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Upsets of top seeds are nothing new in the Shanghai Masters. The first title winner, Nikolay Davydenko beat both Djokovic and Nadal to become the champion. Federer was beaten by Monfils in the 2013 edition of the tournament. This year wasn't any different with a slew of upsets occurring throughout the week. Five out of the 6 qualifiers reached the Round of 32, about which we'll have a look in a separate article.
Apart from the upsets, not all wins were easy for the top seeds which provides an account of the competitive nature of the tournament. That made the 2018 Shanghai Masters a bit more exciting. With at least 1 close match per day, this might be one of the most entertaining tournaments of the year.
Let's give the "lesser" players the respect they deserve by looking at the Top 5 upsets at Shanghai in 2018:
#5 Peter Gojowczyk vs Jack Sock
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Peter Gojowczyk is not a well-known name in the tennis circuit. When thinking about Germany Tennis it's Kohlschreiber, the country's No.1 player who generally comes to mind. But, even the recently retired Florian Mayer and Struff who's ranked just 2 places above Gojowczyk are known better. Facing 12th seed Jack Sock in the first round he showed his abilities, standing toe to toe with the powerful American.
The first set started tightly with both players holding serve till the 7th game. Gojowczyk drew first blood, breaking Sock rather easily. He maintained the lead and took the set with his 3rd set point. The 2nd set too had him in the lead but he was broken and lost it in the tie-break.
The German didn't let that regret bother him though, as he went 3-0 up serving 1st in Set 3. He had to save 2 break points in Game 5 and one in Game 7, but he calmly got out of pressure. In his 4th match point, Peter Gojowczyk beat Jack Sock for the 2nd time in his career.
#4 Sam Querrey vs Diego Schwartzman
Some months before, Sam Querrey beating anyone outside the top 5 wouldn't be an upset. But his game has declined since by some distance, so it was a great result. Yes, his game was helped massively as he played such a short man in Schwartzman, but mentally that win wasn't straightforward.
The American used his big serve to great effect, getting 3 comfortable holds in Set 1. That helped him as he used the momentum to break in the next game. But, the Argentine broke right back to halt the flow.
Querrey didn't fret though, putting pressure on his opponent's 2nd serve to break again. He held his serve to win the set and continued the same tactic in the next set. He failed to convert 3 break points at the start. But, in the 7th game, he broke serve from 30-0 down.
Sam Querrey served out the remaining games to announce his revival, to the world and to himself.
#3 Matthew Ebden vs Dominic Thiem
Matt Ebden hasn't had the best year outside the Grand Slams, exiting in the first and second rounds in most of the events in the ATP World Tour. Facing a 6th seeded Thiem in Round 2 was even tougher with that kind of form.
Ebden was under attack in the very first game, being forced to surrender a break. But, he was quick to retaliate, breaking back immediately. He had to save four more break points in his next 2 service games. Eventually, the Aussie broke Thiem in the 10th game to get into the lead. He lost the second set in a long tie-break by 8-10.
The 3rd set was played on serve till Ebden broke in Game 11 and the Austrian broke back. But this time the man from Down Under took an early 3-0 lead and got all his remaining serve points to take the tie-break 7-4. Matthew Ebden had just beaten one of the big names in current tennis.
#2 Nicolas Jarry vs Marin Cilic
One of the few Chilean names in ATP events is Nicolas Jarry, a player who has done very well this year. But, against a beast of a tennis player in Cilic, he had little chances to win. That's exactly how it seemed like for the whole of the first set, when he was decimated 6-2.
Jarry looked like he had erased the memory of the first set when he served well to take the 2nd into a tie-break despite facing a break point twice. In the breaker, he saved a set point on his serve and took the next 2 points to take the set. But, he was broken again during the decider and his competitor served for the match at 5-4.
That's when the Chilean showed his grit to break the game from 30-15 down. After equalling the set he used the momentum to win it on the Cilic serve to win the match. Nicolas Jarry completed the greatest upset of his career.
#1 Borna Coric vs Roger Federer
Although Federer was the top seed at the Shangai Masters, Borna Coric always had the outside chance to win. He had got the better of him before, in the Stuttgart Open Final earlier this year. Borna had a stroke of luck when Del Potro retired from their round of 16 clash due to flu. To be fair he had won the first set already.
Coric got off to an ideal start in the semifinal, breaking Federer's serve to go 2-0 up in Set 1. He managed to take the set, holding all of his serves without conceding a single break point.
In the 2nd set too the Croat broke right away and dominated his service games. He just lost 4 points on serve, marching towards a memorable victory. Although Roger Federer wasn't at his best winning against him is no mean feat. Especially, since it brought Borna Coric's head to head tally against the Swiss Maestro to 2-2.
