Fellow Americans Sam Querrey and Taylor Fritz will be facing each other for the second time on this Asian swing when they meet again in Shanghai on Wednesday. Second-round action also includes Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Mackenzie McDonald.
Sam Querrey vs. (Q) Taylor Fritz
Querrey and Fritz will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time in the last three weeks when they battle for a third-round spot at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday. Fritz took a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head series with a recent 7-6(1), 7-5 victory in the Chengdu quarterfinals. He also prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) earlier this season in Delray Beach, while Querrey’s win came via a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision at the 2016 Acapulco event.
This has already been a stellar week for Fritz, who qualified for the main draw and then defeated Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6(3) on Monday. The 20-year-old American is an impressive 20-15 at the ATP level in 2018 and approaching his career-high ranking of No. 53 (currently 59th). Querrey is just ahead of his compatriot at 57th in the world, with a modest 22-20 record for the season. However, the quick conditions in Shanghai suit Querrey to perfection and he trounced No. 9 seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 in his opener.
Pick: Querrey in 3
[polldaddy poll=10131555]
Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (Q) Mackenzie McDonald
If Fritz’s stay in Shanghai has been productive, McDonald’s is already out of this world. The 23-year-old American, who is a bit of a late bloomer on tour since he played college tennis at UCLA, also qualified for the main draw before upsetting 14th-seeded Milos Raonic 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 on Monday. Thus continues a breakout 2018 campaign for the world No. 78, who reached the Wimbledon fourth round and the Australian Open second round as a qualifier (lost to Grigor Dimitrov 8-6 in the fifth set).
MACKIE OUSTS RAONIC.
After coming through qualifying, American @MackieMacster defeats Raonic in the Shanghai opening round. 🇺🇸#RolexShMasters pic.twitter.com/aPF04AjSid
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 8, 2018
McDonald’s reward for his win over Raonic is a first-ever meeting with Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 28th-ranked Spaniard did extremely well in his own right to punch a ticket to the last 32, as he ousted Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4. Bautista Agut could really use a decent run, as he had been just 3-5 in his last eight matches prior to this week despite advancing to the St. Petersburg semifinals. The 30-year-old has plenty of successful experience in Shanghai, where he finished runner-up to Andy Murray in 2016.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 3
WYG?
Queerry in straight….RBA in 3.
What should be the RBA v MM poll is Tomic v FAA instead. Where are they playing?
2 weeks ago in Chengdu