Jannik Sinner's win streak in China now stands at seven matches, with the Italian notching a come-from-behind win over Sebastian Baez to reach the final 16 of the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
The Italian completed a 3-6 6-3 6-2 win over the sturdy Argentine to add to his five match wins as the Beijing champion. He defeated Marcos Giron in his opening Shanghai match.
"I was expecting a tough match, he was playing really, really well the first set," said the 22-year-old, who gradually increased his aggression against Baez, with a service break for a 4-2 second-set lead providing the critical shift in momentum.
Sinner finished with 29 winners as he completed victory in just over two hours. "When you start with a break up in the second, it's a little bit easier. You get into the rhythm. I'm very proud of how I handled the situation. It was very, very tough," he said.
It doesn't get any easier for Sinner, who next faces fast-rising American Ben Shelton for the first time. The 20-year-old American added to his breakthrough season with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over Roman Safiullin in the third round.
With Shelton recently peaking inside the world's top 20 after a semifinal run at the US Open, Sinner is excited to face an opponent in similarly red-hot form. "It's going to be completely new. I'm very much looking forward to it. He is a very, very good player. Serving very, very big. I'm excited for the challenge," he said.
Momentum is firmly on his side. After lifting the ATP Masters 1000 Toronto and Beijing trophies in recent months, Sinner now sits at a career-high world No.4 ranking. It sees him tied with Adriano Panatta as the highest ranked Italian man since the inception of ATP rankings in 1973.
He's not the only player making history this week. China's Zhang Zhizhen continued his milestone run at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament as he defeated Brandon Nakashima 7-6(2) 6-2. With earlier wins this wee over Richard Gasquet and No.28 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Zhang was already the first Chinese player to progress so far in Rolex Shanghai Masters history.
Thrilling an appreciative local audience, Zhang persisted through a tight first set before taking control over Nakashima in the tiebreak, winning seven straight points to claim it. With a break of serve for a 4-2 lead in the second set, Zhang claimed the final four games to complete his memorable win.
Taking it "point by point", said Zhang, was key to another breakthrough victory. "(I had to be) patient," said the 26-year-old, who faces Hubert Hurkacz, the No.16seed, next.
Earlier at Qi Zhong Stadium, Sebastian Korda completed a stunning upset over defending champion and No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev. The big-serving American saved three set points in the opening set, before seizing control for a 7-6(8) 6-2 win.
It followed Korda's upset victory over Medvedev at the Australian Open and marked the first top-five win of his career.
"It's been a really long year for me," said Korda, who was subsequently sidelined for several months with injury. "A lot of injuries, a lot of time off.
"To finally get a really good win like this against a top-five player is great for me. I had a lot of fun today, and now I got to get ready for my next match."
