Now a 96-player field and a two-week tournament, the Rolex Shanghai Masters begins on Wednesday.
The draw is predictably stacked–aside from the absence of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who continues to rest following his U.S. Open triumph. Everyone else in the top 25 is taking their talents to Shanghai. That means the top eight seeds are Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz, and Casper Ruud. Projected quarterfinal matchups are Alcaraz vs. Fritz, Medvedev vs. Sinner, Rune vs. Ruud, and Tsitsipas vs. Rublev.
The Medvedev-Sinner section is especially loaded. Zverev, who lifted the trophy in Chengdu last week and currently finds himself in the Beijing semifinals, is also in the bottom quarter of the Shanghai draw. Zverev’s path is brutal, likely beginning with Andy Murray before possibly including Ben Shelton, Sinner, and Medvedev just to reach the semis. Medvedev and Sebastian Korda are on a collision course for the third round.
Everyone would much prefer to be in the other quarter of the bottom half, which is home to Rune and Ruud. Both of those players have been struggling, so the semifinal spot from that section appears to be wide open. Hubert Hurkacz, Alex de Minaur, and Stan Wawrinka are among the contenders to take advantage.
In the top half of the bracket, Alcaraz could meet either Fritz or Frances Tiafoe in the last eight. Tsitsipas may run into Beijing quarterfinalist Ugo Humbert in the third round, while Rublev’s road to the quarters potentially features Aslan Karatsev, Astana finalist Adrian Mannarino, and Tommy Paul.
who ya got?
OMG Sinner looks just like Berdych in that photo. In fact thought it was him!