Djokovic hopes Zheng Qinwen will win a Grand Slam, with the dark horse ready to challenge the Big Three, while Vekic and Serena take opposing views.

Three minutes daily to stay updated on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Friday, October 10, 2025. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night Beijing time, the ATP1000 Shanghai Masters finished the men's singles quarterfinals in the bottom half, with two spots secured for the semifinals. In the evening highlight match, four-time champion Djokovic defeated Belgian player Gille Verhaes 6-3, 7-5, reaching the tournament semifinals for the tenth time and the Masters semifinals for the 80th time in his career.

After the match, Djokovic once again expressed his gratitude to the Chinese fans for their enthusiastic support and said he hopes Zheng Qinwen will claim a Grand Slam title. He mentioned that she can always approach him for advice or any questions. “She won a gold medal for China at the Olympics, reached a Grand Slam final, and has consistently been at the top level. She is a great person, and we get along very well.” “I believe she has excellent skills, a great attitude, a strong team, and she is very young. So, it’s crucial for her to focus on the long term rather than rushing back to compete. More importantly, she needs to build a solid foundation for her physical and mental health for the next ten to fifteen years of her career. She has the chance to compete for a long time and achieve even greater success. I hope she can win a Grand Slam in the future, and I will send her my best wishes. If she ever needs any advice or has any questions, she can always come to me, and I’m happy to share my experience.”

In the semifinals, Djokovic will face the Monaco dark horse and qualifier Vacherot, who battled nearly three hours to overturn the 10th seed, Denmark’s top player Rune, with a 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 victory, reaching his first career tour-level semifinal. With this win, Vacherot’s world ranking will break into the top 100 next week for the first time.

This Monaco dark horse is eager to challenge one of the Big Three, Djokovic: “This is only my fourth season on tour. My first full season started in 2022. So I missed Federer, who retired in 2022. I think I might have played in the same event as Nadal but never had the chance to face him in my career. As for Djokovic, who knows when he will retire? We all know it might not be far off. So if I get to play him on Saturday, it will mean a lot because in my career, I will have faced at least one of the Big Three.”

Now let’s turn to the women’s court. Last night Beijing time, the WTA1000 Wuhan Open concluded the third round of women’s singles, with all quarterfinalists decided. The last remaining Chinese veteran, Zhang Shuai, lost 3-6, 2-6 to the third seed and American No.1 Gauff, suffering her fourth consecutive defeat to her and missing out on the quarterfinals.

The victorious Gauff will compete against German veteran Sigmund for a semifinal spot. Sigmund defeated Poland’s Fletcher 6-4, 7-6(2), reaching the quarterfinals of a 1000-level event for the first time in her career.

Other results: Swiatek beat Bencic 7-6(2), 6-4; Badosa advanced after Tauson retired at 3-6, 6-1, 3-1; Rybakina defeated Noskova 6-3, 6-4; Sabalenka won over Samsonova 6-3, 6-2; Siniakova beat Jovic 7-5, 6-3; Pegula overcame Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Quarterfinal matchups: Sabalenka vs. Rybakina, Siniakova vs. Pegula, Sigmund vs. Gauff, Badosa vs. Swiatek.

In women’s doubles, due to the withdrawal of top seeds Errani/Badosa, their opponents Yuan Yue/Andrescu advanced to the quarterfinals by walkover.

Turning to player updates, Croatian star Vekic, who exited in the first round at the Wuhan Open, recently stated in an interview that tennis is one of the unhealthiest sports, contradicting American legend Serena Williams. “Honestly, it feels like a constant battle every day. I just try to take it one day at a time and see how far I can go because tennis is a brutal sport. Yesterday, I saw a video where Serena claimed tennis is the healthiest sport in the world. I believe it’s the unhealthiest, especially when you train so much and live this lifestyle like we do. When I retire, I plan to rest completely and do nothing.” What do you think about professional tennis? Is it healthy or unhealthy? What’s your opinion?

Finally, let’s have a guess and recognition. The picture below shows a player taking a medical timeout. Without any hints, can you identify who he is?

Last time’s guess was answered correctly by some fans. Yes, the person in the picture is the Belgian player Verhaes, who lost to Djokovic. His name is also sometimes translated as Borgs.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)