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Match Details
Fixture: (Q) Denis Shapovalov vs Lorenzo Sonego
Date: October 2, 2024
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2024
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, Shanghai, China
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $8,995,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Denis Shapovalov vs Lorenzo Sonego preview
Former top-10 player Denis Shapovalov will face Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Shanghai Masters 2024 on Wednesday (October 2).
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Shapovalov commenced his comeback at the start of the season following an injury break. His best showing this year has been a third-round appearance at the French Open and Wimbledon, as well as at the Miami Open and the Madrid Open.
Despite his best efforts, Shapovalov hasn't been able to move up in the rankings. Thus, he had to compete in the qualifying rounds of the Shanghai Masters. He beat Hsu Hsiou Yu 6-3, 6-3 to begin his campaign on a winning note.
Shapovalov then faced Sho Shimabukuro for a spot in the main draw. The Canadian looked to be in trouble after losing the first set. However, his opponent sustained an injury in the second set, and was forced to retire, which sealed his place in the main draw.
Meanwhile, after not winning back-to-back matches the entire season, Sonego caught fire for a week at the Winston-Salem Open a few weeks ago. He made it all the way to the final, and beat Alex Michelsen 6-0, 6-3 to claim his first title in nearly two years. He didn't drop a set en route to the title as well.
However, Sonego hasn't won a match since then. He bowed out in the first round of the US Open, the Chengdu Open, and more recently from the ongoing China Open.
Denis Shapovalov vs Lorenzo Sonego head-to-head
The two have split their previous couple of meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Sonego won their most recent encounter in three sets at the Davis Cup Finals a couple of years ago.
Denis Shapovalov vs Lorenzo Sonego odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Denis Shapovalov vs Lorenzo Sonego prediction
Sonego has notched up an 18-24 record for the season, and has gone 9-13 on hardcourts. Half of those wins came during his run at the Winston Salem Open. He has been quite poor on hardcourts except for that one week, and his record on the surface goes down to 4-12, keeping aside his title-winning run.
Shapovalov was on the verge of staging a comeback when his opponent retired in the final qualifying round. His main-draw record is almost similar to Sonego, and currently stands at 18-20.
Neither player has performed that well at the Shanghai Masters in the past. Sonego has a 2-2 record at the venue, while Shapovalov has a 1-3 record here. Both have been quite inconsistent all year long, and the Italian's current losing streak makes it quite difficult to back him up as the winner in this match-up.
Pick: Denis Shapovalov to win in three sets.
