. De Minaur withdrew from his semi-final against Djokovic in Beijing with a groin injury, but lucked out with an extra two days of rest here in Shanghai after receiving a walkover from Alex Molcan.
Two other matches stand out on Day 5, with Jakub Mensik and Francisco Cerundolo clashing and Alexander Bublik squaring off against Brandon Nakashima.
