SportsMall previews Friday's Shanghai Masters quarterfinal between Jakub Mencic and Novak Djokovic, including predictions, head-to-head and matches so far.
Now there are only eight players left Shanghai MastersAnd on Friday, we'll see the teenager Jakub Mensik Take the strongest Novak Djokovic In the quarter-final clash.
The team that wins this match will advance to the semi-finals of this grand event where they will face USA Taylor Fritz Or Belgium's number one men's singles player David Goffin.
Competition preview
© Imago
Jakub Mencic added another feather to his cap on Wednesday Grigor Dimitrov (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) and now becomes the youngest quarter-finalist in the tournament's history.
The 19-year-old Czech is widely regarded as one of the ATP's brightest prospects, and his victory over Dimitrov in the final round marked his fourth consecutive victory against top-10 opposition.
In doing so, Mencic joins the elite group of players under the age of 21 and has achieved this feat in the 21st century – Leighton Hewitt, Rafael Nadal, Stephanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Algaraz And Holkar Rune.
The most recent win took the teenager to 23 wins from 38 matches this season, a period in which he also made a run to the final of the Qatar Open and reached the semi-finals of the Umak Open in July.
Menczyk lost his way to this tournament Pedro Martinez Before coming back from a set down to defeat the sixth seed to begin his campaign Andrei RublevHe later backed up that performance with a win Alexander Shevchenko.
The win over Djokovic was the first time the Czech had defeated a player ranked fourth in the world.
© Imago
Meanwhile, despite Mencic's incredible rise this year, four-time Shanghai Masters champion and fourth seed Novak Djokovic is still the heavy favorite in this encounter against the up-and-coming Czech star.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion refuses to underestimate the emerging talent ahead of their first clash, revealing that he has followed Mencic since his younger days and offered him advice and guidance in the past.
The Serbian booked his place in the last eight of the tournament with a straight sets win against the Russians Roman Safiulin (6-3, 6-2), advanced to the quarter-finals in Shanghai for the 10th time.
In the rounds before what could be the last official match of the season, the 37-year-old defeated the American Alex Michelson (7-6, 7-6) and Italy's 28th seed Flavio Copoli (6-1, 6-2).
Indeed, Djokovic didn't win an ATP title this year, finishing runner-up at Wimbledon and a semi-final at the Australian Open, but he secured a precious gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The last tournament of the year, he will no doubt want to go all the way.
The match so far
Jakub Mensik:
First round: vs. Pedro Martinez 6-1 5-7 6-4
Second round: vs. Andrei Rublev 6-7[7] 6-4 6-3
Third Round: vs. Alexander Shevchenko 6-1 6-7[5] 6-2
Round 16: vs. Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 3-6 6-4
Novak Djokovic:
First round: Goodbye
Second round: vs. Alex Michelson 7-6[3] 7-6[9]
Third Round: vs. Flavio Copoli 6-1 6-2
Round 16: vs. Roman Safiulin 6-3 6-2
Head to head
This is the first match between Jakub Mencic and Novak Djokovic.
We say: Djokovic wins in three sets
While it's been nice to see Mencic's rise over the past few months, he now faces the toughest opponent of his career in Djokovic, who looks like he's back to his best form. Safiullin and still drop a set here in Shanghai.
If Mencic can push the veteran outside his comfort zone, he could steal a set, but we believe the Serbian will ultimately come out on top in this match.
