Alcaraz upset by Machac in Shanghai and Sabalenka rallies in Wuhan

SHANGAI: No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz's 12-match winning streak was ended by Tomas Machac 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals.

It was No. 33 Machac's third tour-level quarterfinal, and the Czech player proved more than a match for the four-time major-winning Spaniard as he earned his second win over a top-five opponent this year in two hours.

Machac will play top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

“I knew that the level of my tennis would be great because I am playing the best right now, for sure,” Machac said. “I beat Tommy Paul (in my) last match with an unbelievable performance. With these types of players, I have to play this level otherwise it's 6-2, 6-3 (and) you go home, there is no other option.

Alcaraz, who won the China Open in a thriller against Sinner last week, learned of Rafael Nadal's retirement announcement shortly before going on court but said the news about his idol hadn't affected his match.

“It is a really difficult thing, really difficult news for everybody, and even tougher for me,” Alcaraz said. "He has been my idol since I start playing tennis. I look up to him. Proudly, thanks to him, I really wanted to become a professional tennis player. Losing him, in a certain way, is going to be difficult for us, so I will try to enjoy as much as I can when he's going to play.

"But we are going to play in Saudi Arabia, and then Davis Cup, so I'm going to try to enjoy as much as I can the time with him. But, yeah, it is a shame for tennis and for me."

Sinner advanced to his fifth ATP Masters semifinal of the season when the Italian swept aside fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.

Sinner started strongly and only faced one break point in his 6-1, 6-4 masterclass over the Russian, who needed treatment on his shoulder from the physio during the second set.

“I'm very happy how I handled today and this match,” Sinner said. “It felt like he had a bit of shoulder pain and couldn't hit his forehand as well as he wished to. Hopefully, he can recover as fast as possible, but from my side it was a great match, a great battle, and let's see what I can do now in the semifinals.”

With Thursday's win, the two-time major winner has leveled his head-to-head series against Medvedev at 7-7, but has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Russian.

Wuhan OpenSecond-ranked Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a set down to beat No. 35 Yulia Putintseva 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 to maintain her undefeated record at the Wuhan Open and rise to the top of the Race to the WTA Finals.

Sabalenka, the U.S. Open champion, is 14-0 in Wuhan after winning the title on her first appearance in 2018 and defending her crown in 2019 before the tournament took a five-year hiatus from the calendar due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The three-time major winner started slowly but roared to life during the second set and carried that momentum through the decider to clinch a quarterfinal spot against Beatriz Haddad-Maia or Magdalena Frech.

Sabalenka finished with 44 winners to 33 unforced errors, while holding Putintseva to 13 winners and 14 unforced errors.

Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-1 rout of 17th-ranked Marta Kostyuk.

It was the fourth-ranked Gauff's eighth consecutive win after the American won the China Open last week.

Gauff fired two aces and broke the Ukrainian's serve five times — for the loss of one of her own — as she clinched a one-sided match and extended her lead in their head-to-head series to 3-1.

Next for Gauff is No. 45-ranked Magda Linette, who continued her impressive form this week by beating eighth-seeded Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3.

“She's a tough opponent,” Gauff said of Linette. "We haven't played since (the U.S. Open in 2021). I really don't know what to expect. But just from watching her play, she's been playing a great couple of matches here in Wuhan.

"I expect it to be a tough match. She's not an easy opponent."

Gauff will be the only American left in the draw after third-ranked Jessica Pegula and tour rookie Hailey Baptiste lost.

Pegula, the U.S. Open finalist, had a tough afternoon against the 51st-ranked Wang Xinyu of China, who was dominant on serve throughout and clinched a 6-3, 7-5 win.

Wang had won their only previous meeting in three sets in the second round at Wimbledon and got off to a fast start here by breaking Pegula twice in the opening set to take the lead.

After her first win over a top-10 player in the previous round, Baptiste was routed by Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-1.

Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen rallied to beat Leylah Fernandez 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 and sixth-ranked Jasmine Paolini defeated Erika Andreeva 6-3, 6-2.