Alex de Minaur beats Sakamoto, eyes Khachanov in Shanghai last 16
Key takeaways
- Alex de Minaur beat Rei Sakamoto 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 at the Shanghai Masters. It was his first match since he retired hurt in the China Open final.
- Scans on his injured thigh came back as the best-case scenario. He says he is improving every day and feels cautiously optimistic.
- A last-16 clash with Karen Khachanov comes next. A deep run in Shanghai would boost his race to the eight-man ATP Finals in Turin.
Alex de Minaur is back on court. He beat Rei Sakamoto 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 at the Shanghai Masters. The win took him into the last 16. It was his first match since injury ended his China Open final against Novak Djokovic.
What happened
De Minaur hurt himself in Beijing last Tuesday. He was playing Djokovic in the China Open final. He felt something in his adductor near the end of the first set.
An adductor is a muscle on the inside of the thigh. The pain grew worse, and he retired early in the second set.
It was a cruel moment for the Australian. He was chasing his first ATP title in eight months. He had not lost in seven matches since the US Open.
He was full of confidence from the Davis Cup and Laver Cup. Then the injury stopped him.
He travelled to Shanghai without knowing how bad it was. He said he had no idea what the problem was until he arrived.
Scans in Shanghai brought the good news. He called them the best-case scenario for how he felt.
"It could have been a lot, lot worse," he told Tennis Australia. "So in terms of that, it's somewhat good news.
Obviously there is something; it's not nothing. "
There is more: he said practice felt better than expected. That gave him hope he could compete.
The draw helped him too. As the ninth seed, he already had a first-round bye. Then his second-round opponent, Alex Molcan, withdrew from the tournament.
That walkover gave him two extra days to rest the leg. De Minaur said those days came in really handy.
His first real test came against Rei Sakamoto. The 20-year-old Japanese player was a qualifier ranked number 137. Sakamoto had beaten former world number 5 Andrey Rublev in straight sets.
He also won the junior title at the Australian Open 2024. He was a former junior world number 1.
The match lasted about 95 minutes. Sakamoto pushed the first set to a tiebreak. De Minaur won it 8-6.
He then took the second set 6-4. Tennis Watcher reported he moved freely in the long rallies. After the win, he said his leg was improving day by day.
"Yeah, definitely came in really handy," he said of the extra rest days. "I definitely needed those extra days of recovery and yeah, I'm just building every day."
Why it matters
This story is about more than one match. The timing of the injury is key. The race to the ATP Finals is on.
Only the top eight players qualify for the season-ending event in Turin. It runs from 15 to 22 November. Last year the prize pool passed $15 million, according to Tennis Australia.
De Minaur sits 10th in the points race. But that is effectively ninth place. Second-placed Jannik Sinner has shut down his 2026 season.
Every point in Shanghai now counts for the Australian. A deep run could push him into that top eight.
The door has opened wider around him. Djokovic, one place ahead of de Minaur in the race, lost in Shanghai to Hubert Hurkacz.
Sinner is out for the rest of the year. De Minaur made the quarterfinals here last year, so he knows he can play well on these courts.
His form before the injury was strong. He went unbeaten in seven matches after the US Open.
He said he felt amazing on the court in Beijing. If the leg holds, he can carry that form deep into this tournament.
October is a busy month across world sport. Football gave fans a Monday night classic with the Bills and Rams.
Baseball is heating up too, as the Guardians and Rays battle in the ALCS. For de Minaur, this stretch of the tennis season is his own make-or-break moment.
What happens next
The next test is much harder. Russia's Karen Khachanov waits in the last 16, beIN SPORTS reported. Khachanov is the 26th seed.
He hits a heavy ball from the baseline. He will push de Minaur's movement more than any opponent so far this week.
The head-to-head is level at 2-2, according to a Tennisnerd preview. De Minaur won the most recent meeting.
That was 6-2, 6-2 in the Paris Masters round of 16 last year. He enters as a slight favorite this time.
A win would take de Minaur into the quarterfinals. That would match his result from last year in Shanghai.
It would also add valuable points to his race for Turin. The prize pool alone makes that week in Italy worth chasing.
But fitness comes first. He is still taking it day by day. He told Tennis Australia he is trying to keep a positive outlook.
He admitted the timing was hard to take. So few weeks remain in the season. Still, he sounded upbeat after the Sakamoto win.
"I was really happy with my week in Beijing," he said. "I thought I really played some great tennis and I was feeling really good on the court."
His plan now is simple. Compete hard, build on each day, and see how far the leg takes him.
"Now I come here, Shanghai, try to do my best and see what I can do," he said. The Khachanov match will show if that is enough.
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