Familiar foes Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev are on a collision course for the Shanghai semifinals and they will continue their campaigns in the third round on Thursday. Djokovic faces John Isner, while Medvedev goes up against Vasek Pospisil.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (16) John Isner
Djokovic and Isner will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers and for the 11th time on hard courts when they battle for a quarterfinal spot at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Thursday afternoon. The head-to-head series stands at 9-2 in favor of Djokovic (8-2 on hards), who most recently prevailed 6-4, 6-3 at the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals in what was their first meeting since 2015. Both of Isner’s victories have come at Masters 1000 events–7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(5) seven years ago in Indian Wells and 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 one year later in Cincinnati.
This should be another competitive contest, as both players have heated up over the past two weeks on the Asian swing. Djokovic returned from a shoulder issue to roll through the Japan Open before taking care of Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday in Shanghai. Isner is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Beijing (lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas) and so far this week has defeated both Alex de Minaur and Lucas Pouille in routine straight sets. The 17th-ranked American is serving huge and benefitting from a fast surface, but an in-form Djokovic will likely get too many returns in play while being too tough at the business end of each set.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. (Q) Vasek Pospisil
The good news for Pospisil is that he has already enjoyed a stellar week in Shanghai; the bad news is that he now has to meet Medvedev on Thursday. After successfully qualifying for the main draw with wins over Adrian Mannarino and Marcel Granollers, Pospisil defeated Diego Schwartzman and Joao Sousa. The 248th-ranked Canadian, who missed the first half of this season with a back injury, has not dropped a single set through four matches.
Medvedev has won his last five matches in straight sets, a stretch that includes a title in St. Petersburg and a 6-3, 6-1 beatdown of Cameron Norrie on Tuesday. The fourth-ranked Russian is completely on fire right now, with a well-documented five consecutive finals and two titles (also Cincinnati). He has lost only to Rafael Nadal (twice) and Nick Kyrgios during this incredible hot streak. Medvedev is looking completely unstoppable by anyone outside the top 10 and maybe even top five at the moment, so he should coast into the quarterfinals.
Pick: Medvedev in 2 losing 5-7 games
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Meddy and Djoker in 2.
Joker in 3; Med in 2.