A couple of quarter-final picks from Shanghai today, and both matches have something interesting going on. We've got a lopsided head-to-head in one and a first meeting between two players who are hard to read in the other. Let's get into it.
Shanghai Masters Predictions
Alexander Zverev vs Alex De Minaur
Head-to-head: Zverev 8-4 De Minaur
Eight wins from twelve is a pretty commanding record, and the last time De Minaur beat Zverev was back in 2022, so this streak has been one-way traffic for a while now. The slow indoor hard courts in Shanghai tend to drag rallies out, and that's not a great sign for De Minaur, whose game is built on speed and redirection rather than winning long exchanges from the baseline.
Zverev has been one of the best hard-court players in the world this year and he's deep in Shanghai for a reason. Hard to see De Minaur making this competitive, even if he always finds a way to stay in it early, and I think Zverev closes this one out in three.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
Arthur Gea vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: First meeting
This one is harder to call. ADF is ranked higher and has more tour experience, but he's been wildly inconsistent all season and can go missing for long stretches in matches. Gea is only 19 and ranked 56th, but getting to a Masters quarter-final at that age tells you something and hard courts suit his game better than clay does.
Davidovich Fokina tends to raise his level in patches and then hand matches away with errors, and against a younger player with nothing to lose, that's a risky formula. That said, feel like Gea's the right call here, though it'll probably go the distance, all things considered.
Prediction: Gea in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
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