Van de Zandschulp stuns Fils in Shanghai, dents Frenchman's Turin hopes

Botic van de Zandschulp produced one of the upsets of the week at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Monday, beating eighth seed Arthur Fils 7-5, 6-4 in the third round. The Dutchman, ranked No. 41, needed one hour and 39 minutes to see off the world No. 11 and book a place in the last 16, where he will meet Spain's Rafael Jódar.

It was a match Fils will rue for some time. The Frenchman had the better of much of the opening set but could not turn his chances into a lead, while Van de Zandschulp stayed calm, absorbed the pressure and struck at the decisive moments.

Seven break points, none converted

The pattern was set early. Van de Zandschulp fell 0-40 behind in his second service game but fought his way out of trouble. According to Eurosport, Fils created seven break points in the first set – three for a 3-1 lead, two for 5-3 and two more that would have taken the set to 6-6 – and failed to take any of them.

Van de Zandschulp, by contrast, needed only two chances on the Fils serve. He broke at 5-4 to take the opener, and the Frenchman's frustration spilled over. Fils smashed his racquet and threw a water bottle, according to multiple reports, and Eurosport noted that he broke two racquets in total and received a code violation for the bottle.

The second set briefly looked like it might swing back. Van de Zandschulp went a break up early, only to hand it straight back after a run of nine straight points for Fils, NOS reported. But the Dutchman regrouped, broke again to lead 5-3 and closed it out on his second match point – nearly botching the first with a smash into the net before recovering with a fine winner, as Flashscore described it.

A costly setback in the race to Turin

For Fils, the defeat matters well beyond Shanghai. The 22-year-old, coached by former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević, has enjoyed a superb comeback season after returning in February from a stress fracture. He won the Cincinnati Masters in August and entered the top 10 for the first time last month, climbing as high as No. 9.

He also holds sixth place in the Race to Turin, with Daniil Medvedev close behind in seventh, according to Eurosport. A deep run in Shanghai would have gone a long way towards securing a first appearance at the ATP Finals. Instead, the Frenchman will have to make up ground in Brussels, Basel and the Paris Masters – the remaining stops on his schedule before the season finale in mid-November.

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Eurosport's assessment was that Fils still has a reasonable cushion, but that he missed a golden chance to put real distance between himself and the chasing pack – a group that, according to Eurosport, includes Jódar in 11th place.

Van de Zandschulp's late-season surge

For Van de Zandschulp, the win continues an encouraging autumn. Before facing Fils, he beat 31st seed Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round in Shanghai for the first time. According to Flashscore, victory over Fils was his third win over a top-20 opponent this season.

Next up is Jódar, the 20-year-old Spaniard who came from a set down to beat Jiří Lehečka 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 earlier on Monday. Jódar, ranked No. 13, is making his Shanghai debut and had also beaten Lehečka 6-3, 6-3 at the Canadian Masters this summer. With Fils and Lehečka both gone, one of them is guaranteed a place in the Shanghai quarter-finals.