Can Sinner face Medvedev, Alcaraz & Djokovic in Shanghai? | ATP Tour

Shanghai

Can Sinner face Medvedev, Alcaraz & Djokovic in Shanghai?

Four-time champion Djokovic returns to the court

September 30, 2024

Top seed Jannik Sinner faces a tough draw at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Italian could face three former No. 1 players in the PIF ATP Rankings – Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals and Novak Djokovic in the final – during his run at the China ATP Masters 1000 event.

Sinner will begin his tournament with Japanese veteran Taro Daniel or qualifier, and 31st-ranked Thomas Martin Etcheverry who is the first seeded opponent to play. Also in his draw are 14th-seeded Ben Shelton and 21st-seeded Arthur Fils, both potential opponents in the fourth round.

Medvedev and 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas are also in the Sinner quarter Shanghai draw. 2019 Shanghai champion Medvedev will open against Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild or qualifier.

Third-seeded Alcaraz, who made the fourth round in his debut last year, will face #NextGenATP contender Shang Juncheng or Coleman Wong in the second round. Highly-rated Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, the 25th seed, looks set to be a third-round opponent.

Others in the Spanish player category include eighth-placed Casper Ruud, eleventh-placed Tommy Paul and 30th-placed Tomas Machac in the semi-finals in Tokyo.

Djokovic will be playing only his second match since suffering a shock third-round loss at the US Open to Alexei Popyrin. The Serbian, who played a Davis Cup match a week after the season’s final major, will open with either American Alex Michelsen or in-form Chinese player Buyunchaokete.

The four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion has not played in the tournament since 2019. The event has not been played since 2020-22 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Djokovic has never failed to reach the quarter-finals in nine previous appearances in Shanghai.

Second seed Alexander Zverev will open in the qualifiers. The 2019 finalist could play Australia’s Jordan Thompson, 26th, in the third round. They have split their previous four Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings, including the split of their two clashes earlier this year.