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Shanghai - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ousted racquet-smashing teenager Alexander Zverev at the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, denying the young German a potential match-up with his elder brother, Mischa.
Zverev, 19, pushed the ninth seed all the way until he was broken for 5-6 in the third set, prompting a furious racquet-battering which earned him a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Tsonga, serving for the match, safely negotiated three break points before a spectacular airborne smash set up match point, which he gobbled up to win 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals.
Zverev's brother Mischa, a decade older at 29 but ranked just 110th in the world, also went three sets against Marcel Granollers of Spain but he came out on top 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-1.
The Zverevs were the first brothers since Olivier and Christophe Rochus at Miami 2006 to reach the last 16 of a Masters tournament, and were on course to meet in the semis.
Alexander Zverev has soared to 21st in the world after he won last month in St. Petersburg, becoming the first teenager in eight years to win an ATP tour title.
Results from the ATP Shanghai Masters on Thursday (x denotes seeding):
Third round
Mischa Zverev (GER) bt Marcel Granollers (ESP) 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x9) bt Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 7-5
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-4, 6-4
Jack Sock (USA) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x5) 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8)
