Shanghai R3 previews and predictions: Del Potro vs. Coric, Anderson vs. Tsitsipas

Juan Martin Del Potro, newly qualified for the Nitto World Tour Finals, will take on Croatia’s Borna Coric in the round of 16 in Shanghai on Thursday. Kevin Anderson and Stefanos Tsitsipas will do battle in the bottom half of the draw.

(3) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (13) Borna Coric

It will be the second matchup in six weeks for Juan Martin Del Potro and Borna Coric. The two men met in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open; Del Potro won in easy straight sets. He went on to lose in the final to Novak Djokovic. The Argentine also made the final last week in Beijing, where he lost a shocker to Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Going into Shanghai, Coric had been struggling during the Asian swing, absorbing two opening-round loses in Shenzhen and Beijing. The Croat posted a good win over Stan Wawrinka in the Shanghai first round, which stopped the bloodletting.

Del Potro may well be tired from his efforts in Beijing, but he should have enough left in the tank to dispatch his young opponent.

Cheryl pick: Del Potro in 2

Ricky pick: Coric in 3

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(7) Kevin Anderson vs. (10) Stefanos Tsitsipas

World No. 8 Kevin Anderson seems to have difficulty with young Stefanos Tsitsipas’s game. The two men have met twice this year–once on the clay courts of Estoril, once on hards in Toronto. Tsitsipas won both matches in three hard-fought sets.

Anderson enjoyed a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world this summer, but he has not had the best fall. A round of 16 loss at the hands of Dominic Thiem at the U.S. Open then a quarterfinal ouster to Richard Gasquet last week in Tokyo are Anderson’s latest results.

Tsitsipas has been in worse form than his opponent. At the end of an impressive summer, the Greek man bombed out in the second round at the U.S. Open and then lost in the opening round of Moselle and Shenzhen and in the quarters of Tokyo last week.

With just a 2-0 win record, it’s too early to call this a matchup problem for Anderson–but the South African’s serve doesn’t seem to rattle Tsitsipas the way it does other players. Both of their matches have been close, with Tsitsipas just pulling out wins. But with the youngster out of form, it should be Anderson’s chance to exact a little revenge.

Cheryl pick: Anderson in 3

Ricky pick: Anderson in 3

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