Shanghai Masters 2018: 4 admirable displays in a losing cause

The 2018 Rolex Shanghai Masters was one of the best editions in the 10 years of its existence. Novak Djokovic's Shanghai love story continued as he won it for the 4th time to claim the record for most titles. He defeated Croatian Borna Coric who came into the final by beating Roger Federer.

There were many exciting matches all through, some being few of the best in the history of the tournament. The Chinese crowd is the one that benefitted even more than the players that took part, although their favourite, Federer didn't get to the final.

While the major upsets take the headlines, some great performances are overshadowed because the player was on the wrong side of the result. In this countdown, we are going to look at the performances that warmed hearts despite the result not turning out favourably. Here are the Top 4 admirable performances in a losing cause:

#4. Kei Nishikori v Roger Federer

Shanghai must be close to Kei Nishikori's heart as that's where he reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal in 2011. As the commentators kept harping on rightfully, he's looked up to in the Asian tennis circuit with much respect.

Kei survived a scare from Yibing Wu in Round 2 and eventually reached the quarters. Facing Roger Federer he was immediately under fire conceding 2 breaks in the first 5 games. He broke back nicely but could do it only once in the first set. Nishikori's second set score read 2-3, 0-15 on Federer's serve when he pulled off the most amazing net get of his career, managing to get the frame of his racquet on to quite a high lob. That proved to be the key as he broke and equalled the score.

The set went to a tie-break and it was the Japanese who raced away early, leading 4-1 but that was all he could do against Federer, losing the match in the next 6 points. But, he'll always cherish the fact that he troubled Federer on court, not many can do that.

#3. Richard Gasquet v Juan Martin del Potro

Richard Gasquet was one of our 5 unseeded players to watch out for in the Shanghai Masters. He proved why in the first round, getting through after being a set down. In the next round though, he had to face a much tougher opponent in del Potro. The match got off to a good start for the Frenchman as he broke serve straight away, and was serving for the set in Game 10. But, it was not to be as delPo found his mojo, winning 3 straight games to grab the set.

The second set was played on serve without a single break point. Gasquet was put under pressure in the 8th game trailing 15-30 but he won it eventually after a couple of deuces. He returned the favour in the very next game but couldn't break. The tiebreaker was where Richard almost took the game away as he raced to a 6-2 lead. But, his opponent came back with brute force to take it 9-7 and win the match.

#2. Yibing Wu v Kei Nishikori - Round of 32

Yibing Wu (right) having earned Nishikori's respect shakes hands with him and receives warm words - Rolex Shanghai Masters 2018

An Asian Wild Card against the Asian No.1, it didn't seem that way in Set 1 of Yibing Wu's Round 2 match against Nishikori.

The first set was a shock for everyone including Wu himself. He got a break in the 3rd game, but when Nishikori broke back straight away it looked ominous. But, the 332nd ranked youngster showed his mettle, breaking the Nishikori serve to love in Game 8 without breaking a sweat. Serving for the set he kept his cool at 30-30 to take a memorable lead.

That was the wakeup call Nishikori needed as he upped his level to dominate the 2nd set 6-0. Wu recovered in the 3rd set to hold serve in game 2 and saved 2 break points to hold again in game 4. But, he couldn't stop his opponent for long as Kei broke in game 6 and won the set. Yibing Wu, an obscure tennis player had made his name known although he lost.

#1. Ze Zhang v Daniil Medvedev

Ze Zhang in position to hit a forehand in Shanghai Masters 2018. Source - Betfair

One of the 3 Chinese Wild Cards in the 2018 Shanghai Masters Ze Zhang looked right at home in the round 1 match against Medvedev. The gap between him and his opponent was nearly 200 places in the rankings but he surely didn't allow that to faze him.

Zhang took little time to settle, breaking serve in just the 2nd game. As expected his adversary put pressure on his serve straight away, but he saved a break point to take the game and go 3-0 up. The Chinese held all his remaining serves to take the set 6-3.

The second set had no break points with Zhang's serve put to the test only once. The tie-break was evenly contested but he lost it 7-9 without getting a set point. In the decider, he saved 2 break points and held one of his own when he put almighty pressure on Medvedev's serve, but failed to convert. Ze lost serve immediately and lost the set 4-6. But Ze Zhang had shown his worth long before that moment.

Edited by Arvind Sriram