Shanghai Masters: Rublev sets up semi-final against Dimitrov

Russian Andrey Rublev, the No 5 seed, moved into the last four of the Shanghai Masters by beating Frenchman Ugo Humbert, the No 32 seed, 6-2, 6-3 at the Qi Zhong Stadium on Friday.

Rublev, ranked No 7, will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, the No 18 seed, next.

“It is going to be a tough match,” Rublev said of taking on Dimitrov, a repeat of their recent clash in the UTS final in Frankfurt, won by the Russian. “He is a friend and I like him and he is a really great player. It is really tough to beat him when he is in this form. This week he is playing really well.”

Ahead of his victory, the Russian won against Frenchman Quentin Halys (6-4, 7-5), Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, the No 31 seed (6-3, 6-0) and American Tommy Paul, the No 12 seed (7-5, 7-5).

Humbert, ranked No 34, defeated Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (6-4, 1-6, 6-2), Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 4 seed (6-4, 3-6, 7-5) and American J.J. Wolf (6-1, 6-2) in the previous rounds of the Shanghai tournament.

Shanghai Masters, other last 8 results (Qi Zhong Stadium, hard, USD 8.800.000, most recent results first):

• Grigor Dimitrov beat Nicolas Jarry (22): 7-6 (2), 6-4
• Sebastian Korda (26) beat Ben Shelton (19): 6-7 (10), 6-2, 7-6 (6)
• Hubert Hurkacz (16) beat Fabian Marozsan: 4-6, 6-1, 6-3