Shanghai, Oct 12 (IANS) Stefanos Tsitsipas rallied from a set down to defeat 11th seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the Shanghai Masters on Monday, reaching the fourth round and continuing his return to form after an injury-disrupted 2025 season.

The Greek, who has struggled with consistency and a persistent back problem over the past year, said he had to raise his standard against Fritz to turn the contest around. The victory was his 34th tour-level win of the season and his seventh against a Top-20 opponent in 2026, having failed to register such a win last year.

“I was manifesting today’s match and trying to put myself in a victorious situation,” Tsitsipas said. “I’ve always had big fights against him. Some of my biggest matches were played facing him on the other side of the court. I had to up my level… Once I started doing that, a lot of doors were open and I was really able to unleash my biggest potential out there.”

Tsitsipas struggled to make an impression on the American’s serve in the opening set but gradually found his rhythm, using his attacking game to shift the momentum. He took the second set 7-5 before maintaining the pressure in the decider to complete the comeback in two hours and 13 minutes.

The finish was not without drama. While serving at 2-5, Fritz had the ball fall out of his pocket on consecutive points, resulting in both points being replayed. During the second incident, Tsitsipas missed a match point with a forehand that sailed wide, before Fritz called a let on himself to acknowledge that the ball had fallen from his pocket.

Although Tsitsipas missed three match points in that game, he recovered in the next to close out the match, improving his head-to-head record against Fritz to 5-2.

The result marks another encouraging step in the former World No. 3’s efforts to regain his place among the leading players on tour. Tsitsipas ended a 16-month title drought by winning in Gstaad in July and has now reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000 tournament for the second time this season, following his run in Madrid.

A semi-finalist in Shanghai in 2019, Tsitsipas will next face either fifth seed Daniil Medvedev or qualifier Dalibor Svrcina as he looks to extend his campaign in China.

--IANS

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