Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi

World No 1 Jannik Sinner had a surprisingly straightforward 6-1, 6-4 victory over an injured Daniil Medvedev on Thursday to reach the Shanghai Masters semifinals, where he could face chief rival Carlos Alcaraz.

In the first set, which lasted only 25 minutes, the Italian broke Medvedev in the second and sixth games to murmurs of surprise from the crowd.

A+ performance 👏

The moment @janniksin secured his spot into the last 4!@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/2F8BuJR1Qs

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 10, 2024

The Russian kept holding his shoulder which he sadi had "some niggles" the day before and received medical attention several times during the match.

"I'm obviously very happy, I think we know each other very well... It was a very tactical match," said Sinner.

"It's a great feeling to be in the semis here, it's a very special tournament."

This was the fifth time Medvedev and Sinner have met in the latter stages of tournaments this year.

Into the semi-finals 🔥@janniksin takes out Medvedev 6-1 6-4 to reach his 10th career ATP Masters 1000 SF in Shanghai 💪@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/1oAqBI6TLA

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 10, 2024

Sinner beat Medvedev in the semifinals in Miami, the quarterfinals of the US Open and in the Australian Open final, but the Russian ended the Italian's hopes in the last eight at Wimbledon in an epic five-set battle.

In the Shanghai semifinal, Sinner could meet Alcaraz again after the Spaniard defeated him at the China Open final in Beijing last week.

Alcaraz will later on Thursday play Czech Tomas Machac in the last eight.