After beating Nikoloz Basilashvili, Alexander Zverev has another tough test on his hands with Alex de Minaur in Shanghai on Thursday. The third-round schedule also includes a second meeting between Novak Djokovic and Marco Cecchinato.
Alex de Minaur vs. (4) Alexander Zverev
Zverev and de Minaur will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the third time this season when they battle for a place in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters have gone Zverev’s way, but the first one was not easy. The 21-year-old German prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) during Davis Cup first-round action in Australia before triumphing 6-2, 6-4 in the Washington, D.C. final.
De Minaur’s runner-up performance in the district is a highlight of what has been a breakout 2018 campaign for the 19-year-old. He also reached the Sydney title match and is sporting a 24-19 ATP-level record following straight-set victories this week over Vasek Pospisil and Benoit Paire. Zverev is a stellar 47-15 for the year but had been just 5-4 in nine matches since Washington, D.C. The world No. 5 opened in Shanghai with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Beijing champion Nikoloz Basilashvili despite admitting afterward that he is dealing with a cold and feeling less than 100 percent. This could be an upset opportunity for a confident and in-form de Minaur.
Pick: De Minaur in 3
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(16) Marco Cecchinato vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Calling this a chance for revenge would not exactly be accurate, as the third round of Masters 1000 event is a far cry from the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. Still, Djokovic will relish the opportunity to run into Cecchinato once again after losing to the Italian 6-3, 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-6(11) at Roland Garros. This is, of course, a much different Serb who is now on display. Djokovic went on to capture back-to-back major titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and he is 24-1 in his last 25 matches following Wednesday’s 6-3, 7-5 victory over Jeremy Chardy.
Cecchinato has been using his career-high ranking (currently No. 21) to enter more and more hard-court tournaments and the result is the first four ATP-level wins of his career on this surface. He beat Lukas Lacko in St. Petersburg, Marcos Baghdatis in Beijing, and so far Gilles Simon and Hyeon Chung in Shanghai (both in third-set tiebreakers). All signs point to this being one-way traffic for Djokovic.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 5-7 games
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who ya got?
”de minaur in 3 ”lol