| October 6, 2024 | by Vivienne Christie |
|
There's been a waiting game of sorts for several high-profile players at this year's Rolex Shanghai Masters; with rain falling in the city throughout the weekend, nine second-round matches were delayed or rescheduled.
Players will be rewarded for their patience as they take to the Stadium Court on Day 6.
Taylor Fritz, aiming to maintain stellar recent momentum that includes a first Grand Slam final appearance at the US Open, will resume his match with French qualifier Terence Atmane in the first match of the day.
The seventh-seeded American leads Atmane 4-3 on serve in the first set. Fritz is facing the 161st-ranked 22-year-old for the first time in his career.
There's also the resumption of Grigor Dimitrov's second-round match with Belgium's Zizou Bergs in the second match on the main court. The No.9 seed from Bulgaria claimed the first set on Saturday, before Bergs took a 4-2 lead in the second set.
Frances Tiafoe will begin his fifth campaign in Shanghai, with the 13th seed taking on China's Zhou Yi. It's a first professional meeting between the pair.
Denmark's Holger Rune, granted a first-round bye by virtue of his No.12 seeding, will play his first Shanghai this year when he opens the night session against Matteo Berrettini.
The Italian, a former top-10 player, was a semifinalist in 2019. It was his last visit to the tournament after injury forced his absence in 2023.
"I like the conditions here. I know it's been five years and, you know, different players, different situations," said Berrettini of his fourth professional meeting with Rune, a three-set winner when they last competed at the Cincinnati Masters in August.
"Holger played well last week, so it's always a tough match against him. We played in Cincinnati a few months ago. I expect a tough one, but at the same time I have the confidence to step up on court and win the match."
The night session concludes with No.28 seed Flavio Cobolli facing veteran Swiss Stan Wawrinka.
In other second-round matches still to be completed, No.23 seed Alexander Bublik meets Roman Safiullin, No.24 Karen Khachanov faces Marcos Giron and No.26 Jordan Thompson takes on Tallon Griekspoor.
No.10 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is aiming to improve on his career-best performance as a Shanghai semifinalist in 2019, will contest his third-round match with Frenchman Alexandre Muller. The pair meet for the first time on tour.
In a big day for well-known American players, No.14 Ben Shelton faces Roberto Carballes Baena. And fresh from his second-round upset of No.8 seed Casper Ruud, Australia's Aleksandar Vukic will continue his campaign against world No.33 Czech Tomas Machac.
There's also an intriguing all-French battle between No.16 Ugo Humbert and veteran favourite Gael Monfils.
"(I'm) super happy to play against him, (it's) always a big match against an amazing player, so it will be interesting," said Humbert - echoing the excitement of the many fans who will relish the packed schedule as the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters continues.
| 
