Carlos Alcaraz will continue his Shanghai campaign when he faces familiar foe Gael Monfils during fourth-round action on Wednesday. Tommy Paul and Tomas Machac are also part of a busy schedule of play.
(3) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Gael Monfils
Alcaraz and Monfils will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they clash in round four of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Wednesday afternoon. Surprisingly, Monfils won their most recent meeting 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 at the Cincinnati Masters. However, Alcaraz still leads the head-to-head series by a 3-2 margin; he prevailed 7-5, 6-1 at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters and 6-2, 6-4 this spring in Miami.
The second-ranked Spaniard should be poised for revenge in this one. He was a shadow of his real self on American hard courts following his silver-medal effort at the Paris Olympics, losing to Monfils in Cincinnati and to Botic van de Zandschulp at the U.S. Open. It’s safe to say that Alcaraz is back to normal now. He clinched the Laver Cup for Team Europe, beat Jannik Sinner for the Beijing title, and has advanced in Shanghai with straight-set defeats of Jerry Shang and Yibing Wu. With Monfils coming off consecutive three-setters against Sebastian Baez and Ugo Humbert, a red-hot Alcaraz will likely take advantage of a vulnerable opponent.
Pick: Alcaraz in 2
(11) Tommy Paul vs. (30) Tomas Machac
Paul and Machac have already gone head-to-head once on this Asian swing. Their first-ever encounter came at the ATP 500 in Tokyo, where the 23-year-old Czech survived a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) thriller.
Another high-quality contest should be in the cards, as both guys have been outstanding basically the entire season. Paul has continued his fine form and has kept himself in Nitto ATP Finals contention with Shanghai wins over Tommy Paul and Alejandro Tabilo–the latter from five match points down. Machac is 28-19 for the year after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 and Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-2. With a second life at this event and both a Turin spot and revenge for Tokyo on his mind, look for Paul to advance.
Pick: Paul in 2
