| October 9, 2024 | by Vivienne Christie |
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Just a few short months ago, David Goffin was questioning the efforts required to persist at the sport's highest level. Now the Belgian is returned to an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal and making significant waves on the game's biggest stages. With bold attacking tennis, the world No.66 delivered the shock of the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters as he claimed a straight-sets win over world No.3 Alexander Zverev on Qi Zhong's Stadium Court in the fourth round. "This win means a lot. With such a great level, great match, happy with the way I played," said an emotional Goffin, who became a father to a baby daughter, Emma, in the weeks before his Rolex Shanghai Masters campaign. "Of course, it was a great feeling, I was just playing better and better in the tournament, but I didn't expect to be that offensive, that relaxed on that court." The 6-4 7-5 victory, achieved in just under two hours, was Goffin's 10th career win over a top-10 opponent and his first since 2022, when he defeated then-No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the 2022 Astana first round. And while the 33-year-old displayed some breathtaking court-craft as he dismantled the second-seeded Zverev, the resilience required to claw his way back from outside the world's top 100 ess than six months ago is more notable still. "It's really special because, of course, few months ago I was like, ‘Okay, do I just continue like that? Or just do I make big effort, do I go back to work physically, technically, mentally with my team'," said Goffin. "And we just spoke to each other and we said, ‘Okay, let's go'. We just don't want to have regrets, we just go for it, and we see where I can go in a year." While that determination was soon rewarded, so too was commitment to the game plan against Zverev. Goffin struck the first blow as he undermined his higher-ranked opponent with a service break in the third game. And while the German immediately recovered, the unseeded Belgian claimed another in the seventh game and soon secured the set. 
He also dominated in the early stages of the second set and while the experienced Zverev inevitably challenged, it was never quite enough. Converting the fourth of his 11 break points was the ultimate confidence blow, with Goffin securing victory on his first match point. If there were marks issued for 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters progress, meanwhile, you could call Novak Djokovic's 2024 campaign so far at the tournament a perfect 10. With a fourth-round victory over Roman Safiullin at Asia's only ATP Masters 1000 tournament on Wednesday, the 37-year-old maintained his record of reaching quarterfinals in each of his10 appearances at the event. And ominously, the four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion is displaying some vintage form. After a test from newcomer Alex Michelsen in his opening match, the No.4 seed surrendered only three games against No.28 seed Flavio Cobolli. His straight-sets win over Safiullin, a dangerous hard-courter, was similarly strong. The Serbian amassed 17 winners compared to 10 from his 27-year-opponent and saved all three break points he faced. "These are back-to-back best matches that I played since Olympic games, so I'm really glad that I'm playing on this level, it's very enjoyable, of course, to be on court when you're feeling good, playing well. Hopefully, I can keep it going," Djokovic enthused. "It's no secret that I enjoy playing in China, I've said it before, great energy, great atmosphere, lots of support. I think that influences my game, affects the way I feel on court as well." Djokovic's influence at the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters is arguably apparent too in other ways. His next assignment is over 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, who has spent training periods in Belgrade with the prolific champion. "I followed his development, I try to be available to him to help him out with advice and guidance," said Djokovic of the teenager. "I'm very thrilled for him that he's doing so well." The Rolex Shanghai Masters is in fact shaping up as a defining tournament in Mensik's young career. The Czech has claimed four consecutive three-set victories to reach a first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal, with his latest coming over No.9 seed Grigor Dimitrov. Mensik toiled for over two hours to record a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over the 33-year-old Bulgarian, who was a Shanghai semifinalist last year. It was his fourth win over a top-10 opponent, the others coming twice against Andrey Rublev and also over Dimitrov at the Madrid Masters. "It was a very difficult on the mental side, you know, because it was a lot of ups and downs. Grigor plays really well, and it's always, you have to keep fighting for every point," said Mensik, who became the youngest quarterfinalist in Rolex Shanghai Masters history. Taylor Fritz also achieved a new personal milestone in his progress to a first quarterfinal in Shanghai. The seventh-seeded American raced past Holger Rune, securing a 6-2 6-1 victory in just 55 minutes. 
"I played a really good match, served well, moved well, not really anything that I can be hard on myself about in that match," said the 26-year-old, who galloped to a 5-0 lead against the No.12 seed and never faltered. Fritz recorded five aces among 10 winners and saved the lone break point that he faced. Next for the American, a recent US Open finalist, is a quarterfinal meeting with Goffin. "I haven't played Goffin in a very long time," said Fritz. "So that could be interesting."
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