Jannik Sinner chases his 61st victory on the ATP Tour in 2024 when he takes on Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Sunday's Shanghai Masters third-round match.
The world No. 1's quest for a seventh title of the season saw him dispatch Taro Daniel in two sets on Saturday, thus setting up a second Tour-level meeting with his Argentine opponent.
Match preview
© Imago
Sinner showed no signs of dwelling on his recent China Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz, cruising to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Daniel to claim his 250th career win and 60th of the year.
The Italian sensation reeled off 12 aces, won 84% of points on his first serve and converted three of nine break points to record a comfortable success to advance to Sunday's round-three match-up with the 31st seed.
Having won two Masters 1000 titles this year, recently securing a pivotal victory in Cincinnati before a successful US Open tournament, the world No. 1 is bidding for a third success at an ATP 1000 event in 2024 and fourth overall.
Sinner's previous participation in Shanghai ended in the fourth round 12 months back against Ben Shelton, and both players could be set for a rematch, with the American taking on Roberto Carballes Baena in another third-round match.
Although he might have his sights set on revenge, the top seed cannot afford to look one round ahead as he risks coming unstuck against Etcheverry.
© Imago
The world No. 37 and 31st seed in Shanghai came through a three-set battle with Botic van de Zandschulp, triumphing over the Dutchman 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5.
In a tight match laden with double faults — both players accrued seven in the three-set battle — the 25-year-old's marginally superior conversion of break-point opportunities effectively swung the close battle in his favour.
However, Etcheverry will target an improved performance in his service games after van de Zandschlup forced 16 break-point opportunities.
While he has had an extra day's rest, having played on Friday, the 31st seed still heads into Sunday as the underdog and will need to play near-perfect tennis to force the issue against the Tour's best performer this season.
Tournament so far
Jannik Sinner:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Taro Daniel 6-1 6-4
Tomas Martin Etcheverry:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6[5] 3-6 7-5
Head To Head
Australian Open (2023) - Second round: Sinner 6-3 6-2 6-2
Sinner leads the head-to-head against Etcheverry, notching a comfortable success in last year's Australian Open encounter.
The Italian's 23-3 record in Masters 1000 events in 2024 dwarfs his opponent's 5-6, thus underscoring the chasm in quality heading into Sunday's match.
We say: Sinner to win in two sets
Although he dropped a set in the first two rounds in Beijing, Sinner has started strongly in Shanghai and is backed to come through his third-round match in straight sets at Etcheverry's expense.
