Tennis Betting: Shanghai Masters ATP Preview

As the top four seeds vie for the title in Beijing, the 2019 edition of the Shanghai Masters is about to start. Of course, this is an important event as this is the one Masters 1000 event on the ATP Tour which takes place in Asia. The other eight Masters events are in Europe or the United States. This tournament will conclude the Asian swing for the ATP Tour and gives way to indoor tennis in Europe for the final month of the season.

With the Big Three all participating, who is the best bet to rise up in Shanghai and claim the win? Let’s take a closer look at the field:

SHANGHAI MASTERS
ATP TOUR – ATP MASTERS 1000
OCTOBER 5-13, 2019
QIZHONG FOREST SPORTS CITY ARENA – SHANGHAI, CHINA

LAST 5 CHAMPIONS

2018 – NOVAK DJOKOVIC
2017 – ROGER FEDERER
2016 – ANDY MURRAY
2015 – NOVAK DJOKOVIC
2014 – ROGER FEDERER

BEST BET TO WIN IT

Of course, anytime the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are playing, the best bet is usually among the trio.

Last we saw Novak Djokovic, he was dealing with a shoulder at the 2019 U.S. Open. However, he’s the best bet of the three at this event.

As you will see below, Rafael Nadal is not a great choice for this tournament (see: Player To Avoid). Djokovic is in Tokyo, playing a warmup tournament, which should serve him well. Meanwhile, Federer is regrouping after the Laver Cup and did not play a warm-up hardcourt event in Asia before Shanghai.

While we don’t still know the draw for Shanghai, Djokovic figures to be in slightly better form. He’s yet to lose a set in Japan and looks like he’s back to being the dominant player we’ve known on the hard courts.

BEST LONGSHOT WORTH A FLIER

If you’re looking for a longshot worth a small play, David Goffin could be your guy. Of course, he routinely gets whipped by the Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, but if I had to go with someone outside of the top three, he would be it.

Goffin likes fast courts and Shanghai is one of the faster playing surfaces on tour. He can get more out of his serve and redirect the ball more quickly to get opponents even more off balance than usual. Goffin made the final of Cincinnati, which – like Shanghai – plays faster than other hardcourt events on the ATP Tour. He’s your longshot worth considering.

PLAYER TO AVOID

Rafael Nadal is a player you should bet on many times throughout the year…but not right now. Nadal had a hand injury at the Laver Cup, which prevented him from playing on the final day of that event. Some people speculated that Nadal simply didn’t want to play too much tennis at the Laver Cup following his draining U.S. Open final victory over Daniil Medvedev, but Nadal might actually be more physically worn down than his Laver Cup weekend suggested.

The other thing to realize about Nadal is that he is getting married later in October, so he could be throwing up a smokescreen to suggest that his physical health is a problem, when in fact it isn’t, and he simply wants to devote more time to his wedding day and all the obligations that come with his family life. Whether he is physically limited or simply thinking about his upcoming wedding, Nadal is not a good bet to go deep into this tournament if he does play.

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