It will be the lowest seed in Shanghai facing one of two remaining unseeded players in the top half of the draw when Ugo Humbert and J.J. Wolf collide on Wednesday. Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul are also in fourth-round action.
(12) Tommy Paul vs. (5) Andrey Rublev
Paul has said that Rublev is his favorite player on tour and–unfortunately for the American–a lot of that probably has to do with first-hand experience of being on the other side of the net. They have gone head-to-head five times heading into their fourth-round showdown at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Wednesday and Rublev has prevailed on four occasions. The Russian won their first three meetings, Paul finally got on the scoreboard via a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 decision at the Indian Wells Masters, and then Rublev cruised 7-5, 6-3 last fall in Gijon.
Rublev should be well rested and motivated for this Shanghai event after losing early in Beijing to Ugo Humbert. The world No. 7 is certainly looking like it, with straight-set victories over Quentin Halys and Adrian Mannarino. He said he played “unreal” while shaking hands with Mannarino following a 6-3, 6-0 rout on Monday. Paul beat Sebastian Ofner by the exact same scoreline in round two before outlasting Arthur Fils 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4. The 12th-ranked American has not been at his best since the end of the hard-court summer and will be hard-pressed to turn the tide against Rublev.
Pick: Rublev in 2
(32) Ugo Humbert vs. J.J. Wolf
This is the time of year when many players are wearing out down the stretch, but Humbert is going at the other direction. The 34th-ranked Frenchman has reached at least the quarterfinals at four of his last seven events, compiled a 2-1 Davis Cup record with defeats of Cameron Norrie and Stan Wawrinka, and so far in Shanghai has knocked off Botic van de Zandschulp and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Standing in Humbert’s way of yet another quarterfinal on Wednesday is Wolf, who lost their only previous encounter 7-5, 7-5 in 2019 Indian Wells qualifying. Although Humbert had a tough match against Tsitsipas, nobody in Shanghai endured a more difficult road to the fourth round than Wolf. The 51st-ranked American needed three sets against Pedro Cachin, Norrie, and Matteo Arnaldi–the last two both in third-set tiebreakers spanning a total of five hours and 57 minutes. On fire himself and facing a potentially fatigued opponent, this sets up well for Humbert.
Pick: Humbert in 2
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