SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON, October 1, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
The 13th edition of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 event of the season and the only one held in China, commences on Wednesday with players representing 28 nations.
France leads the 96-draw player field with 11, followed by Italy and the United States with 10 each. World No. 1 and top seed Jannik Sinner leads the Italian contingent and will open against either No. 91 Taro Daniel of Japan or a qualifier. He will attempt to become the first top seed to win the Shanghai title since Novak Djokovic in 2015. But it won’t be an easy task by any means.
The 23-year-old Sinner’s road to the Shanghai title match could also include matches against No. 31 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, No. 14 Ben Shelton of the United States, World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, and World No. 4 Djokovic. The last three are all former World No. 1 players.
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Djokovic of Serbia, a winner of 24 major titles, is seeded fourth and could face 49th-ranked American Alex Michelsen in the second round. The four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion is making his first tournament appearance since 2019. (The event was not played from 2020-22 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.) To his credit, Djokovic has never failed to reach at least the quarterfinals in his nine previous Shanghai appearances.
He’s baaaack
After five years, @DjokerNole returns to the #RolexShanghaiMasters! pic.twitter.com/GR2WiJXO5n
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 1, 2024
Also, World No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany, a former Shanghai finalist, is seeded second and World No. 3 Alcaraz is seeded third. Zverev will start against a qualifier, while Alcaraz will be tested by either No. 52 Shang Juncheng of China or 134th-ranked wild card Coleman Wong of Hong Kong in his first competition.
Rounding out the top eight seeds are: No. 5 Medvedev, No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 7 Taylor Fritz of the United States, No. 8 Casper Ruud of Norway.
Champagne towers with @CasperRuud98 & @AlexZverev
Cheers to the 2024 #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/64ErNdFQmi
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) September 30, 2024
Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who has battled a knee injury since Wimbledon, is not in this year’s draw.
While the 32 seeds in Shanghai — each who receive a first-round bye during the 11-day event — will gain the most attention at Qi Zhong, there’s plenty of attention being given to the Chinese players entered in this year’s 96-player main draw.
Catching up with the next generation of Chinese tennis stars #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/wYcVq8cTsc
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 1, 2024
Zhang Zhizhen, ranked 31st, head the list of five Chinese players. Last year, he made history by reaching the fourth round. He will play No. 74 Zizou Bergs of Belgium in his opening-round match.
Fellow Chinese Shang “Jerry” Juncheng, Wu Yibing, Zhou Yi and Bu Yunchaokete are also competing. The 19-year-old Shang, who last week won the Chengdu Open for his first ATP Tour singles title and became the first Chinese man to win a crown on home soil, will play fellow ATP NextGen star Coleman Wong of Hong Kong in a featured first-round match Wednesday evening.
“Well, probably very nervous before I walk on, you know, it’s a Masters and it’s at home. I think I’ll face a lot of pressure, but it’s going to be exciting for the way that I’m going to deal with it on court,” Shang said Tuesday during his pre-tournament news conference. “I think it will be a huge step for me and for my team as well, how to handle this. Just, again, try to enjoy it as much as I can and to have a lot of fun on the court, that’s the most important.”
Meanwhile, Zhang and Bu made history at the recent Hangzhou Open by playing in the first all-Chinese semifinal in ATP Tour history.
Zhou Yi
Zhang Zhizhen
Shang Juncheng
Wu YibingChina’s talented new generation has arrived at the #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/sUrzhFiplW
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 1, 2024
Wednesday’s Rolex Shanghai Masters order of play
By the numbers
No. 46 Gaël Monfils of France makes a popular return to Shanghai on Wednesday afternoon. The 38-year-old Frenchman plays No. 94 Damir Dzhumur of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the second match on Stadium Court. It’s their third career meeting (and a third one on a hard court), with Monfils the winner of both previous occasions. There are 16 first-round matches on Wednesday’s order of play.
“Quotable …”
Well, I think probably one of the most important moments in my career so far. I think to win my first title at a young age, and I think it’s very helpful for my confidence as well, not to mention it’s at home in Chengdu, which is very, very exciting. I think I was too excited to even sleep.
— Shang Juncheng of China, nicknamed “Jerry,” on what it meant for him to win his first ATP Tour title in his home country of China.
