Machac continues to blossom, toppling Paul

At the age of 23, Tomas Machac continues his irresistible rise to the top of world tennis.

Already a semi-finalist in Tokyo, he followed this up perfectly in Shanghai.

Facing Tommy Paul, ranked 13th in the world, in the round of 16, the gifted Czech played a match of the highest level to win after just over 2 hours (3-6, 6-4, 6-3).

As aggressive as ever, he never wavered, hitting the ball hard and taking plenty of risks.

Accepting both errors and winners (38 winners, 40 unforced errors), Machac finally got the better of a rather disappointing Paul (29 unforced errors).

For a place in the semi-finals, he will face Carlos Alcaraz, who hasn't lost a match since the US Open.