SHANGHAI - Daniil Medvedev defeated seventh seed Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters on Friday.

The 2019 Shanghai Masters champion sealed victory with an ace and has now advanced to his 61st career ATP Tour semifinal.

"I was super tired, and I knew that against Alex, like against Learner, we would have long points," said Medvedev, who had battled nearly three hours against Learner Tien in the previous round. "I think in the third or fourth game we had a couple of long rallies, and I thought it was going to be a long day, but I'm happy with the way I played."

"I was really clutch in the important moments, hitting the ball great, and putting him under pressure. The second set was tight, but I found my best at the end. I'm really happy with the level," he added.

Meanwhile, France's Arthur Rinderknech defeated Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Shanghai Masters semifinal.

Rinderknech, born in 1995, has been one of the surprises of this year's tournament, with his career-high ATP ranking previously peaking at No 42.

"It has been incredible, and today was a good performance from myself. I'm happy it was in straight sets, so I'm not too tired for tomorrow," Rinderknech said.