China's Shang falls short at Shanghai Masters, Zverev stunned

Wildcard Shang Juncheng's Shanghai Masters bid ended in a three‑set slog on Monday as Portugal's Nuno Borges edged past the 20‑year‑old, leaving the home fans with no Chinese hopefuls left in the draw.

Shang began brightly, breaking for a 4‑2 lead in the first set, only for Borges to rally and force a tiebreak, which he took 7‑5 with a neat forehand. The conditions then conspired against Shang — the heat and humidity tightened the match and, after missing a set point, he took a medical timeout.  

The pause seemed to revive him: he produced a big serve to take the second set 6‑4. The decider was another scrap. Shang suffered a decisive break in the eighth game but refused to wilt, winning two break points on Borges' serve at match point and coming close to a miracle recovery; both chances went begging and Borges closed out the final set 6‑3.

Elsewhere, former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, seeking to salvage an inconsistent season, beat Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6‑3, 7‑6(5). World No. 3 Alexander Zverev suffered another early exit, beaten 4‑6, 6‑3, 6‑2 by France's Arthur Rinderknech, the same Frenchman who dumped him out of Wimbledon, who next faces Jiri Lehecka. The Czech advanced with a straight‑sets win over Canada's Denis Shapovalov, 6‑4, 6‑4.