Yannick Hanfmann from Karlsruhe defeats the highly favored American thanks to an enormous display of energy and a strong serve.
Heroic in the heat battle: Davis Cup player Yannick Hanfmann surprisingly reached the third round at the ATP Masters in Shanghai thanks to a strong performance.
The Karlsruhe native defeated 25th seed Frances Tiafoe (USA) 6-7 (9-11), 6-2, 6-1 and will now face Novak Djokovic or Marin Cilic in the $9.2 million tournament in China.
Hanfmann survives in the “Shanghai sauna”
In the “Shanghai sauna,” Hanfmann and Tiafoe fought an exhausting battle, which the German won with a great deal of determination and energy. The world number 150 did not let himself be discouraged by a set deficit in temperatures of around 30 degrees and enormous humidity, converting his first match point after 2 hours and 50 minutes with his 21st ace.
In addition to Hanfmann, Germans Alexander Zverev and Daniel Altmaier are also competing in Shanghai. Zverev, seeded third, will not enter the fray until Saturday morning after receiving a bye. The Hamburg native, who recently suffered from back problems and was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Beijing by Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, will face unseeded Frenchman Valentin Royer. Altmaier has a special duel awaiting him on Saturday: he will face Wimbledon winner Jannik Sinner, who is competing in Shanghai as the newly crowned tournament winner in Beijing. Hanfmann showed great fighting spirit on Friday. After the German failed to convert two set points in the tiebreak of the first set, his opponent secured the set after more than an hour. When Hanfmann was trailing 1-2 and a break down in the second set, the tide turned. While the heat was clearly taking its toll on Tiafoe, who was literally dragging himself across the court, the 33-year-old won eight games in a row and was unstoppable.
