Jannik Sinner will have to do it the hard way if he is to win the Shanghai Masters as he could face Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz in a tricky draw. And that is before the final.
World No 1 Sinner will open his ATP Masters 1000 campaign against either Taro Daniel or a qualifier while he is projected to meet 14th seed Ben Shelton in the fourth round although the American will likely have to get past both Lorenzo Sonego and Arthur Fils en route to the last 16.
The winner from Section 1 is projected to meet Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-final, but the fifth seed has one or two tough players in his own way as he could meet either 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or 18th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round.
Tsitsipas, though, has had a nightmare run in recent months as he has won only two matches since the start of the North American hard-court swing with his most recent outing a first-round defeat to Alex Michelsen at the Japan Open.
Sinner against Carlos Alcaraz is the dream semi-final match-up and the latter has on paper an easier draw than the top seed.
The third-seeded Alcaraz will kick off his campaign against rising Chinese star Shang Juncheng or wildcard Coleman Wong while he could meet Nicolas Jarry in the third round. The Chilean stunned Alcaraz in the semi-final of the Argentine Open earlier in 2024.
The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion could meet either eighth seed Casper Ruud or 11th seed Tommy Paul in the quarter-final before a possible clash against Sinner.
World No 2 Alexander Zverev – who returns to action after missing the China Open due to illness – is the top seed in the bottom half of the draw and he will start off against a qualifier with Lorenzo Musetti a likely fourth-round opponent.
If the second seed gets out of his section, then he is projected to meet seventh seed Taylor Fritz in the last eight, but the American will likely have to beat either 12th seed Holger Rune or 17th seed Jack Draper in the last 16.
Tennis great Novak Djokovic is the other big-name player in the bottom half and the fourth seed will face either Michelsen or Buyunchaokete Bu in the second round.
Michelsen came through qualifying in Tokyo to reach the quarter-final and he is set to climb to a new career-high No 43 in the ATP Rankings, having started the year at No 97.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner, who will feature on the ATP Tour for the first time since losing in the third round of the US Open, could meet 28th seed Flavio Cobolli in the third round, 14th seed Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round and sixth seed Andrey Rublev in the quarters.
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