Shanghai and Tianjin Update

We’ve nearly made it to the weekend, and there is plenty of tennis to look forward to over the next couple of days. The men are competing in Shanghai to steal the crown that Roger Federer won last year, while Karolina Pliskova is the top seed in the women’s singles in Tianjin.

You’ll have to be an early riser if you’re going to catch the first of the women’s semi-finals between Pliskova and Bacsinzky as it takes place at 04.30 UK time, for what should be a big test of Bacsinzky’s recent return to form.

The two have a fairly even head to head record, with Bacsinzky having won 2 and Pliskova 3 of their meetings, but Pliskova has won the last three in a row and has had much the better 2018. Bacsinzky has a career-high ranking of 9 in the world but currently languishes at number 329. Her run to the semi-finals will do wonders for her ranking, but she will be looking to go a step further with victory over Pliskova.

The second semi-final will take place at the slightly more accessible time of 06.00 UK time and will feature Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei and France’s Caroline Garcia.

2^nd seed Garcia who is ranked number 16 in the world will take on 30^th ranked Heish for the 4^th time, having won their first three meetings. Heish will be buoyed by the fact she has taken a set off Garcia in the previous two meetings and will be looking to gain her revenge by making the final in Tianjin.

Over in Shanghai, we have a much more achievable start time of 09.30 for what promises to be a cracking matchup between Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic. The number 5 and number 2 in the world will battle it out for the right to meet the winner of Roger Federer and Borna Coric.

Zverev and Djokovic have only met once previously, in the final of the Rome Masters tournament in 2017, and it was the young German who came out on top. While Zverev might have the advantage in the head to head, Djokovic will go into this game as firm favourite having won three of his last four tournaments in the US Open, Cincinnati and Wimbledon.

The second semi-final is estimated to start at 13.00 UK time and will see defending champion Roger Federer face young Croatian Borna Coric.

Federer beat Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-6 in the quarterfinals to set up a meeting with Coric, who is ranked number 19 in the world.

It is very much a case of youngsters taking on the old guard in the men’s tournament, with 21-year-old Zverev meeting 31-year-old Djokovic, and 21-year-old Coric taking on 37-year-old Roger Federer. The “oldies” will be favourites to win based on their number 1 and 2 seeding, but don’t be surprised if the youngsters cause an upset!

We’ve got plenty of tennis to watch over the weekend and are waiting to see who will emerge victorious in Shanghai and Tianjin. If you’re going to be up early tomorrow be sure to check out some of these outstanding matchups!