Shanghai R2 previews and predictions: Djokovic vs. Chardy, Thiem vs. Ebden

Novak Djokovic will kick off his Shanghai campaign when he takes the court against Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Matthew Ebden earned a shot at Dominic Thiem by winning his first-round match at this Masters 1000 event.

Jeremy Chardy vs. (2) Novak Djokovic

Djokovic will begin his bid for a fourth career Shanghai Masters title on Tuesday evening. The third-ranked Serb is 27-4 lifetime at this tournament and has never lost prior to the semifinals in seven trips. There is no reason to think anything will be different in 2018 because Djokovic has been the best player in the world dating back to Wimbledon. He took his comeback from various injuries to new heights with consecutive Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, while also triumphing in Cincinnati. The 31-year-old is 27-2 in his last 29 matches, 23-1 in his last 24, and 13-0 in his last 13.

Speaking of dominant numbers, it is Chardy who is up first for Djokovic in Shanghai. This week’s No. 2 seed is 11-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series and a ridiculous 26-0 in total sets against the Frenchman. Basically the only good news is that things cannot get possibly get any worse for Chardy, who gets another crack at Djokovic–whether he wants one or not–thanks to his 6-3, 7-6(5) defeat of Maximilian Marterer on Sunday. The world No. 41 is a decent 24-19 for the season, but it looks like his Asian swing will come to a swift end in this one.

Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 5-7 games

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Matthew Ebden vs. (6) Dominic Thiem

Thiem and Ebden will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Tuesday. This could have been a more marquee matchup between Thiem and Frances Tiafoe, but the up-and-coming American got bounced by the rock-solid veteran 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 during opening-round action. A resurgent Ebden is now 17-18 for his 2018 campaign and registers at 51st in the world after peaking at a career-high of No. 43 in July. His Asian swing had already been a successful one, with a quarterfinal performance in Chengdu and a three-set loss to Kevin Anderson in Tokyo.

Did Thiem temporarily forget that there is more tennis to be played this year even though the four Grand Slams have come and gone? It’s a fair question. Once eager to play more than anyone else on the circuit (even at obscure 250-point events), Thiem did not play either of the first two weeks in Asia after he captured a title on the indoor hard courts of St. Petersburg. Whatever the case, the seventh-ranked Austrian is back now and looks poised to wrap up a berth in the Nitto ATP Finals. With a surprisingly strong 8-1 record in his last nine hard-court matches, the sixth seed should get the job done without too much trouble.

Pick: Thiem in 2

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