Third-round matches will begin on Sunday at the ATP Shanghai Masters alongside some uncompleted second rounds. Carlos Alcaraz will be in action as he takes on another Chinese talent. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for day 5. But which players will advance to the next round?
ATP Shanghai Day 5 Predictions
Tomas Machac vs Aleksandar Vukic
Head-to-Head: Machac 1-0 Vukic
Tomas Machac is back to playing his best tennis in the last few days. He displayed great fighting spirit against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and turned the match in his favor. Machac has built some good momentum and will look to rack up wins. Vukic is a tough player and has played high-quality tennis this week. He took out Casper Ruud in straight sets to get the biggest win of his career. Vukic’s confidence will be high but he hasn’t been very consistent lately so that would be a big challenge. Machac has played some grinding matches recently so that might come into play but I still like his chances.
Prediction: Machac in 3
Gael Monfils vs Ugo Humbert
Head-to-Head: Monfils 1-3 Humbert
This is the third meeting of the year between these two French players with the scores tied at 1-1. Ugo Humbert has had the upper hand in this rivalry but Monfils had to retire mid-match in two of those losses. Monfils won a tight match against Sebastian Baez and will need to improve to beat Humbert, who is in good form and has already defeated one of his compatriots in his first match here at the Shanghai Masters. Monfils will need to serve brilliantly to have any chance.
Prediction: Humbert in 3
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alexandre Muller
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Stefanos Tsitsipas won a challenging second-round match against Kei Nishikori, who looked less than his best physically. It was a good win for Tsitsipas but by no means suggests that he played at a high level. Alexandre Muller upset Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets. It was one of his best performances and should give him ample confidence to pull off another upset against Tsitsipas. The Greek player has some holes in his game on fast hard courts and Muller will look to exploit it. Muller will also need Tsitsipas to have a below-par serving night. The Frenchman has a genuine shot at this but I feel that Tsitsipas will bring a good level.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
Carlos Alcaraz vs Wu Yibing
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Carlos Alcaraz showed no mercy against Juncheng Shang in the second round and pounced on the weak serve of the Chinese. He will look to do the same again as Yibing Wu doesn’t have a great serve either. Yibing has played two wonderful matches so far but that level might not be enough against Alcaraz.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
