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As the stakes rise at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters, so too does the excitement.
Following the completion of first-round matches at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, several top seeds will take to the court at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center on Friday.
They can expect spirited competition from players who've claimed confidence-boosting earlier wins. Alex de Minaur, who makes his third main-draw Shanghai appearance with a career-high No.11 ranking, is wise to the threat of world no.91 Fabian Marozsan.
"(He's) a very talented player. He's obviously having a breakthrough year this year and is very dangerous," De Minaur SAID of the Hungarian, who upset world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz at the Rome Masters in May and eliminated Arthur Rinderknech in his opening Shanghai match.
"I'm looking forward to a tough match and I've got to be at the top of my game from the very start."
Alexander Zverev, who was runner-up to Daniil Medvedev at the 2019 Rolex Shanghai Masters, will also expect a tough second-round test. In a rematch of their recent three-set final in Chengdu, the No.9 seed meets Roman Safiullin.
Safiullin eliminated three-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion Andy Murray in the tournament's first round.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, who claimed a maiden match win in Shanghai over Fabio Fognini on Wednesday, is excited to take on No.12 seed Hubert Hurkacz. Their two ATP-level matches so far have both been see-sawing three-set encounters, with all but one of the six sets extending to a tiebreak.
"I've had a few golden opportunities against him and haven't been able to take it," Kokkinakis related. "But every match is a new match. I'm not expecting it to go to six in the third the next match, but who knows?
"He's a quality player, he's freaky. He's got one of, if not the best serves on tour. So, it's never going to be easy, and chances are going to be limited but if I play my tennis and play the right way, I think I can do well."
Shanghai-born Zhang Zhizhen is similarly inspired after defeating Richard Gasquet to claim a first-ever match win after six appearances - once in the main draw and six times in qualifying - at his home tournament.
"(I'm) pretty excited because in the past, I never had a won (a) set here. So, I mean, I was quite happy," the world No.60 Zhang, who is targeting further progress in a first match against No.28 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, said. "Hopefully, I can get a little bit better result here."
Other high-profile contenders will also be highly motivated in their Rolex Shanghai Masters debuts.
Holger Rune, who as the No.3 seed is the highest seed in action on Friday, will be determined to assert authority against world No.122 Brandon Nakashima - the American was a winner over the 20-year-old Dane in the only match they've contested at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals.
Norway's Casper Ruud, the No.8 seed, faces the 48th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka in his maiden Shanghai match. Ruud and Nishioka have one win each in their two previous encounters, with the Japanese left-hander claiming victory over Rudd in their most recent meeting in Seoul.
Ben Shelton, at No.19, is another seed who begins a first Shanghai main-draw campaign on Friday; the fast-rising American who has enjoyed an incredible breakthrough season meets world No.82 Spaniard Jaume Munar in their first match on tour.
With the Rolex Shanghai Masters resumed after a four-year break, each of those players is keen to extend their time at Asia's only ATP Masters 1000 tournament. "It's been a long time since the last time we were here," De Minaur noted. "And I think we're all just excited to play."
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