Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Taylor Fritz 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 in Shanghai’s third round on October 12. He missed three match points with Fritz serving at 2–5 in the decider, then closed the match in his next service game after two hours, thirteen minutes.
The finish included an unusual interruption. The tournament reported that a ball fell from Fritz’s pocket on consecutive points, both replayed. The second occurred at 30–40: after Tsitsipas missed a forehand, Fritz acknowledged that the ball had fallen first.
The victory was Tsitsipas’s 34th tour-level win of the season and moved his 2026 record against top-20 opponents to 7–9, compared with 0–5 in 2025. He also extended his head-to-head lead over Fritz to 5–2.
The draw paired him next with Daniil Medvedev, who beat qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6–2, 6–3 in 74 minutes.
