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Federer, the defending champion and top seed at
the event, went to three sets with Russian Daniil Medvedev in
his first match of the week. He bested Bautista Agut in 1 hour,
54 minutes, converting a timely break of serve in the ninth game
of the decisive third set.
"I'm actually quite happy," said Federer. "I thought that
Bautista really had to raise his level of play in that second
set to stay with me. I mean, he really caught fire, I thought.
"... I'm happy that, because of my match yesterday, I was able
to stay maybe calmer, even this time around, and come up with a
really good game to break at 4-4, and then to serve it out was
great. I was very happy."
Federer will next face Japanese No. 8 seed Kei Nishikori, a 7-6
(7), 6-4 winner over American Sam Querrey.
While Federer has faltered along the way, second-seeded Serbian
Novak Djokovic continues to cruise through the field at
Shanghai. He posted his second consecutive straight-set victory
on Thursday, dominating Italian No. 16 seed Marco Cecchinato
6-4, 6-0 in 71 minutes.
"I'm really pleased with the way I have been using my serve
accurately and effectively in the first two matches, which is
very important," said Djokovic. "I was making him play always an
extra shot. I was aggressive when I needed to be. The second set
was perfect, really. I'm really glad to be able to finish the
match the way I did."
Djokovic lost just 10 points in the second set. He will next
face seventh-seeded South African Kevin Anderson, who defeated
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-6 (1).
Croatia's Borna Coric, the No. 13 seed, advanced when
third-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro retired after
dropping the first set of their contest. Del Potro slipped in
the 10th game and fell on his right kneecap, visibly losing
mobility after sustaining the injury.
Coric will next face Australia's Matthew Ebden, who downed
Germany's Peter Gojowczyk 6-2, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev and No. 11 seed Kyle
Edmund of Great Britain will face off in the other quarterfinal.
Zverev cruised past Australia's Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-4, and
Edmund ousted Chile's Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (5), 6-3.
--Field Level Media
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