The quarterfinal matches at the Shanghai Masters produced the biggest upsets of the week as the two remaining former champions of this event fell.
Both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer’s losses mean that we are guaranteed a first-time winner of the Shanghai Masters crown. Who will advance to Sunday’s showpiece final?
ATP Shanghai Masters Semifinal Predictions
Daniil Medvedev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Head-to-head: Medvedev 4-0 Tsitsipas
In-form Russian Daniil Medvedev will be seeking an eighth consecutive victory and a spot in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters when he plays Stefanos Tsitsipas–a man he has never lost to.
The World No.4 might have done plenty of winning heading to Shanghai this week, but he had only ever managed just a single main draw win at the Chinese city before this week–a straight-sets win over Zhang Ze last year. He doubled that tally when he eased past Cameron Norrie in the second round and then benefited from a disastrous collapse by Vasek Pospisil to get a foothold in his third-round match. The third seed then proceeded to put Fabio Fognini’s London chances in real jeopardy with a domineering straight-sets win in which he conjured up a staggering 91% points won on his first serve.
Medvedev and Tsitsipas do not see eye-to-eye following their infamous spat at the Miami Masters in 2018. Although the Russian confessed he doesn’t feel any animosity towards the Greek, he underlined that he is not friends with the 21-year-old. Tsitsipas punched his ticket to the Nitto ATP Finals courtesy of Medvedev’s win over Fognini, and shortly after, he went on to upset the defending champion Djokovic for the second time in his career.
Fitness-wise, Medvedev has been massively underestimated as he continues to put on a clinic week-in, week-out. The biggest danger for Tsitsipas is the potential drop in performance now that he secured his place among the elite eight in London and, of course, that stunning win over Djokovic on Friday. With that said, I am backing the unorthodox style of Medvedev to prevail again.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
Alexander Zverev vs Matteo Berrettini
Head-to-head: Zverev 1-1 Berrettini
Alexander Zverev overcame a second set wobble against Roger Federer, in which he spurned five match points, to win 6-3 6-7 6-3 and move up a spot into seventh in the Race To London with just four weeks remaining of the regular ATP season. It was a much-needed victory for Zverev ,who is looking to create some breathing space as the battle for the last two spots is quite congested. The German was mighty impressive at the English capital last season as he beat Federer and Djokovic en route to the biggest title of his fledgling career. It would be even more important for Zverev to qualify as he is reigning champion and could lose a huge chunk of ranking points if he is unsuccessful.
The 22-year-old will look to build-on last weekend’s semifinal showing in Beijing and next up will be Matteo Berrettini who was also victorious on Friday. The big-serving Italian was imperious in knocking out the fourth seed Dominic Thiem in straight sets. He hammered down six aces, won 82% of first serve points, and did not lose a single service game. It was a testament to Berrettini’s massive serve which has been a major weapon in the rapid progress he has made this year. Qualification for ATP Finals would be another fantastic addition to what has been his career-best season on tour. Berrettini would certainly take a massive step to achieve that goal should he beat Zverev. If the Italian finds his range with his ferocious forehand and has a good serving day (like he has this week), expect him to march on to his first Masters 1000 final.
Prediction: Berrettini in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
