Shanghai, 15 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Top seed Alexander Zverev delivered an impressive performance on Thursday, defeating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4 to secure his place in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters. The German tennis star raised his level of play to overcome De Minaur’s speed and determination, producing powerful forehands and precise backhands to control the quarter-final encounter. Zverev secured the decisive break in the fifth game of the opening set before saving three consecutive break points to maintain his serve. He then closed out the first set in the 10th game with a well-placed backhand at the net. The 29-year-old continued his strong performance in the second set, breaking De Minaur’s serve in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead before sealing victory on his first match point. Speaking after the match, Zverev expressed satisfaction with his performance, describing it as a significant improvement over his previous two matches, both of which required three sets to win. Zverev will now face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals after France’s Arthur Gea retired from their quarter-final due to a muscle problem. Gea, 21, was playing in the biggest match of his career and took a medical timeout while trailing 1-4 in the first set. Although he returned to the court, he retired shortly afterwards because of pain in his psoas muscle, which he had felt during his morning warm-up. The world number 56 said he had received treatment but decided to compete despite uncertainty over his fitness. He explained that continuing would have been too risky for the remainder of the season. The Shanghai Masters semi-final will provide Zverev with another opportunity to demonstrate his title-winning credentials as the tournament moves towards its final stages.