Shanghai Masters 2018: 4 admirable displays in a losing cause

#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.