De Minaur gets 50th tour-level win, advances to Shanghai Masters QFs

Shanghai, Oct 8 (IANS) Alex de Minaur of Australia recorded his 50th tour-level victory of the season on Wednesday at the Shanghai Masters, moving past Nuno Borges 7-5, 6-2 to reach his seventh ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

De Minaur is just the third man to hit the 50-win mark in 2025, joining Carlos Alcaraz (67) and Taylor Fritz (50), with the Australian earning a tour-leading 37 victories on hard courts, according to ATP stats.

"For me it just shows consistency, and that is what I am most proud of," De Minaur said on earning 50 tour-level wins. "Showing up every single week, and it is an amazing number. I am hoping for many more to finish off the year and not stay at 50."

The Australian's previous best season in 2024 culminated in 47 wins and two titles. Having lifted the trophy at the ATP 500 event in Washington in August, the 26-year-old is chasing his second title of the year in Shanghai, where he will next meet Daniil Medvedev or NextGenATP American Learner Tien.

"It has been a successful trip to Asia so far. I told myself at the start of the week that it was all going to be a big mental effort to go out there and compete. I am happy to be in the quarter-finals and give myself another opportunity," he added.

De Minaur arrived in Shanghai off the back of a semifinal finish in Beijing. His latest run is further improving his ATP Finals qualification chances. The 10-time tour-level champion is seventh in the ATP Live Race To Turin, 740 points clear of 10th-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is the first player outside the Top 8 cut due to ninth-placed Jack Draper being sidelined for the rest of the year with injury, ATP reports.

Earlier in the day, Arthur Rinderknech defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-6(5) to reach his maiden Masters 1000 quarterfinal. The Frenchman has joined his cousin Valentin Vacherot in the last eight.

Following his win, Rinderknech wrote a message of support for qualifier Vacherot, who is the first Monegasque player to reach a tour-level quarterfinal in history.

--IANS

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