Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Rinky Hijikata Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Shanghai Masters

Prediction published on 06/10/2023, 12:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 06/10/2023 at 12:56 in Tennis Predictions

World number six Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on 69th-ranked Rinky Hijikata in the second round of the ATP Shanghai Masters on Saturday. The winner will move on to face either Botic van de Zandschulp or Ugo Humbert in the next round. This is just the second time these two will meet, with Tsitsipas winning the previous match earlier this year at the Australian Open. The Greek won his first ATP title of the year in Los Cabos back in August. However, since then, his performances have taken a notable dip, failing to get past the second round of any ATP competition. Tsitsipas was beaten by the likes of Dominic Stricker at the US Open and Alex Molcan in the Davis Cup in the last month. Last week in Beijing, it was Nicolas Jarry who sent the 25-year-old packing in the opening round. His record now reads as 42-18 and 18-8 on the hard court. Tsitsipas received a bye in the first round, so this will be his first match of the competition. Can he rekindle the type of form he showed earlier this season? 

Meanwhile, qualifier Rinky Hijikata continued to impress this season by beating top 40-ranked Laslo Djere in the first round. The Australian has been very productive this season, currently at his all-time best ranking after starting the year outside to top 150. While most of his best work this season has been done on the Challenger circuit, Hijikata has shown that he can hold his own at the highest level. He pulled off a very good win in the second round at Indian Wells over Mikael Ymer and reached the semi-final on the grass at the 's-Hertogenbosch Open. Arguably, Hijikata’s best hard court performance this year came at the US Open. He reached the Round of 16, overcoming Marton Fucsovics and Zhizhen Zhang before falling to Frances Tiafoe. Still, Tsitsipas represents a big step up in class, but based on the Greek’s form, Hijikata could not have asked for a better time to face him.