Alexander Zverev of Germany competes during the men's singles quarter final match between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Alexander Zverev of Germany at 2019 ATP Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai, east China, on Oct. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
SHANGHAI, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Swiss superstar Roger Federer followed Serbian Novak Djokovic out of the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals after a three-set defeat of 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3 to Germany's Alexander Zverev here on Friday.
The 22-year-old fifth seed will face Austria's Dominic Thiem or Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the semifinals on Saturday.
Federer, the champion in Shanghai in 2014 and 2017, was given a point penalty after losing his temper and twice hitting the ball out the court in the decider, when he was down by 3-0 and 30-15 in the fourth game.
But the 20-time Grand Slam winner had already showed his resistance in the second set as he saved five match points to force a deciding set.
Since Greek talent Stefanos Tsitsipas and Russia's Daniil Medvedev have set their clash in the semifinals, no matter Thiem or Berrettini who wins the last quarterfinal, this year's Shanghai Masters will mark the first time in ATP Tour Masters history as all the four semifinalists were born in the 1990s.
