Alex de Minaur made a winning return to competition at the Shanghai Masters, beating Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto 7-6(6) 6-4 to reach the last 16. The victory came just five days after he was forced to retire in the middle of the China Open final while facing Novak Djokovic.
The Australian lost a close first set in a tiebreak and then received treatment from the physio before the second set began. He played just one more game, holding serve but shaking his head and explaining that he couldn't continue. It meant that Djokovic lifted his 102nd career title and his seventh in Beijing, where he has still never lost a match.
Extra rest after walkover
After retiring in Tuesday's final, the world No. 9 explained that he would still travel to Shanghai, where he would undergo scans and decide what to do next. De Minaur remained in the Shanghai Masters draw despite some fears that he might withdraw, and received something of a lifeline.
As the ninth seed, he got a bye directly into the second round, avoiding having to play his first match as early as Wednesday or Thursday. De Minaur was then set to face Alex Molcan on Friday, but the Slovakian star pulled out hours before their match, giving the 27-year-old a walkover into round three.
Recovery paying off
The extra days of rest seemed to do the trick for De Minaur, who looked more like his usual self compared to the China Open final just five days earlier. The world No. 9 has now admitted that the walkover helped him.
“Definitely came in really handy. I definitely needed those extra days of recovery, and yeah, I’m just building every day,” De Minaur said. “Obviously, I had no idea what it was until I kind of got here, and then yeah, tried to do everything I could to come out and compete, and I’m glad I was able to do that today.”
“It was great to get those extra two days. I ultimately ended up having five days in between matches. I put a lot of recovery in, a lot of hours to get myself ready. Every day I felt a little bit better, and today I was able to go out there and compete in a very high standard. I'm sure in a couple days’ time it will feel even better, so I'm very excited about that.”
ATP Finals race
The Australian is one of several players hunting a spot at this year's ATP Finals in Turin, and his retirement in Beijing left him 10th in the race. The top eight players qualify for the season-ending championships, but as Jannik Sinner has already shut down his season, the player who is ninth in the race at the end of the year will get a place. Right now, that's Djokovic, who lost his opening match in Shanghai.
But De Minaur is trying his best to focus on the task at hand, though a qualification in Turin is also on his mind. “I mean, I’m trying to just do my thing. I mean, obviously it’s in the back of my mind, because it’s in the back of the mind of everyone out here,” he laughed.
“Yeah, I’m just trying to do my thing competing. I was really happy with my week in Beijing. I thought I really played some great tennis and was feeling really good on the court, so now come here, Shanghai, try to do my best and see what I can do.”
