Shanghai R3 previews and predictions: Murray vs. Pouille, Wawrinka vs. Simon

Andy Murray will continue his Shanghai campaign when he goes up against Lucas Pouille during third-round action on Thursday. U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka is also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.

(13) Lucas Pouille vs. (2) Andy Murray

Murray and Pouille will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they clash in round three of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came about five months ago on the clay courts of Rome, where Murray cruised 6-2, 6-1. Pouille, however, has taken off since then with Grand Slam quarterfinal performances at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to go along with his first career ATP title on the indoor hard courts of Metz. The 16th-ranked Frenchman has maintained his fine form this week with straight-set victories over Fernando Verdasco and Nicolas Almagro.

But nobody is hotter than Murray, who has triumphed at four of his last six tournaments–Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, the Olympics, and Beijing. The second-ranked Scot improved to 18-3 lifetime at this event by crushing Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday. Although the 22-year-old Pouille is playing well, he probably won’t be the one to stop Murray from capturing a third title in Shanghai.

Pick: Murray in 2

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Gilles Simon vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka and Simon will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they meet again on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-2 in favor of Wawrinka, who most recently dominated 6-1, 6-2 earlier this season on the red clay of Monte-Carlo. Simon, however, has won two of their three hard-court showdowns and they have split a pair of Shanghai contests. The Swiss prevailed 6-4, 6-1 at this event six years ago before Simon got the job done 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 during second-round action in 2012.

After winning his third career major title at the U.S. Open, Wawrinka reached the St. Petersburg final but lost to Alexander Zverev 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. The world No. 3 opened in Shanghai on Wednesday by defeating Kyle Edmund 6-3, 6-4. It has already been a productive week for Simon, who punched his ticket to the last 16 with straight-set routs of Pablo Carreno Busta and Di Wu. Still, the Frenchman is just 27-22 for the 2016 campaign and struggling down at No. 32 in the world. Simon’s consistency can give out-of-form of lower-ranked opponents plenty of trouble, but a confident Wawrinka should simply hit the underdog off the court.

Pick: Wawrinka in 2

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