Shanghai Masters: 1st Round

The Race To London heats up this week with 1000 points up for grabs. With less than that separating 8th to 24th in the race we are likely to see several players shoot up the rankings on the back of a strong showing. Federer returns this week and will be hoping to gather some early momentum ion what is his first competitive appearance since the US Open.

Feature Previews

Robin Haase v Richard GasquetHaase is a classic example of a player with ability in the top 50 who will never be able to break into the top 20 due to his inconsistency. He made the semi’s at the Montreal Masters but has lost his last 4 matches on tour. He has now lost in the first round in 6 of his last 8 tournaments. He puts up a fight but once things go pear shaped he virtually falls off a cliff. Gasquet has really found his feet over the last month and with a 5-1 record against Haase we should see him post a comfortable win.
Best Bet: Gasquet -3.5 ($1.85)

Andrey Rublev v Damir DzumhurA red hot Rublev accounted for Dzumhur at the US Open but The Wolf cannot look past the Bosnian in this one. His game is steady and the same does not apply with Rublev who is a bit of a yo-yo. Dzumhur was on a 8 match win streak prior to his loss to Dolgopolov and he was clearly fatigued in the deciding set against Dimitrov last week. His early exit has given him plenty of time to recover and he will take full advantage.
Best Bet: Dzumhur WIN ($1.80)

Juan Martin Del Potro v Nikoloz BasilashviliWe faded Del Potro last week against Dimitrov and The Wolf says we will be backing against him again today. Basilashvili has been in decent form since the US Open and has matches under his belt already this week after coming through the qualifiers. He has wins over big servers such as Muller and Troicki over the last month and Posposil who he beat in the qualifiers is the ideal lead in opponent. He may not get the cash but Basilashvili will definitely cover the line and raise some eyebrows along the way.
Best Bet: Basilashvili +4.5 ($1.91)