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NO SPOILERS 🎥

If you don't want to see the results yet, and want to catch up with the highlights, stop scrolling now! Links (some may get removed):

Kyrgios 🎥 Klahn

Wawrinka 🎥 Coric

Tsitsipas 🎥 Monfils

RESULTS 🎾

💥 = Beatdown \\ 🤕 = Injury \\ ‼️ = Upset

Featured Matches:

Tsitsipas d Monfils: 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4

A really entertaining match featuring lot’s of up and downs, veering between sublime shotmaking and crazy errors. Monfils was by far the more aggressive player, striking 45 winners (to his opponents measly 16) but also significantly more erratic, committing 53 unforced errors in contrast to Tsitsipas’s, more conservative, 35.

Early on, both players donated serve with errors, to trade breaks, in the opening set. Tsitsipas then came up clutch, with some amazing defence, to save three set points at 5-6 to force a tiebreaker. A bad miss on one of those previous set points (GIF below) was clearly weighing on Monfils’ mind, as he went utterly awol for the beginning of the breaker, going down 0-6. Tsitsipas serve was firing and an un-returnable serve converted a set point of his own to take the tiebreaker, and a one set lead, 7-6(4).

The 2nd set featured Tsitsipas becoming very passive, wishfully hoping for his opponent to make an error on numerous occasions where his opponent would not oblige. This was demonstrated perfectly at 15-40, 3-3 with Tsitsipas serving. A 30 shot rally, which ended with a brilliant Monfils backhand winner (GIF below), was a microcosm of the whole 2nd set. Monfils soaking up all the pressure and then pouncing on any remotely short ball. The Frenchman converted the break and went on to level the match at one set all.

The 3rd set was very even, with both players looking untroubled on serve, until 3*-4 with Monfils serving. An incredible diving volley from Tsitsipas put some physical and scoreboard pressure on Monfils, whose current lack of fitness and confidence suddenly became a factor. The Frenchman looked tired as he surrendered two breaks in a row, one of which with a double fault, to hand his opponent a gritty win.

🎾

Coric d Wawrinka: 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

A bit of a baffling loss for Wawrinka. The 1st set featured some very good signs for the Swiss, coming up with flowing, aggressive tennis on the big points to save and convert his chances (3/3 BP’s saved). Stan’s serve and groundstrokes looked fluid & powerful and his movement looked as sharp as it has done since his comeback as he took the lead. But after winning the first set, Wawrinka’s return of serve went completely off the boil. His no-pace, blocked return can work well at times, but today it looked like it gave Coric far too many options on his 2nd (post-serve) shot. Too often Wawrinka would surrender complete control of the point against even some of the weaker Coric serves. To his credit, Coric did a great job of being more aggressive on his 1st serves, going from 70% of his 1st serve points won in the 1st set, to 82.5% avg over the course of the 2nd and 3rd sets. The Croatian, after initially trying to prioritise accuracy over power on serve, found a nice balance between the two in the latter stages of the match. This allowed him a far more comfortable time on serve than his opponent, especially in the deciding set (Wawrinka faced 3 break points, Coric none).

🎾

Klahn d Kyrgios: 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 ‼️(tbh calling this an upset is tenuous at best)

Nick starting his annual Shanghai holiday. Received a quiet word from umpire Damien Dumusois about not giving his best effort in the 2nd set. From that point on Kyrgios looked like he wanted to teach the umpire a lesson by not giving a sh*t about the match. A shame, as the some of his points and touches, early on in the match, were very special.

🎾

Also:

McDonald d Raonic : 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 ‼️

Bautista Agut d Rublev : 6-3, 6-4

Querrey d Schwartzman : 6-3, 6-4

Fritz d Haase : 6-3, 7-6(3)

Fucsovics d Dzumhur : 6-3, 6-4

Ebden d Tiafoe : 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Seppi d Mannarino : 6-4, 6-4

Cecchinato d Simon : 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2)

Wu d Li: 7-6(5), 6-2

SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮

— Monfils with an incredibly casual single-handed, backhand pass. Pretty decent volley from Tsitsipas 🤷‍♂️.

— Another angle.

— Backhand ripper from Monfils.

— Unreal diving volley from Tsitsipas, and the follow up from Monfils. Unfortunately Gael touched the net with his foot.

— This gives a pretty good idea of how fast the Shanghai courts are (fastest on tour at 42 on the CPI). Wawrinka’s forehand shooting through the court.

— Lovely backhand from Coric.

— Stan looked so good for parts of the 1st set. Classic backhand pass.

— A big reason McDonald was able to pull off the upset over Raonic today: returns like this. He made a similar one on set point in the opener.

— Kyrgios tried a SABR on the 1st point of the match, which tells you everything you need to know about how this contest unfolded. Kyrgios and Shanghai, an iconic duo.

— The most casual return ace of all time?

— Nick essentially just taking the piss now. A single-handed bunt winner that John McEnroe would have been proud of.

— LOL

— Functioning footwork! Good of you to join us old friend, it’s been a while.

— Klahn finally managed to start winning the cat-and-mouse battles in the 3rd set.

— Monfils and Tsitispas’s ridiculous 30 shot rally. Gael with his classic defence -> offence.

SHANGHAI SCHEDULE - TUESDAY ⏰

Match to watch: 🔥

—

CENTRE

(1pm local, 6am UK, 12am EST)

🇫🇷Gasquet vs 🇦🇷L. Mayer (H2H: 1-1)

🇨🇦Shapovalov vs 🇬🇪Basilashvili 🔥 (H2H: 0-1)

NB 6pm (11am UK, 5am EST)

🇷🇸Djokovic vs 🇫🇷Chardy (H2H: 11-0) (Novak has never even lost a set to Chardy)

🇭🇷Cilic vs 🇨🇱Jarry (1st Meeting)

GRANDSTAND

(1pm local, 6am UK, 12am EST)

🇨🇦Pospisil vs 🇦🇺De Minaur 🔥 (H2H: 0-1)

🇬🇧Edmund vs 🇷🇸Krajinovic (1st Meeting)

🇩🇪Gojowczyk vs 🇭🇺Fucsovics (H2H: 0-1)

OUTER COURTS

(1pm local, 6am UK, 12am EST)

🇫🇷Paire vs 🇪🇸Carreno Busta (Court 3) // (H2H: 4-3)

🇷🇺Medvedev vs 🇨🇳Zhang (Court 3) // (1st Meeting)

🇦🇺Ebden vs 🇦🇹Thiem (Court 3) // (1st Meeting)

🇭🇷Coric vs 🇺🇸Klahn (Court 3) // (1st Meeting)

🇰🇷Chung vs 🇵🇱Hurkacz (Court 4) // (1st Meeting)

🇪🇸Ramos-Vinolas vs 🇰🇿Kukushkin (Court 4) // (H2H: 2-1)

EXTRAS 🔍📊🎤

Djokovic has been re-elected as president of the ATP Player Council at a meeting in Shanghai. Kevin Anderson continues as VP. Source

Umpire (Dumusois): “Nick, that last point was borderline.” (implying Kyrgios was close to tanking).

Kyrgios: I don't care. What can you do? Look at the score. Maybe it's my tactic. You have no right to tell me that.”

Dumusois: “I didn't say anything. I said it's borderline.”

Video 🎥

(Context = Nick had barely moved to try and return 2 Klahn serves early in the 2nd set)

Nick Kyrgios, clearly missing Mohamed Lahyani 🤷‍♂️.

— This was Kyrgios set point down in the 2nd set. No wonder umpire Damien Dumusois asked Kyrgios if he was giving his best effort.

Dimitrov (out of Shanghai with ankle injury), Raonic (out in 1st Rd) and Goffin (out for rest of season) are all mathematically out of the running for the ATP Finals in London.

Djokovic educating his son (Stefan) about his rivals:

“I was showing him (Rafael) Nadal, who was playing two courts away because he doesn't know anybody from tennis, but he knows Nadal because I explained to him: ‘This is the guy who hits the ball very very hard!’ Now when he (Stefan) sees him, he says: ‘Oh, you are the guy who hits the ball very very hard.’” Source

— Monfils was unlucky to touch the net here. Just ripples the bottom of it with his foot. Had the point won otherwise.

LOL 😂

TFW you hit such a bad shot you just want the point to end. Monfils making club players everywhere feel better about themselves.

— Whole court open, set-point up in the opener, and Monfils misses this.

— Direct hit from Kyrgios in practice. Love the kid who, clearly realising how terrible an idea this was, just legs it before Nick serves.

— Tsitsipas losing his mind after Monfils managed to YET AGAIN retrieve a ball that may as well have been in the neighbouring Yellow Sea.

— …

— TFW your backhand return is terrible at the best of times, let alone on a SABR attempt, facing a 1st serve.

This is the free weekly edition of The Racquet. If you’d like to get these recaps every day of Shanghai (+ daily for all other Masters 1000’s and Slams) you can try the first month free 👇

Subscribe - first month FREE

GAME, SET, MATCH 👋

— The Racquet is created, and written, by Matt.

— You can find me on Twitter here.