Daniil Medvedev records 50th Top 10 win of career with victory over De Minaur in Shanghai

Daniil Medvedev has battled past Alex de Minaur, 6-4, 6-4, to move through to the semifinals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Not only is it his second straight semifinal, having reached the final four in Beijing last week, and his first Masters 1000 semifinal since Indian Wells, but by defeating De Minaur, he hit a big milestone.

Medvedev's victory over the No. 7-ranked Australian was the 50th Top 10 win of his career, making him just the second man born in 1990 or later to hit that number, after Alexander Zverev.

He just edges Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to the line.

MOST TOP 10 WINS, MEN BORN IN 1990 OR LATER:

• 56: Alexander Zverev [born in 1997]
• 50: Daniil Medvedev [born in 1996]
• 49: Jannik Sinner [born in 2001]
• 48: Carlos Alcaraz [born in 2003]
• 43: Grigor Dimitrov [born in 1991]

Coincidentally, the 2021 US Open champion is also through to the milestone 50th hard-court semifinal of his career.

Medvedev and De Minaur went toe-to-toe from the baseline for almost two hours on Friday night, grinding through long rallies with very little between them. But Medvedev was able to sneak out the only break of serve in the first set, at 3-2, as well as the only break of the second set for 5-4—clinching that one with a huge down-the-line backhand—en route to the straight-set victory.

The former No. 1's match stats were just that much cleaner, too, as he finished with a positive 27 winners to 25 unforced errors, while De Minaur had 16 winners to 27 unforced errors on the day.

The biggest number may have been break points, though—they both brought up six break point opportunities in the match, but while Medvedev converted on two, De Minaur went 0/6.

"I knew against Alex we were going to have long points, and in the third or fourth game we had a couple, and I was like, 'Damn, that's going to be a long day,'" Medvedev said in his on-court interview.

"But I'm happy with the way I played. I was really clutch in the important moments. I was hitting the ball great. I was putting him under pressure many times. The second set was tough, tight, and I managed to bring the best of me in the last two games.

"I'm really happy with the level."

Up next for the No. 16-seeded Medvedev will be surprise semifinalist Arthur Rinderknech, after the unseeded Frenchman took out No. 12-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier in the day, 6-3, 6-4.

Rinderknech, who's currently ranked No. 54, has now beaten three consecutive Top 20 players in Shanghai—Zverev (No. 3) in the third round, Jiri Lehecka (No. 19) in the fourth round and Auger-Aliassime (No. 13) in the quarterfinals. He's into his first Masters 1000 semifinal.

Medvedev beat Rinderknech in straight sets in their only previous meeting, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round of the US Open in 2022.