He defeated the top seed in straight sets for a run to the second round. He opened with a 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-2 win over Portugal’s Jaime Faria and beat compatriot Hugo Humbert, the 30th seed, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, before beating American No. 3 Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) to win the World No. 4 round for the 3rd time in his career. finished 15th, improving his record to 4-1 against top 20 opponents.
The server dominated the opening set and with neither player able to break, it went to a tiebreak. Gea dropped the first point of the tiebreak on his own serve, then held the next six, including two mini-breaks against Mencic. It was the same composure under pressure he showed in his two tiebreakers against Shelton.
The second set followed the same tight pattern, with Gea under pressure in the first. He faced a break point at 1-2 and needed five game points to hold his second service game. The Czech’s serve gradually lost its edge and his nerves began to show at 2-2 when he badly smashed a forehand. Gea pounced to miss his third chance of the game with a brilliant pass.
In Shanghai in 2024, Mencic, a quarterfinalist, defeated Serbia’s Miomir Kecemanovic 6-3, 6-3 and Argentina’s 21st seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The loss ended his 21-match winning streak against players ranked outside the top 50 on hard courts and his bid to become the youngest person to reach multiple quarterfinals at the event.
The year of Arthur Khea. 241 to Masters 1000 quarterfinals
Gea started the season with number 241. He qualified for his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, won his first Challenger title in Noumea and reached the Challenger finals in Zadar and Granby.
He then won his first ATP title in Los Cabos, a run that took him into the top 100. At the US Open, he lost in the final round of qualifying, but entered the main draw as a lucky loser and reached the fourth round, matching the best run of a lucky loser in a Grand Slam. He won three matches in Beijing before arriving at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where his win over Mencic extended his record to 13-2 since July.
