Shanghai Rolex Masters 2018: Watch Out for the Young Guns!

Shanghai Rolex Masters 2018: Watch Out for the Young Guns!

Kyle Edmund vs Alexander Zverev

Two of the brightest young talents in men’s tennis meet in the quarter-final of the Shanghai Masters 2018, and it’s already brewing to be a tightly contested affair as both players aim to win their first title in the famed Chinese city.

Alexander Zverev has been in an up-and-down form all season long, but he’s the World No.5 for a reason. The German sensation will now look to go all the way to the final in his quest to secure a berth in next month’s year-end tournament in London.

Meanwhile, Kyle Edmund will aim for his first title of the year. He has little to no chance to make it to the O2 this year, but winning in Shanghai—one of the biggest and most prestigious events in the ATP tour—should provide enough motivation for the British no.1.

Talking Points

Zverev has had a few setbacks in recent weeks, to say the least. While he opened the season on a high note—reaching the Miami Open final and winning titles in Madrid and Germany—he has been on a slump since his Washington Open victory.

The 21-year-old star bowed out of the quarter-finals in the Rogers Cup and failed to make it to the last eight of the Cincinnati Masters, US Open and China Open.

He is currently fifth in the ATP Race to London rankings and is well on pace to make it to the World Tour Finals. However, he can’t be too overconfident as there is still a chance for him to drop in the standings if the other chasers outperform him here in this tournament.

Zverev is yet to drop a set in Shanghai though, and he will be happy to see himself slowly regaining his 2017 form that saw him bag two Masters titles.

The German youngster beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in his opening game of the competition before making easy work of Alex de Minaur in the Round of 16. In fact, in his latest match with De Minaur, Zverev almost pulled off a bagel in the first set.

He ended the match with 6-1, 6-4 scoreline, hitting six aces and winning 81 percent of his first serve points in the process.

On the other hand, Edmund will be hoping to ride the momentum from his recent semis berth in the China Open. He failed to make it past the Round of 32 in five of his last six tournaments prior to the competition—even packing his bags in the Round of 128 in the US Open—so his recent performance is undoubtedly a welcome boost.

Just like Zverev, the 23-year-old young gun is yet to drop a set in Shanghai. He started brightly with a dominant win over Filip Krajinovic and followed it up with a masterclass against former top-20 player Andreas Seppi.

Edmund had a fairly difficult time in his last-16 match-up with Nicolas Jarry—the Marin Cilic conqueror. Jarry hit 17 service aces in their encounter, but the top-rated Brit defended well and won 30 return points to come out on top and grab the Shanghai Rolex Masters 2018 news headlines.

It remains to be seen how Zverev and Edmund will play against each other. Both players are aggressive and like to hit lots of winners (though Zverev is a more polished all-rounder), so it might come down to strategy and overall fitness.

Interestingly though, both players noticeably struggle when it comes to volleys and net plays, so that is something they might look into ahead of their meeting.

History

The two players have met three times before, once every year since 2016. Unfortunately for Edmund, he has never won a match and a set against Zverev, retiring in their first ever meeting back in 2016 and losing in straight sets in the next two.

However, it should be noted that Edmund managed to challenge Zverev for real in their latest fight this 2018. The German ace won by just two games in the first set of their Italian Open bout before needing a tie-break in the second to send Edmund packing.

Both Zverev and Edmund played poorly in Shanghai last year, the former making it only to the third round and the latter failing to get past the second round. With that said, they are expected to play with more determination and hunger now that they are in the elite eight.

What are the odds?

The Shanghai Rolex Master 2018 odds at SBOBET favour Alexander Zverev at 1.40 Money Line. Meanwhile, Kyle Edmund is a huge underdog at 2.85.

The Asian Handicap market also pin the German as the biggest favourite. Bookies give him a -1.50 handicap for 2.11, while Edmund gets a measly 1.74 for the same boost.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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