Jódar comes from a set down again to sink Van de Zandschulp in Shanghai

Third comeback in a row

Rafael Jódar is making a habit of doing things the hard way in Shanghai. The 20-year-old Spaniard lost the opening set for the third match running on Wednesday, and for the third match running he turned it around, beating Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

After coming from behind against Thiago Agustín Tirante and Jiří Lehečka in earlier rounds, Jódar again found himself chasing the match. He had the better of the early exchanges in the first set but could not convert his chances: van de Zandschulp saved two break points and then won the tie-break 7-4.

The response was immediate. Jódar broke at the start of the second set and, although he later gave the Dutchman a chance to get back on terms, he struck again on another loose service game to take the set 6-4. In the decider he broke early, took control of the rallies and steadily squeezed the space out of van de Zandschulp's game, closing out the match after roughly two and a half hours.

"Proud, but I want more"

The win gives the world No. 13 his fourth Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season, after Madrid, Rome and Montreal. Speaking on court, he sounded anything but satisfied. "I'm very happy with how the season and this tournament are going, but I want more," Jódar said, according to Eurosport Spain. He also pointed to his physical condition: "I'm healthy, which I think is the most important thing in tennis."

For van de Zandschulp, it was the end of an impressive week. The Dutchman had beaten Daniel Mérida and Alex Michelsen before knocking out Arthur Fils 7-5 6-4 in the third round, building on the form that carried him to the US Open quarter-finals a few weeks ago.

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First meeting with Ruud

Jódar's opponent in the last eight is Casper Ruud, who advanced in unusual circumstances. Fourth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime retired with a left knee injury while trailing 5-2 in the first set of their fourth-round match after just 35 minutes. Jódar and Ruud have never met on the ATP Tour.

The Norwegian brings plenty of experience into that contest, but Jódar arrives with momentum and a growing reputation for resilience. Three times in Shanghai he has been a set down, and three times he has found a way through – a pattern that has already made him one of the stories of the tournament on a week when Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out in the third round.

The other quarter-final settled on Wednesday will see fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, a 6-4 7-5 winner over Stefanos Tsitsipas, take on Tommy Paul, who beat Zizou Bergs 7-6(5) 6-4. On his Shanghai debut, Jódar is now one win away from the semi-finals, against a former world No. 2 he has never faced.