An angry Medvedev beats Italy’s referee Arnaldi to secure a place in the round of 16 of the Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – World number five Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the round of 16 of the Shanghai Masters today, defeating stubborn Italian Matteo Arnaldi 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Medvedev broke early in the first set but 36th-ranked Arnaldi kept his cool and came back in the sixth game thanks to an unforced error by the Russian.

Arnaldi broke again in the 12th game after Medvedev scored a long shot.

The Russian’s mood darkened under pressure from Arnaldi in the second set and he was hit with two code violations and a point penalty for an argument with the referee.

The 28-year-old former world number one recovered, took the game to the decider and came through after 2 hours and 44 minutes.

“I expected him to play differently, he played very well,” Medvedev said of Arnaldi.

“To be honest, I should have done better in the first set. Second and third place were even closer… but in the end I’m happy to have won.”

The game could only be played under the roof of the main square, as the games on the outside courts had to be postponed for the second time in a row due to the rain. — AFP