Tsitsipas Stages Comeback to Beat Fritz

Shanghai 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, securing a place in the fourth round and continuing his return to form after an injury-disrupted 2025 season. The Greek struggled to make an impression on Fritz’s serve in the opening set, allowing the American to take an early advantage. However, Tsitsipas gradually found his rhythm and improved his attacking game to shift the momentum. He claimed the second set 7-5 before maintaining the pressure in the decider to complete the comeback in two hours and 13 minutes. The match featured a dramatic moment when Fritz, serving at 2-5, had a ball fall out of his pocket on consecutive points. Both points were replayed. During the second incident, Tsitsipas missed a match point with a forehand that sailed wide, before Fritz called a let on himself after acknowledging 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 contest. The victory improved his head-to-head record against Fritz to 5-2. The win was Tsitsipas’ 34th tour-level victory of the season and his seventh against a Top-20 opponent in 2026. He failed to register a victory against a Top-20 player last year, making the result another encouraging sign of his progress. The former World No. 3 ended a 16-month title drought by winning in Gstaad in July. He has now reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000 tournament for the second time this season, following his run in Madrid. A Shanghai semi-finalist in 2019, Tsitsipas will next face either fifth seed Daniil Medvedev or qualifier Dalibor Svrcina.