Could Sinner face Medvedev, Alcaraz & Djokovic in Shanghai?

Top seed Jannik Sinner faces a daunting 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 semi-finals and Novak Djokovic in the final — during his run at the Chinese ATP Masters 1000 event.

Sinner will begin his tournament against Japanese veteran Taro Daniel or a qualifier, with 31st seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry the first seeded opponent he could play. Also in his section of the draw are 14th seed Ben Shelton and 21st seed Arthur Fils, both potential fourth-round opponents.

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

Third seed Alcaraz, who made the fourth round on his tournament debut last year, will face a #NextGenATP opponent, Shang Juncheng or Coleman Wong, in the second round. Big-serving Chilean Nicolas Jarry, the 25th seed, looms as a potential third-round foe.

Also in the Spaniard’s quarter are eighth seed Casper Ruud, 11th seed Tommy Paul and surging Czech Tomas Machac, the 30th seed who is in the Tokyo semi-finals.

Djokovic is set for just his second match since suffering a stunning loss in the third round of the US Open Open to Alexei Popyrin. The Serbian, who played a Davis Cup match the week after the season's final major, will open against #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen or in-form Chinese player Buyunchaokete.

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

Second seed Alexander Zverev will open against a qualifier. The 2019 finalist could play red-hot Australian Jordan Thompson, the 26th seed, in the third round. They have split their four previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings, including a split of their two clashes earlier this year.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]