Rafael Nadal will be facing familiar foe Fabio Fognini when they take the court for third-round competition on Thursday in Shanghai. A quarterfinal spot will also be on the line when Roger Federer goes up against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Fabio Fognini
Nadal and Fognini will be squaring off for the 13th time in their careers when they meet again round three of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 9-3 in favor of Nadal, who is 4-1 against Fognini on hard courts and 4-0 overall in their last four since the Italian pulled off a stunning five-set upset at the 2015 U.S. Open. The Spaniard has prevailed twice in 2017; 6-1, 7-5 in the Miami semifinals and 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 on the clay courts of Madrid.
Possible fatigue suggests this may be a favorable time for Fognini to get another win over Nadal, but current form does not. The world No. 1 is riding a 13-match winning streak that includes titles at the U.S. Open and in Beijing. Nadal showed no signs of slowing down when he clobbered Jared Donaldson 6-2, 6-1 in a lightning-quick 54 minutes on Wednesday. Fognini has advanced with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Fernando Verdasco and a 7-6(7), 6-3 victory over Lucas Pouille. The world No. 28 is a respectable 34-20 this season with a 6-2 record this fall that includes a runner-up performance in St. Petersburg. Nadal may run out of gas at some point this week, but he is playing too well and will be too motivated against this particular opponent to suffer a third-round exit.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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(Q) Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (2) Roger Federer
Federer remained mathematically alive in the race with Nadal for the year-end No. 1 ranking when he beat Diego Schwartzman 7-6(4), 6-4 on Wednesday. The 36-year-old Swiss is playing for this first time since the U.S. Open, where he reached the quarterfinals despite a bad back and then lost to Juan Martin Del Potro. Federer is an awesome 40-4 this season with major titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Up next for the second seed on Thursday is Dolgopolov, who is 0-4 in the head-to-head series and 0-9 in total sets. Their two most recent encounters have come at Grand Slams, with Federer cruising 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 at the 2016 Australian Open and getting a retirement while leading 6-3, 3-0 a few months ago at Wimbledon. Dolgopolov is healthy and in much better form now, with a recent fourth-round showing in New York and a runner-up finish in Shenzhen. The 41st-ranked Ukrainian has already won four matches in Shanghai–two in qualifying and at the expense of Jack Sock and Feliciano Lopez in the main draw. A plethora of matches in his legs and a much tougher opponent on the other side of the net will likely see the end of Dolgopolov’s run.
Pick: Federer in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
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