Roger Federer joins Novak Djokovic and heads for the Shanghai Masters exit

Swiss star is beaten in three sets by Alexander Zverev, hours after world No 1 lost to Tsitsipas in China

Roger Federer was beaten  6-3, 6-7, 6-3 by Alexander Zverev in China on Friday. Reuters

Roger Federer became the second big-name casualty at the Shanghai Masters on Friday when he was beaten by Alexander Zverev.

The 38-year-old Swiss lost 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 to his German opponent after a hard-fought battle in the quarter-final in China.

Zverev, who has burst into life after a difficult season, missed five match points in the second set, with Federer finding some magic to recover from 40-0 at 6-5 and then saving two more in the tie-break.

There was more drama in the deciding set, with Federer quickly going down 3-0 and then engaging in a furious dialogue with the umpire after being given a rare point penalty for a hitting a ball into the stands for a second time.

Zverev, 22, managed to keep his cool and served out the victory at the second time of asking, taking his sixth match point.

He now faces Austria's Dominic Thiem or Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Djokovic was knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the 21-year-old Greek winning 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

The 32-year-old Serbian sits at the top of the rankings at the moment but trails Rafael Nadal in the yearly standings and, with the Spaniard absent, had hoped to make up significant ground.

Tsitsipas' win also ensured he will make his debut at the ATP Finals in London next month.