TENNIS NEWS – NOVAK DJOKOVIC RETURNS TO ACTION AT SHANGHAI MASTERS, DEL POTRO ALSO PLAYING FIRST TOURNAMENT SINCE U.S. OPEN

Written by: Staff on 9th October 2016

TENNIS NEWS - NOVAK DJOKOVIC RETURNS TO ACTION AT SHANGHAI MASTERS, DEL POTRO ALSO PLAYING FIRST TOURNAMENT SINCE U.S. OPEN

epa05446533 Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic during the third round of the Rogers Cup Men's Singles tennis tournament in Toronto, Canada, 28 July 2016. EPA/WARREN TODA |

By Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic has not yet wrapped up the year-end No. 1 ranking, and Andy Murray has a big opportunity to continue applying pressure at this week’s Shanghai Rolex Masters. Murray has captured the title at four of his last six events–Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics, and on Sunday at the China Open. Djokovic, on the other hand, has struggled both physically and mentally since the beginning of Wimbledon. Shanghai marks the top-ranked Serb’s first appearance since he fell to Stan Wawrinka in the U.S. Open final and this tournament may be just what the doctor ordered. Djokovic is 24-3 lifetime in Shanghai, 18-1 in his last 19 matches, and has lifted the winner’s trophy on three occasions.

Ricky previews the last tournament on the Asian swing and makes his predictions:

Shanghai Rolex Masters

Where: Shanghai, China

Surface: Hard

Top seed: Novak Djokovic

Defending champion: Novak Djokovic

If Murray wants to continue his trek toward the top ranking at the end of this season, he may have to do it the hard way. Murray’s Shanghai campaign will likely start in the form of Steve Johnson, against whom the world No. 2 needed a third-set tiebreaker to prevail in the quarters of the Rio Olympics. The bottom quarter of this draw also includes Gael Monfils, Lucas Pouille, David Goffin, and Olympic silver medalist Juan Martin Del Potro. Murray could run into Pouille in round three and either Monfils, Goffin, or Del Potro in the last eight.

Just about anything could transpire in Djokovic’s quarter, and not simply because he heads into this week as a question mark. You never what his opening opponent, Fabio Fognini, is going to bring to the table on any given day. Potential third-round opponents Richard Gasquet, Grigor Dimitrov, and Ivo Karlovic can all be dangerous. Djokovic’s nearest top-eight seed is an unimposing Tomas Berdych, but a more likely quarterfinal adversary for the No. 1 seed is Tokyo champion Nick Kyrgios.

Nadal and Djokovic are on the same side, but another installment of that rivalry is unlikely to come to fruition based on their respective current states. Although the Spaniard is no longer dealing with a wrist problem, he fell to Lucas Pouille in round for at the U.S. Open and to Grigor Dimitrov in last week’s Beijing quarters. Nadal could kick off his campaign against familiar foe Lukas Rosol before potentially running into Bernard Tomic. The other side of Nadal’s section appears to be up for grabs among Marin Cilic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner, and Alexander Zverev.

The Stan Wawrinka-Milos Raonic quarter is the least intriguing, it has to be said. Neither Wawrinka nor Raonic should have any serious problem reaching the quarters—unless Raonic is still hampered by the ankle injury that forced him to withdraw from a semifinal date with Dimitrov in Beijing. If that does turn out to be the case, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, or Jack Sock could take advantage.

First-round upset alerts:

Juan Martin Del Potro over (11) David Goffin. Goffin ended a recent slump by finishing runner-up in Tokyo. But Del Potro is well-rested and coming off a final at the Olympics, a quarterfinal at the U.S. Open, and a five-set Davis Cup victory over Murray.

Feliciano Lopez over (10) David Ferrer. Ferrer has won seven straight matches against his fellow Spaniard to seize a 10-6 lead in the head-to-head series. Four of their last seven encounters, however, have come on clay. Plus this isn’t the same Ferrer.

Grigor Dimitrov over (14) Richard Gasquet. Although Gasquet is sweeping the head-to-head series 5-0, it is Dimitrov who has a significant advantage in current form. Gasquet bowed out of Beijing to Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round, whereas Dimitrov’s hot streak continued with a runner-up performance.

Quarterfinal picks: Nick Kyrgios over Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev over Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka over Milos Raonic, and Juan Martin Del Potro over Andy Murray

Semifinals: Kyrgios over Zverev and Wawrinka over Del Potro

Final: Wawrinka over Kyrgios