The German second seed, who had secured the year-end world No. 1 honour following Carlos Alcaraz’s elimination, was pushed to the limit by Bublik before prevailing after two hours and 41 minutes.
Zverev’s victory marked his first appearance in the Shanghai quarter-finals since 2019 and his 40th quarter-final at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Zverev survives dramatic opening set
The opening set was a tight contest dominated by serve, with neither player able to establish a clear advantage.
Bublik came close to taking the set, creating four set points, but Zverev held his nerve and capitalised on his opponent’s errors to force a tie-break.
The German then raised his level at the crucial moment, recovering from a difficult position to win the tie-break 8–6 and take the opening set.
Bublik had opportunities to put Zverev under greater pressure, but the Kazakh was unable to convert his chances as the former world No. 2 edged ahead.
Bublik responds as Zverev struggles with ankle issue
Bublik refused to surrender and produced a stronger performance in the second set.
The Kazakh broke Zverev’s serve for the first time in the tournament, taking advantage of a wayward backhand to level the match at one set apiece with a 6–4 win.
Zverev appeared uncomfortable at times, repeatedly attending to his right ankle during the set. The physical concern added another layer of difficulty to an already demanding encounter.
After the match, Zverev admitted that the ankle problem had affected him.
“My ankle was acting up, unfortunately,” he said, according to the tournament’s official report.
He added that he had been playing a lot of tennis but was pleased to have progressed despite the physical challenge.
German dominates deciding tie-break
With a quarter-final place at stake, the deciding set delivered another tense battle.
Bublik managed to put Zverev under pressure, but the German responded after falling behind and eventually forced another tie-break.
This time, Zverev was in complete control. He surged ahead and won the deciding tie-break 7–1, sealing an important victory and ending Bublik’s hopes of reaching the last eight.
Zverev struck 14 aces during the match, while Bublik finished with 20 aces but also committed eight double faults.
The win also reduced Zverev’s career head-to-head deficit against Bublik to 2–3.
De Minaur awaits in the quarter-finals
Zverev will next face Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6–3, 6–4 to book his place in the quarter-finals.
De Minaur arrives at the encounter in strong form, having reached the final of the Beijing ATP 500 tournament the previous week and progressed through his Shanghai matches without dropping a set.
The Australian will present another difficult test for Zverev, who will hope his ankle recovers sufficiently before their meeting.
For the German, the victory over Bublik represents another important step in his Shanghai campaign as he targets his first title at the tournament and continues his pursuit of another Masters 1000 crown.