Fred Lee/Getty Images Defending Shanghai Masters champion Roger Federer survived a scare to overcome Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday. After taking the opening set, Federer was pegged back by his opponent, who had grown into the match. However, in the end, Medvedev was unable to complete the upset, as Federer notched a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Earlier in the day, third seed Juan Martin del Potro and fourth seed Alexander Zverev came through in straight sets in their respective matches, but they were made to work hard throughout their respective contests. Here are the scores from the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena and a recap of the action from Shanghai on Wednesday. Wednesday Selected Results (1) Roger Federer bt. Daniil Medvedev, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Video Play Button Videos you might like (3) Juan Martin del Potro bt. Richard Gasquet, 7-5, 7-6(7) (4) Alexander Zverev bt. Nikoloz Basilashvili, 7-5, 6-4 (7) Kevin Anderson bt. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-3, 6-2 (8) Kei Nishikori bt. Yibing Wu, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 For the results in full visit the official website. The Thursday schedule will be confirmed later in the day. Federer Fights Past Medvedev WANG ZHAO/Getty Images After an early break, the match looked like it may be a breeze for Federer. To his credit, Medvedev was able to fight back. Despite getting the clash on serve again, he was worn down by the Swiss, who won a clutch game to clinch the set 6-4. Even after losing the opener, the underdog continued to scrap. Medvedev also showed some class, with this volley enough to earn some applause from Federer: That appeared to be the catalyst for Medvedev to find another gear. While Federer excelled in the previous set late on, his opponent did so in the second, and the Russian snatched the set with some brilliant play. The decider was unsurprisingly tight, as the two men were excellent on serve. Eventually, Federer's quality and composure did show as he broke late in the third set and served it out, much to his evident relief. Meanwhile, after his run to the final at the China Open, Del Potro was able to get off to a winning start against Richard Gasquet, who always poses a big challenge for his opponents. The Argentina star had to battle, saving two set points in the second. Per tennis journalist Jose Morgado, he also appeared to be battling a cold when out on court: Things were slightly more straightforward for Zverev, despite the fact he faced a potentially testing rival in the form of Nikoloz Basilashvili, who sprung a big surprise to win the China Open on Sunday at the expense of Del Potro. In the main, Zverev was in control, as he was able to secure a break at the end of the opening stanza and then another at the start of the second. It also was clear just how pumped up the fourth seed was, although there was an occasion when his passion did appear to startle a ball boy, per Sky Sports Tennis: While Kevin Anderson is also safely through, arguably the best match of the day saw Kei Nishikori recover from a scare against qualifier Yibing Wu after losing the opening set. However, the Japanese was able to settle into a groove after that initial setback. He served up a bagel for his opponent in the second and didn't look back, dropping just a further three games on his way to victory.<doc-sep>Australian Matthew Ebden has registered the biggest win of his 13-year professional career, downing world No 7 Dominic Thiem from the second round of the Shanghai Masters. Journeyman Ebden, who has had a breakout season at 30 years of age, hung tough to beat the French Open finalist 6-4, 6-7 (10-8), 7-6 (7-4). Ebden twice came within two points of the match in the second set but it was his recovery from failing to serve out the contest in the decider that spoke most about his resilience. After breaking the Austrian’s serve to lead 6-5, Ebden had a match point only to lose it when Thiem struck flukey let cord. He handed back the break but steeled himself for the tiebreaker, leading from start to finish to claim it and the match. He’ll now take on German Peter Gojowczyk for a spot in the quarter-finals, where another win could propel him into the world’s top 40 for the first time in his career. It adds to a stellar 2018 for the veteran Australian who has recorded equal-best finishes at all four Grand Slams. Meanwhile Alex de Minaur’s late season charge has continued with the Australian winning through to the second round. De Minaur held his nerve to beat big-serving Canadian Vasek Pospisil, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). The 19-year-old held on to an early break and kept his nose ahead in the first set. Pospisil couldn’t crack the world No 33, blowing five break point opportunities including four in one game. Games stayed on serve in the second set which went to a tiebreaker. De Minaur then made quick inroads into the Canadian’s serve, streaking ahead to a 6-1 advantage. It took four match points but he eventually served out the match. The Sydneysider will look to capture more rankings points in the Masters series tournament as he closes in on a top 32 ranking and seeding for next year’s Australian Open. De Minaur will next take on French qualifier Benoit Paire, who upset 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4. But waiting in the wings for the newly minted Australian No 1 is world No 5 Alexander Zverev who shapes as a potential round of 16 opponent. Novak Djokovic was also a second round winner, beating Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-5. Other first round winners on Tuesday included Daniil Medvedev, Richard Gasquet, Kyle Edmund and Hyeon Cheung.<doc-sep>Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Novak Djokovic secured his place in the final of the 2018 Shanghai Rolex Masters on Saturday as he beat Alexander Zverev in the semi-final. Djokovic eased past the German in straight sets, taking the match 6-2, 6-1 in an hour. He'll take on Borna Coric in Sunday's final after he upset Roger Federer with a straight-sets win, in which the 20-time Grand Slam winner failed to earn a single break point. Semi-Final Results (2) Novak Djokovic bt. (4) Alexander Zverev, 6-2, 6-1 (13) Borna Coric bt, (1) Roger Federer, 6-4, 6-4 The opening game of Djokovic's match with Zverev quickly established a pattern that would repeat throughout the contest: Video Play Button Videos you might like Zverev had won their only previous meeting in Rome last year, but he repeatedly made costly errors on Saturday, and Djokovic took full advantage. The decisive game in the opening set came with Zverev serving to level proceedings at 2-3. The German practically gave away a break to Djokovic, making three unforced errors—including a wayward volley and a wide forehand—and a double-fault. That game put the Serb 4-2 up, and he quickly wrapped up the first set from there. The second set came even easier than the first, with Zverev taking just one game off the No. 2 seed. Tennis commentator and writer Jose Morgado shared the damning numbers at the end of the match: For Djokovic, the match was the 1,000th of his professional career, and he'll scarcely have had an easier victory. He'll enter Sunday's final without dropping a single game on his own serve in the entire tournament, and he'll face Coric after he stunned Federer for the second time this year. The decisive breaks for Coric in both sets came in their opening game. The Croatian quickly earned three break points at the start of the first set and converted at the third opportunity to put Federer on the back foot from the outset. The 21-year-old also did an excellent job of restricting the Swiss maestro's ability to fight back: Federer almost earned a break point soon after, but he could only direct a volley into the net. Coric broke in the opening game of the second set, this time thanks to an unforced error from the 37-year-old, and once again he held firm to see out the match. Sports writer Tumaini Carayol was impressed: He'll need to be just as good or better to get past Djokovic, though. Per Morgado, the Serb is enjoying a 17-match winning streak and has not dropped any of his last 24 sets, so it will take a monumental effort from Coric to come out on top.<doc-sep>Zhe Ji/Getty Images Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic booked their semi-final tickets for the 2018 Shanghai Rolex Masters on Friday, as each needed just two sets to beat their respective opponents. The former played some of his best tennis of the tournament against Kei Nishikori, who gave him a tough challenge in the second set. Djokovic survived a first-set tiebreak against Anderson to continue his excellent run against top-10 opponents: Alexander Zverev impressed in his win over Kyle Edmund, and Borna Coric disposed of Matthew Ebden. Here are the full results: Roger Federer bt. Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6 (4) Novak Djokovic bt. Kevin Anderson 7-6 (1), 6-3 Alexander Zverev bt. Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-4 Borna Coric bt. Matthew Ebden 7-5, 6-4 Coric will face Federer in the semi-finals on Saturday, while Djokovic takes on Zverev. Video Play Button Videos you might like Recap Federer entered his match against Nishikori in inconsistent form but started the contest with an instant break after some sensational tennis: The Swiss veteran controlled the opening set the rest of the way, although Nishikori came close to making inroads on his serve on a few occasions. The Japanese defensive wizard was never able to bridge the gap, however. Tennis writer Jose Morgado was impressed: The 37-year-old found another break early in the second set, but Nishikori battled back to tie things up in the sixth game. The match ended in a tiebreak, which Federer narrowly won. Any question marks that surrounded Federer entering the match have been thoroughly erased following a vintage display, and the Swiss star will like his chances against Coric in the semi-finals. Anderson kept pace with Djokovic to force a tiebreak in the first set, but the Serbian star switched gears in the decider and dropped just a single point to take the advantage. He carried his momentum well in the second set, using clever serves and returns into the feet of Anderson to keep the powerful baseline hitter off balance. As shared by pundit Steve Weissman, Djokovic has a phenomenal record on Chinese soil: He'll be matched with rising star Zverev in what should be an epic battle. Both men stand out for their great backhand play and ability to come up with winners out of nowhere, so neutral fans can expect plenty of exciting rallies. Zverev was in typically good form against Edmund, wowing the crowd with shots like this one: The 21-year-old has enjoyed a fine 2018 campaign but hasn't been at his best so far during the East Asian campaign, highlighted by a loss to Malek Jaziri in Beijing. Coric has put together a nice stretch of form to qualify for the semi-finals, but Ebden made him work late in their contest, keeping the Croat on the court with some resilient play. The 21-year-old will now face Federer for a spot in the final.<doc-sep>
WANG ZHAO/Getty Images For the second day in a row, Roger Federer came through a gruelling match at the Shanghai Masters, as he beat Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets on Thursday. The top seed and defending champion lost his way in the second set after coasting to the first, but he upped his levels in the decider when it mattered, eventually coming through 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to move into the quarter-finals. Earlier in the day, Novak Djokovic turned on the style to ensure his safe progression, while fourth seed Alexander Zverev was also a straightforward winner. Third seed Juan Martin del Potro is out, though, as he retired due to injury against Borna Coric after losing the first set. Here are the results from Shanghai and a closer look at the highlights from Thursday's play. Thursday Results Video Play Button Videos you might like (1) Roger Federer bt. Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 (2) Novak Djokovic bt. Marco Cecchinato, 6-4, 6-0 (13) Borna Coric bt. Juan Martin del Potro, 7-5, retired (4) Alexander Zverev bt. Alex de Minaur, 6-1, 6-4 (7) Kevin Anderson bt. Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4, 7-6 (1) (8) Kei Nishikori bt. Sam Querrey, 7-6 (7), 6-4 (11) Kyle Edmund bt. Nicolas Jarry, 7-6 (5), 6-3 Matthew Ebden bt. Peter Gojowczyk, 6-2, 6-3 Friday Schedule (11) Kyle Edmund vs. (4) Alexander Zverev (7) Kevin Anderson vs. (2) Novak Djokovic (13) Borna Coric vs. Matthew Ebden (1) Roger Federer vs. (8) Kei Nishikori Federer Fights Through Again WANG ZHAO/Getty Images In the early exchanges, Federer played some sparkling tennis and put the first set in the bank with minimal fuss. However, a day on from losing his focus in the second set against Daniil Medvedev, more complacency crept into his game again. After breaking in the first game of the set, Federer lost the next four in a row, allowing Bautista Agut to take control of the stanza. Per Record's Jose Morgado, his work with the ball in hand was well short of his usual standards: That trend continued, as the Spaniard broke Federer again to take the second set 6-2, pushing the veteran into yet another three-set encounter. However, just as he did on Wednesday, Federer found a break in the ninth game of the final set and was able to serve the match out. Djokovic was clearly pumped up for his match on Thursday, as Cecchinato famously sprung a surprise to knock the Serb out of the French Open earlier this year. As early as the third game of the match, Djokovic showed his passion, as he smashed his racket after a call went against him. Still, he was able to get through that testing spell, secure a break and eventually the set. From that point on the Italian was unable to cope with the Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, as he elevated his game to a level Cecchinato was unable to match: Next up for Djokovic is a repeat of the Wimbledon final, as he will take on Kevin Anderson, who has also been impressive at this tournament so far. Del Potro's hopes of winning the title are over, though, as he was forced to retire from his showdown with Coric after losing the first set 7-5. George Bellshaw of Metro detailed how the third seed picked up a knee problem: Here's the moment he decided enough was enough: Also into the quarter-finals is Zverev, as he outclassed new Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur in their match. The German will face Kyle Edmund in the last eight in what has all the makings of an intriguing encounter.