2023 Shanghai Masters Odds: Alcaraz & Medvedev favorites in Shanghai
Four-Time Shanghai Masters Men's Singles Champion Novak Djokovic Won't Play In Shangai
Medvedev Won In Convincing Fashion in the Most Recent Shangai Masters Event
The biggest news leading one of the final ATP 1000 events of 2023 is that Novak Djokovic will not be going after his fifth career title at the Shanghai Masters event. His withdrawal will certainly impact the 2023 Shanghai Masters odds.
Most of the rest of the big names in men’s tennis will be in the 96-player event led by defending champion Daniil Medvedev and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
For those betting on tennis, keep in mind that the tournament will be played over two weeks for the first time as this is one of the last chances for top players to make a move up the ATP rankings.
While Alcaraz and Medvedev won their first two matches at the China Open in straight sets, the other three top-five seeds all lost in either the first or second round so perhaps that is a sign of things to come. Medvedev dropped his first set in the quarterfinals but still managed to advance to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Alexander Zverev.
The main draw begins on Wednesday with the Shanghai Masters singles final set for Oct. 15. All the seeded players receive byes into the second round.
Ready for His Shanghai Masters Debut
This will mark the Shanghai debut for Alcaraz, somebody who spent a good amount of the 2023 season ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings. Alcaraz is a front-runner according to the 2023 Shanghai Masters odds.
When looking at the tennis results, Alcaraz hasn’t needed to spend too much time on the court during the China Open as he has dropped a total of 11 games in wins over Yannick Hanfmann and Lorenzo Musetti.
Alcaraz recently won his 60th singles match of 2023 and with Djokovic missing this event, he could make quite the move in his quest to reclaim the spot in the ATP rankings.
Grigor Dimitrov could be the first seeded player that Alcaraz could run into.
In the second quarter, No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 5 Andrey Rublev could be on a collision course.
Long-Awaited Title Defense
As a result of the last three Shanghai Masters events being called off due to the global pandemic, Medvedev has had to wait to defend his title. Still, the 2023 Shanghai Masters odds have Medvedev among the favorites.
Djokovic and Andy Murray are the only back-to-back champions in the history of this event. Murray’s bid for a three-peat ended with a three-set loss to Djokovic in 2012 with Djokovic topping Juan Martin Del Potro in the 2013 final.
When Medvedev won in Shanghai in 2019, he didn’t drop a set on his way to the title. He went 4-0 in tiebreakers before losing just five games in the championship match against Alexander Zverev.
Medvedev will not have the easiest of paths to another title in Shanghai with No. 6 seed Jannik Sinner, No. 9 Alexander Zverev and No. 14 Felix Auger-Aliassime all in his quarter of the draw.
Perhaps either Holger Rune or Casper Ruud could be waiting in the semifinals.
A Look At the American Hopes
Taylor Fritz is the lone U.S.-born player currently ranked in the top 10 in the ATP rankings. However, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are ranked 11th and 13th with Ben Shelton coming in at No. 20.
Sebastian Korda moved from 33rd to 28th with Christopher Eubanks coming in at No. 32.
Korda is just 1-4 in 2023 at ATP 1000 events and 5-4 in the Grand Slam events. He is still in contention at the Astana Open after winning three three-set matches to reach the finals.
No American player has reached the men’s singles final in the Shanghai Masters event. In 2019, the best showing for an American was by John Isner as he reached the third round before falling to Djokovic.
Fritz, who is seeded seventh, and No. 10 seed Tiafoe both landed in the top quarter that is headlined by Alcaraz.
Tommy Paul, the No. 12 seed, is in the same quarter as Tsitsipas and Rublev.
Shelton is seeded 19th and he could face Zverev in the third round with Medvedev likely awaiting the winner. Korda, the No. 26 seed, is also in that portion of the draw as he could have to contend with Medvedev in the third round.
Christopher Eubanks, the No. 29 seed, could face No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur in the third round. However, at first glance, he might have been given the best draw among the seeded Americans.
What’s Next?
After the Shanghai event is over, the last ATP 1000 event in 2023 will be held in Paris beginning in late October. It will be a 56-player singles draw as the tennis schedule is winding down just a bit.
There are ATP 500 tournaments in Tokyo, Vienna and Basel leading into the ATP Finals in November in Turin, Italy.
Some smaller events will be held in Stockholm, Antwerp, Metz and Tel Aviv.
The next Grand Slam event is the Australian Open in January. Djokovic leads the way with +125 championship odds in the Australian Open outrights and he is followed by Alcaraz at +225 and Medvedev at +450. Rafael Nadal, who has been sidelined for most of the 2023 season and won’t be in the field in Shanghai, is priced at +1400 to win in Melbourne.
For tennis betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
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