More action from the Rolex Shanghai Masters will feature a blockbuster NextGen battle between Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe. We predict that match for you and three others. In addition to that, we also have two more full sets of predictions.
Rolex Shanghai Masters Day 2 Predictions
Marin Cilic vs Albert Ramos Vinolas
Head-to-head: Cilic 4-2 Ramos Vinolas
Marin Cilic has had a nightmare year with knee injuries and is arriving to Shanghai unseeded. The Croat is certainly nowhere near his best right now, but he still remains a perennial danger at all times, especially on fast hard courts. A brief renaissance began in Washington, where he reached the quarterfinal. He would go on to reach the fourth round at US Open, taking a set off eventual champion Nadal (one of only two men to do so).
Albert Ramos-Vinolas also endured an indifferent start to the year when he slipped outside the Top 100 in June, but found his groove in the brief post-Wimbledon clay-court swing where he reached the semifinal in Bastad, made the final in Kitzbuhel, and won the title in Gstaad. That form propelled him back into the Top 50. Despite failing to win a match in North America, the Spaniard does bring a lot of momentum to Shanghai after making the semifinals in Zhuhai. Cilic needs to turn things around sooner rather than later and I think this is not a straightforward opener for him.
Prediction: Ramos-Vinolas in 3
Diego Schwartzman vs Vasek Pospisil
Head-to-head: Schwartzman 0-1 Pospisil
US Open quarterfinalist Diego Schwartzman will face off against Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil. Schwartzman overcame a rough patch between Rio in February and the Madrid Open at the start of May where he failed to win back-to-back matches in eight tournaments. He snapped that poor form with a fine semifinal run in Rome. Schwartzman has one title this year–Los Cabos in Mexico, during the lead-up to the US Open. It was a title triumph that served as springboard for his brilliant run to the last eight at the US Open, where he was beaten by the eventual champion Nadal.
Pospisil, who has fallen to No.245 in the world rankings after having back surgery in January, returned to action at Wimbledon, but was made to wait for his first tour-level victory until the US Open. Entering the main draw in New York with a protected ranking, the Canadian produced one of the biggest upsets of the first round when he knocked out #9 seed Karen Khachanov. He is yet to register another win since then.
Schwartzman is a great returner and will likely put more balls back in play to make the big-serving Canadian play one extra ball. That should unsettle Pospisil.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 2
Gael Monfils vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: First meeting
Gael Monfils will play at Rolex Shanghai Masters, but once again his fitness is real concern. The flashy Frenchman has played out one of his best-ever seasons on tour, winning his eighth career title on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam in February, then reaching four semifinals in 2019 and a memorable run to the quarters of the US Open. However, Monfil’s results and form stalled as injuries crept in at intervals throughout the season.
Lorenzo Sonego will know all too well the last time Monfils played an Italian, and he will take plenty of solace of how his younger compatriot Matteo Berrettini fared in one of the biggest matches of his career. Sonego has already broken ground in a Masters 1000 tournament, having made the quarterfinals in the Monte Carlo Masters this year. But with that being said, Monfils will be a tad too good in this one. Sonego has recorded quite possibly the best-ever season of his career, but aside from the clay and a surprise form on grass (where he won his first ATP tour title in Antalya), he has been average on hard courts.
Prediction: Monfils in 2
Denis Shapovalov vs Frances Tiafoe
Head-to-head: Shapovalov 2-1 Tiafoe
Denis Shapovalov is chasing his maiden main draw win at the Shanghai Masters. He is looking to end the season on a high note, with qualification for the NextGen ATP Finals in Milan in sight. He reached his fourth tour-level semifinal in Chengdu at the end of September, but just like the previous three he lost out to the eventual champion.
Frances Tiafoe is still short on match fitness. That was telling as he lost handily to Alexander Zverev at the China Open, in his first match since the US Open second round defeat–also to the German.
Both these players possess explosive firepower, especially on the forehand wing. Shapovalov’s game is built on hitting right through his opponents, and if he can stay aggressive and Tiafoe relinquishes too much ground, he should power through to his first win in Shanghai.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
