Shanghai R2 previews and predictions: Tsitsipas vs. Auger-Aliassime, Isner vs. Pouille

Stefanos Tsitsipas will get another shot–whether he wants one or not–at Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday at the Shanghai Masters. Second-round action is also continuing with a showdown between John Isner and Lucas Pouille.

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (6) Stefanos Tsitsipas

Tsitsipas might as well have called Auger-Aliassime the second coming of Christ after the Greek fell to 0-5 in the head-to-head series (two in pros, three in juniors) with a 7-5, 6-2 loss in the Queen’s Club quarterfinals this summer. At the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Wednesday afternoon, Tsitsipas will get another shot at overcoming his demons. And if the 21-year-old cannot get the job done this time around, it is hard to see him ever doing so in the near future. After all, Auger-Aliassime has hit the wall at the end of a long and successful 2019 campaign. The 19-year-old Canadian has earned 33 of his 39 lifetime ATP-level match wins this season but was just 1-5 in his last six matches prior to arriving in Shanghai. He got a retirement from Alexander Bublik on Tuesday while leading 7-6(5), 4-0.

Although Tsitsipas endured a major slump of his own, he enjoys a considerable edge in form right now having apparently steered things back in the right direction. This week’s sixth seed is coming off a runner-up performance in Beijing, where he beat four top-30 opponents before falling to Dominic Thiem. Auger-Aliassime’s second serve has been a disaster of late, so barring an incredible serving day for the world No. 19 Tsitsipas should be able to turn the tide.

Pick: Tsitsipas in 2

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Lucas Pouille vs. (16) John Isner

Isner and Pouille will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Wednesday. A foot injury that kept Isner out of the entire clay-court swing looks like it will prevent him from making a return trip to the Nitto ATP Finals, but he is in solid albeit unspectacular form this fall. The 17th-ranked American reached the Beijing quarterfinals last week (beat Gael Monfils and Dan Evans, lost to Tsitsipas) before scoring an impressive 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over Zhuhai champion Alex de Minaur on Tuesday in Shanghai.

Pouille took a disappointing even record in 2019 (20-20) with him into Shanghai and he came close to falling under .500 despite being a heavy favorite against Chinese wild card Zhe Li on Tuesday. The 22nd-ranked Frenchman dropped the first set but ended up prevailing 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 over the world No. 231 in two hours and 12 minutes. A steep step up in competition may signal the end of the road for Pouille, especially if Isner serves 18 aces and zero double-faults like he did against de Minaur.

Pick: Isner in 2

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