The last time we saw Djokovic in action was at the US Open, where he marched all the way into the final and ended up losing to eventual winner Stan Wawrinka. With that being said, expect the well-rested Serbian to go all out in defending his crown at Shanghai.
Yes, his recent losses, especially the ones at New York and Wimbledon, should worry us a bit, but don’t forget that the 12-time Grand Slam champion remains atop of the tennis world. He’s still No. 1 in the ATP rankings, owns 54 wins (and counting) this year and has emerged as the victor in three of the previous four editions of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Andy Murray
Murray’s chances of winning it all in Shanghai are just as good as Djokovic’s. He already won the title there in 2010 and 2011, which made him the tournament’s first-ever back-to-back winner. Also, the Scotsman’s reached the final in seven of his last nine events. That stretch includes wins at Rio de Janeiro, Wimbledon, Queen’s and the Rome Masters. Murray is also 24-5 in hard-court matches this season.
Stan Wawrinka
Amazing Stan should continue to amaze us next week. The World No. 3 has had a very, very solid 2016, a year in which he’s claimed four titles. The most significant came at the US Open, where he bested a number of fearsome competitors like Juan Martin del Potro, Kei Nishikori and Djokovic to win the third Grand Slam title of his career.
Wawrinka also followed up that victory with a runner-up finish at St. Petersburg, clearing us of any negative notions about his current form and readiness for next week’s event in Shanghai.
Sleeper
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2016 has been a so-so season for Tsonga, the runner-up of last year’s edition of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. He’s won 26 of his 39 matches, but is still in search for his first title of the season. Well, hard-court matches are where the Frenchman has found most of his success this year, so you can at least expect Tsonga to put up a good fight against any foe, or maybe even pull off some upsets this coming week.
Long Shot
Adrian Mannarino
Mannarino is a very attractive long shot. His current 25-25 record this season may not totally agree with it, but he’s been consistently tested this year. The 28-year-old Frenchman has faced the likes of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic, all of whom are currently in the top-10 of the ATP rankings. Those encounters have definitely sharpened his skills further and should greatly help him come up with big wins in Shanghai.
