Four-time champion Novak Djokovic, No. 10 seed Holger Rune and first-time ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalists Zizou Bergs and Valentin Vacherot are in action on Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. All four players are coming off three-set wins on Tuesday. In the day session, Rune takes on qualifier Vacherot, who is the first player from Monaco to reach an ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. In the evening session, Djokovic looks to reach his 10th Shanghai semi-final in 11 attempts as he meets Bergs, who is the No.1 player from Belgium for the first time. Here are Thursday's match-ups in order of play:
*[10] Holger Rune (DEN) vs [Q] Valentin Vacherot (MON) -- First Meeting
Rune is into the quarter-finals after wins over Sebastian Baez 7-5 6-4, No. 21 seed Hugo Humbert 6-4 6-4 and No. 32 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4 6-7(7) 6-3. Has a 5-2 record in Shanghai and last year the 22-year-old Dane lost to Fritz in the fourth round. He has a 34-20 match record on the season (22-12 on hard, 10-6 on clay, 2-2 on grass) and his best result came in April when he captured his fifth career ATP Tour title in Barcelona (d. No. 10 Ruud in QF, No. 2 Alcaraz in F). Also runner-up at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. No. 9 Tsitsipas in 4R, No. 6 Medvedev in SF, l. to No. 14 Draper). He comes in ranked No. 11 and on course to finish in Top 15 for the fourth straight season -- No. 11 in 2022, No. 8 in 2023, No. 13 last year.
Vacherot is appearing in his first ATP Tour quarter-final and he's the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist (No. 204) in tournament history. He qualified and posted wins over Laslo Djere 6-3 6-4, No. 14 seed Alexander Bublik 3-6 6-3 6-4, No. 20 Tomas Machac 6-0 3-1 Ret. (right knee) and No. 27 Tallon Griekspoor 4-6 7-6(1) 6-4. The win over No. 17-ranked Bublik was his best career win. The 26-year-old qualifier is the first player from Monaco to reach a QF in an ATP Masters 1000 event. Cousin Arthur Rinderknech is also in the QFs. He came in ranked No. 204 but has climbed to No. 130 in PIF ATP Live Rankings so far (will go to No. 92 if reaches SF). He achieved a career-high ranking No. 110 in June 2024 after 15-0 start to the season on Challenger level. He is coached by former Monegasque player and his half-brother Benjamin Balleret and played college tennis for Texas A&M University alongside his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech.
* Zizou Bergs (BEL) vs [4] Novak Djokovic -- First Meeting
Bergs is appearing in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final after wins over Sebastian Korda 6-4 7-5, No. 11 seed Casper Ruud 3-6 7-5 4-1 Ret. (right wrist), No. 19 Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(1) 6-3 and No. 31 Gabriel Diallo 3-6 7-5 7-6(8), saving two match points. It is the first time he's recorded back-to-back Top 30 wins in his career. He is the second straight Belgian to reach the quarter-finals here after David Goffin. This season has reached ATP Tour finals in Auckland (l. to Monfils) as a qualifier and 's-Hertogenbosch (l. to Diallo). The No. 1 Belgian is ranked a career-high No. 44 and is up to No. 38 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Coming into this year had a 23-37 career record and has won a personal-best 29 tour-level matches season (29-23), including 23-15 on hard, 4-4 on grass and 2-4 on clay.
Djokovic, who is the highest seed (4) remaining, is appearing in the quarter-finals here for the 11th time in as many appearances. He's trying to reach his 10th semi-final. He opened on Friday night with a 7-6(2) 6-4 win over Marin Cilic and followed with a 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory over [Q] Yannick Hanfmann and 6-3 5-7 6-2 over Jaume Munar to improve his Rolex Shanghai Masters record to 42-6. The 38-year-old Serbian superstar is the oldest player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 QF. He has the most wins and titles (4) in tournament history (since 2009). Also won his first Tennis Masters Cup here in 2008 (now Nitto ATP Finals). Has a record seven year-end ATP Finals titles. He is playing in his first tournament since reaching the semi-finals at US Open (l. to Alcaraz). Advanced to semi-finals in all four Grand Slam tournaments and first time since 2017 he did not reach a major final during the year. The World No. 5 has a 34-10 match record this season (20-6 on hard, 9-3 on clay, 5-1 on grass), including 20-4 in Grand Slam play and 7-4 in ATP Masters 1000 events. The all-time leader in men's tennis with most Grand Slam titles (24) and ATP Masters 1000 titles (40). Also leads both in wins with 397 and 417, respectively. He captured his 100th career title in Geneva in May leading into Roland-Garros (d. Huracz) and one of three men in Open Era to reach the Century Club along with Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103). He also became the first man in the Open Era to win titles in 20 different seasons.
