Andy Murray vs Fabio Fognini - Shanghai Masters - Preview and Prediction

Former World Number 1, Andy Murray continues his pursuit of getting back lost glory after two hip resurfacing surgeries. But, he will face a stern test to advance to the next rounds as he faces World number 12 Fabio Fognini in the round of 32 in Shanghai.

The Brit made heads turn with his impressive performance in the ATP 500 China Open, beating number 13, Matteo Berrettini and number 64, Cameron Norrie in two tiring matches before losing to the eventual champion, Dominic Thiem 6-2 7-6 in the quarter-finals.

He jumped to the 289th spot in the rankings after languishing at 503rd spot earlier. The 3-time Grand Slam champion came back from a set down to outlast the higher ranked number 56, Juan Ignacio Londero 2-6 6-2 6-3 in the round of 64 yesterday.

On the other hand, the Italian has been witnessing an improvement in form off late. He won a three-set thriller against Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4 4-6 7-6(6) in the round of 32 in Beijing. Fognini held on his nerves and clinched the match despite scoring only 101 points compared to the Kazakh's 105 points.

Fognini continued his good form dispatching the danger man, Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the quarterfinals. He lost in three sets in a titanic tussle to number 9, Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.

Moving to Shanghai, Sam Querrey, with his big serve was expected to test Fognini. However, the Italian played attacking tennis as he won 6-4 6-2. A high win percentage on the first and second serve of 87% and 83% worked in Fognini's favour.

Key Insights

• Murray leads the head to head record against Fognini with four wins and three losses
• Fognini won his only title of the year in the Monte Carlo Open while Murray won the doubles title in the Queen's  Club Championships
• It has been a mixed year on hard courts for Murray so far with a 7-7 win-loss record
• Both Murray and Fognini did not compete in Shanghai in 2018 and would love to make it a point this time

"I have always had tough matches with him,”. "He's not an easy guy to play against. Unbelievably talented guy. Good hand skills. Moves well. A little bit up and down sometimes in his matches, but he's playing really well.” said Murray praising Fognini ahead of the match.

We hope that the fans make Shanghai an electric atmosphere to make it a match to remember for the rest of our lives.

Prediction - Fabio Fognini to win in three sets

Cover Image Credits - Alamy