SHANGHAI (AP) – No. 2 in the rankings Carlos Alcaraz The twelve-match winning streak was ended by Tomas Machac 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Thursday.

It was Machac’s third quarter-final at tour level, and the Czech player proved more than a match for the four-time Major-winning Spaniard as he recorded his second victory in two hours this year over a top five opponent.

Machac will play in the highest position Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

“I knew the level of my tennis would be great because I’m definitely playing the best at the moment,” Machac said. “I beat Tommy Paul (in my) last match with an incredible performance. With these kind 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 learned last week Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement shortly before taking the court, but said the news about his idol had not affected his match.

“It’s very difficult, very difficult news for everyone, and even more difficult for me,” Alcaraz said. “He has been my idol since I started playing tennis. I look up to him. Proudly, thanks to him, I really wanted to become a professional tennis player. Losing him will be difficult for us in some way, so I will try to enjoy as much as possible when he starts playing.

“But we’re going to play in Saudi Arabia and then in the Davis Cup, so I’m going to try to enjoy the time with him as much as possible. But yes, it is a shame for tennis and for me.”

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

Sinner started strongly and conceded just one break point in his 6-1, 6-4 masterclass over the Russian, who required treatment on his shoulder from physio in the second set.

“I’m very happy with how I handled today and this match,” Sinner said. “It felt like he had some shoulder pain and couldn’t hit his forehand as well as he would like. Hopefully he can recover as soon 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 semi-finals.”

With Thursday’s victory, 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 opened

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

Thursday’s victory for the Belarusian allowed her to regain first place in the rankings Iga Swaatekwho is absent from the women’s Asian swing due to personal reasons and fatigue.

Sabalenka, the US Open championis 14-0 in Wuhan after winning the title in her first appearance in 2018 and defending her crown in 2019 before the tournament took a five-year break from the calendar due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

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

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

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

It was Gauff’s eighth consecutive victory in fourth place, after the American won the China opened last week, putting her back into the top five of the rankings.

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

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

“She’s a tough opponent,” Gauff said of Linette. “We haven’t played since (the 2021 US Open). I really don’t know what to expect. But just from watching her play, she’s playing a tremendous number of matches here in Wuhan.

“I expect it to be a difficult match. She is not an easy opponent.”

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

Pegula, the US Open finalist, had a tough afternoon against 51st-ranked Wang

Wang had won their only previous meeting in three sets in the second round at Wimbledon and got off to a fast start here, 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 defeated by Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-1.

Gold medalist Paris Olympic Games Zheng Qinwen rallied to beat Leylah Fernandez 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 and sixth seed Jasmine Paolini beat Erika Andreeva 6-3, 6-2.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis