Fritz knocked out of Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI: Wildcard Diego Schwartzman knocked world number eight Taylor Fritz out of the Shanghai Masters in a thrilling third-set tiebreaker on Monday, with top seed Carlos Alcaraz looking to claim a spot in the final 16.

The diminutive Argentinian has seen his ranking slide from eighth in the world to 130, but played his best tennis to topple Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5).

The rankings and age gaps were hardly noticeable over a three-hour skirmish which saw 31-year-old Schwartzman playing up to the crowd, encouraging them to whoop and cheer for him. In contrast, an error-prone Fritz seemed increasingly flustered, pinging his racket off the ground in irritation at one point.