Qualifier Bernard Tomic takes the court as round one of the Shanghai Masters wraps up on Thursday. Tomic is facing Matteo Arnaldi, while Botic van de Zandschulp battles Daniel Merida.
(Q) Bernard Tomic vs. Matteo Arnaldi
Tomic will be playing in the main draw of a 1000-point tournament for the first time in more than seven years when he faces Arnaldi in round one of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Thursday. The 33-year-old Australian last played at this level at the 2019 Montreal event. Turning back the clock in somewhat improbable fashion, Tomic got a third-set retirement from Terence Atmane in the first round of qualifying and then disposed of Timofey Skatov 7-5, 6-4 on Tuesday.
Unsurprisingly, this marks the first meeting between these two players. After all, Tomic was pretty much gone from the scene when Arnaldi started coming into his own. The 38th-ranked Italian’s 2026 campaign is highlighted by a shocking semifinal run at Roland Garros, but he has not done much since that result. Still, Arnaldi is a far more reliable performer than Tomic at this point — and that’s an understatement.
Pick: Arnaldi in 2
Botic van de Zandschulp vs. Daniel Merida
Van de Zandschulp and Merida will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. There is no rest for the weary in Van de Zandschulp’s case, as he reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals but continues to play matches at every opportunity. The 41st-ranked Dutchman won a Davis Cup rubber against Colombia and then made appearances in each of the first two weeks on the Asian swing, losing right away in Chengdu to Nikoloz Basilashvili and then successfully qualifying in Beijing before falling to Francisco Cerundolo.
Merida has been one of the tour’s breakout stars this season. The 22-year-old Spaniard had never won a match at the ATP level prior to 2026, but he has won 21 of them this year. Although it has been a long season for Merida, he may have enough left in the tank to finish strong. The world No. 44 has played just a single match since the U.S. Open, taking down Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in Davis Cup qualies. Merida is more rested and is arguably in slightly superior form, so look for him to prevail.
Pick: Merida in 3
WWW?
It’s actually very nice to see Bernie qualifying for one of these again. He was an ass as a young man and an embarrassment to Australia with his behaviour both on court and off it but he turned out to be one of those rare asses who saw the error of his ways when he got older. He’s now deliberately playing tennis with a better attitude and trying to be a decent person to make amends for his insufferability as a younger person and he set himself the goal of returning to the Top 100 before he retires. This should help with that goal.
Didn’t even think he was still playing
Fery is outplaying Cilic, not really Nationalistic about tennis, mostly on the WTA, don’t mind Fery, or Draper though
Excellent effort from Fery, wow second set. Enjoy having a decent new UK player. It’s always fun to see how the players of your own country go internationally.
My meow comment on Aussie players is that Hype Boy lost in R1 qualifying at this tournament.
Merida in 3
Merida in three i guess
Bad take on Hubert man