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Linette and Bronzetti crash out of Transylvania Open

By Sports Desk October 12, 2022

Magda Linette was the highest-profile casualty at the Transylvania Open on Wednesday after suffering a straight-sets defeat against Xinyu Wang.

Four of the seeded players have now fallen at the first hurdle in Cluj, with Lucia Bronzetti also joining Linette, Ana Bogdan and Marta Kostyuk in suffering early exits.

Fifth seed Linette was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Wang, while ninth seed Bronzetti went down 4-6 6-2 6-4 against world number 89 Dalma Galfi.

Anna Bondar is through to the quarter-finals, though, with the eighth seed enjoying a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory over Harriet Dart.

Jasmine Paolini took just 58 minutes to wrap up a resounding 6-4 6-1 win over Dayana Yastremska.

Next up for the Italian is a last-eight showdown with Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier, who overcame Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4 6-4.

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    Jannik Sinner came from a set down to overcome Tomas Martin Etcheverry to progress at the Shanghai Masters.

    Sinner, who came from behind in both of his first two matches at the China Open, where he eventually lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz, had to showcase his fighting spirit once more on Sunday.

    The world number one eventually prevailed 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2, requiring two hours and 39 minutes to get the job done.

    Standing in the way of Sinner and a place in the quarter-finals will be either Roberto Carballes Baena or Ben Shelton.

    Earlier on Sunday, Daniil Medvedev also came from behind to claim a 5-7 6-4 6-4 victory over Matteo Arnaldi.

    "It was a very tough match, a very close one," said Medvedev. "I actually felt like that’s where tennis is funny. I felt like in the first set, I was probably the better player, had more opportunities. I didn’t manage to [win] it, played a bad game at the end of the set.

    "In the other sets, I thought it was closer. Maybe even he had the edge on some of the moments, but that's why tennis is crazy.

    "You can win when you don’t expect it, and lose when you expect to win, so I’m happy to be here again in two days."

    Data Debrief: Master of the Masters 

    Moving to a record 74-26, only four players since the format's introduction in 1990 have claimed more wins from their first 100 ATP 1000 matches than Sinner (74).

    Sinner is behind only Rafael Nadal (83), Stefan Edberg (77), Pete Sampras (76) and Jim Courier (75).

  • Djokovic relieved to pass Michelsen test in Shanghai Djokovic relieved to pass Michelsen test in Shanghai

    Novak Djokovic was relieved to edge past Alex Michelsen at the Shanghai Masters as his quest for a 100th career title got up and running. 

    Djokovic, who has won the tournament in China on four occasions, needed almost two hours to overcome his American opponent on Saturday, eventually doing so 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9).

    The Serbian's slow start was punished by Michelsen, who raced into a 4-1 lead in the opening set, with Djokovic managing just three points from the first three games. 

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    "It was the first match against Alex and I also hadn't played in a while, so it took me a little time to get the rust off," said Djokovic after his first match sine the US Open.

    “He started off terrifically; big serves and an aggressive style of tennis, he's not afraid to step it up and take it to his opponent."

    Djokovic then led 4-1 in the second, only to allow Michelsen back into the contest, but the Serbian held his nerve in the decisive tie-break, saving two set points to advance. 

    The 37-year-old has now won 35 of the 40 matches he has contested at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai - more than any other player.

    Djokovic is also the only player in history (since 1990) to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles, a feat he has achieved twice on his way to a record 40 titles at this level.

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    Up next for Djokovic is either Italian Flavio Cobolli or wildcard Stan Wawrinka.

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    The four-time champion, who is appearing in this event for the first time since 2019, required two tie-breaks before prevailing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9) in just under two hours.

    Djokovic, still donning a protective sleeve over his right knee, made a slow start in only his second match since losing to Alexei Popyrin in the US Open third round, winning just four points in the first three games as he fell 4-1 behind.

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    Djokovic was given an early scare, but his experience eventually showed as he came through.

    Including team events, the Serb has now won his last 33 ATP-level matches against American opponents, with his last such defeat coming against Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in 2016. 

    The 24-time major winner also demonstrated his determination when the pressure intensified, and he has now come through 12 of his 16 tie-breaks played this season.

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