Shanghai Masters previews and predictions

The Shanghai Rolex Masters traditionally marks the beginning of the final month of every season. Players are always banged up and it often seems to be a case of the last man standing will win the title. The tournament is no stranger to retirements upon retirements. This year, though, the injured are not even bothering to test their mettle in Shanghai. Included on the absentee list are Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and Milos Raonic, just to name a few.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, however, are good to go. The two all-time greats, who have already monopolized the four Grand Slam trophies in 2017, are the respective top two seeds.

Shanghai Rolex Masters

Where: Shanghai, China
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $5,924,890
Points: 1000

Top seed: Rafael Nadal
2016 champion: Andy Murray (not playing)

Draw analysis: Nadal is coming off a title in Beijing, where he endured one serious scare along the way. It came right away in the opening round, during which the Spaniard had to save two match points against Lucas Pouille. Fast forward one week and the Frenchman could be Nadal’s third-round opponent in Shanghai. Either way, assuming the top seed begins by beating Jared Donaldson he will get a familiar foe during third-round action—Pouille or Fabio Fognini. Nadal is also on a quarterfinal collision course with Grigor Dimitrov, whom he defeated in three sets in the Beijing semis. Additionally, the top half of the Shanghai bracket includes Marin Cilic, Pablo Carreno Busta, Kevin Anderson, and Nick Kyrgios.

Federer, meanwhile, is taking part in his first official tournament since the U.S. Open. The Swiss was plagued by a minor back injury in New York, but he appeared to be 100 percent at the Laver Cup. He may have to be 100 percent if he runs into David Goffin in the Shanghai quarters or either Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin Del Potro, or John Isner in the semis. Goffin just captured back-to-back titles in Shenzhen and Tokyo. Zverev, Thiem, Del Potro, and Isner headline a jam-packed this quarter of this week’s draw. Thiem may have an especially tough opener on his hands in the form of Denis Shapovalov. Interested in tennis and other athletic gear? Find great deals at Sports Direct deals.

First-round upset alert: (Q) Alexandr Dolgopolov over (14) Jack Sock. Sock has remained a consistent force in doubles (runner-up with Isner last week in Beijing), but his singles results have nose-dived since the beginning of the season. The 20^th-ranked American is 1-5 in his last six matches dating back to the Washington, D.C. semifinals and he has lost in three consecutive first rounds. Dolgopolov, on the other hand, reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open and finished runner-up to Goffin in Shenzhen.

Hot: Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, Sam Querrey, Kevin Anderson, Paolo Lorenzi, Damir Dzumhur, Andrey Rublev, Jared Donaldson, Yuichi Sugita, Denis Shapovalov, Diego Schwartzman

Cold: Jack Sock, Lucas Pouille, Karen Khachanov, Joao Sousa, Viktor Troicki, Gilles Simon, Ivo Karlovic

Quarterfinal predictions: Grigor Dimitrov over Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic over Kevin Anderson, Alexander Zverev over John Isner, and Roger Federer over Roberto Bautista Agut

Semifinals: Dimitrov over Cilic and Zverev over Federer

Final: Zverev over Dimitrov

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