Scouting Report: Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner Headline Shanghai Return

For the first time since 2019, the ATP Tour returns to Shanghai for the Rolex Shanghai Masters, which is now a 12-day event.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will be joined by Beijing finalists Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner (who will play for that title on Wednesday) among the trophy favourites, with 19 of the Top 20 players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in the draw.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch at the season’s penultimate ATP Masters 1000.

1) Top Seed Alcaraz Seeks First Title Since Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz has enjoyed a strong hard-court campaign following his success at the All England Club, but despite a 14-4 record across four events, he is still seeking his first hard-court crown since Indian Wells. After a run to the Beijing semi-finals in his successful debut on Chinese soil, Alcaraz will open against Nuno Borges or Gregoire Barrere in Shanghai.

2) Defending Champion Medvedev Eyes More Chinese Success: Medvedev followed his US Open final run — which included a victory against Alcaraz in the semis — with another trip to the title match in Beijing. The Shanghai second seed won the previous staging of the ATP Masters 1000 without losing a set in 2019, when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev in the last two rounds. Medvedev will meet Cristian Garin or Aleksandar Kovacevic in his opener.

3) Can Sinner Continue Late-Season Surge?: Sinner won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto in August and reached the Beijing final earlier this week. Can he back up his big run in the Chinese capital, which included a dominant semi-final win against Alcaraz? Sinner’s Beijing success will see him compete in Shanghai at a new career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of World No. 4 and as a first-time member of the Top 5. The Italian will face Marcos Giron or Daniel Elahi Galan in his first match.

4) Zverev Aims For Third Straight Deep Run In China: A Shanghai finalist in 2019, Zverev enters the 2023 event on the back of a title in Chengdu and a semi-final showing in Beijing. His recent success has given him a cushion of more than 300 points in seventh place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, with Holger Rune and Taylor Fritz behind him.

5) Tsitsipas, Rune Look To Break Out Of Slumps: Stefanos Tsitsipas has not strung together consecutive singles wins since his run to the Los Cabos title in August, while Holger Rune has not done so since he reached the Wimbledon quarters. Rune snapped a four-match losing streak with a big win against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Beijing opening round last week, only to be turned back by Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.

6) Zhang, Shang Lead Four Chinese Entrants: Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng are joined by fellow home favourites Te Rigele and Bu Yunchaokete in the main draw. World No. 60 Zhang is the lone direct entrant, while his three countymen all received wild cards. Zhang will meet Richard Gasquet in the first round, while the 18-year-old Shang meets Yosuke Watanuki for the right to face Taylor Fritz in the second round. Chinese World No. 100 Wu Yibing, who has not competed since his second-round US Open run, withdrew from Shanghai.

7) Fritz Heads Six American Seeds: The seventh-seeded Fritz is joined by 10th seed Frances Tiafoe, 12th seed Tommy Paul, 19th seed Ben Shelton, 26th seed Sebastian Korda and 29th seed Christopher Eubanks in the Shanghai draw. J.J. Wolf, Mackenzie McDonald, Brandon Nakashima, Giron and Kovacevic round out the American interest.

8) Ruud Among Four Top 10 Debutants: Half of the 32 seeds are making their Shanghai debuts, including four Top 10 players — Alcaraz, Rune, Sinner and Casper Ruud. Norway’s Ruud reached his first hard-court quarter-final of the season last week in Beijing, where his run was ended by Alcaraz.

9) Astana Champ Mannarino Seeks First Shanghai Win: Adrian Mannarino won the Astana title on Tuesday to go along with his Newport trophy from July, making this the Frenchman’s first season with multiple singles crowns. The 34-year-old is set to compete in Shanghai for the sixth time. He is seeking his first win at the event.

10) Dodig/Krajicek, Koolhof/Skupski Lead Doubles Draw: Fresh off their meeting in the Beijing final, the team of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek and the duo of Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will again be the top two seeds in Shanghai. Their Wednesday meeting in Beijing will determine who enters Shanghai atop the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.