Matteo Berrettini Completes Youngest Masters 1000 Semi-Final Line-Up For 12 Years

Matteo Berrettini ousted Dominic Thiem 7-6(8) 6-4 to complete the youngest Masters 1000 semi-final line-up in 12 years.  The Italian reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final after bruising past Thiem in two tight sets in Shanghai in an eventful day in China. In a tight match, Berrettini converted his fourth set point in the tiebreak and broke in the seventh game to clinch another milestone in his young career. As a result of Berrettini’s win, tomorrow’s semi-final line-up will be the youngest at a Masters 1000 event since Indian Wells in 2007. Back then it was Novak Djokovic (19), Andy Murray (19), Rafael Nadal (20) and Andy Roddick (24) who made the semi-finals. This time though, it is Stefanos Tsitsipas (21), Daniil Medvedev (23), Alexander Zverev (22) and Matteo Berrettini (23) who are making history. With the ‘big three’ absent from the semi-finals in Shanghai, it is the first real showing of the younger generation shutting out the three best players of all time. The big question now though is can it last at the four grand slams with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer still making the latter stages of grand slams on a regular basis. Only time will tell whether this is sustainable but what we do know is that Tsitsipas and Zverev’s wins in particular show that the regular dominance of the big three is not a given anymore on the tour. Especially when you look at this year’s Masters 1000 winners this year so far: Indian Wells: Dominic Thiem  Miami: Roger Federer Monte-Carlo: Fabio Fognini Madrid: Novak Djokovic  Rome: Rafael Nadal  Montreal: Rafael Nadal Cincinnati: Daniil Medvedev  Now there is a 75% chance of a new name being added to this year’s winners, it certainly makes for an unpredictable future of the consistency of the ATP World Tour. Tomorrow’s semi-finals see Daniil Medvedev take on Stefanos Tsitsipas, where the Russian leads 4-0 in the head-to-head. While Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev are tied at 1-1 ahead of their big showdown tomorrow, with ATP Finals implications are on the line. The Race to London (Updated in real-time)