ATP Shanghai Masters: Top 5 unseedeed players to watch out for
A while back, at the end of last month we had a look at the Players with the most titles at the Shanghai Masters. Only 2 of the players from that list are playing in the 2018 edition of the only masters tournament in China, with Andy Murray pulling out from the rest of the season. As the event begins today we are gonna look at the players to watch out for. If we listed them like usual, it definitely will have Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic among other top flight players and top seeds. With the former winning the title twice and the latter thrice it really is a no brainer. But today we are going to take the road less taken, listing the underdogs who catch the eye. Here are the top 5 unseeded players to watch out for in this year's Shanghai Rolex Masters in no particular order:
5. Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO)
The flamboyant Georgian, with an equally flamboyant name won his maiden ATP title at Hamburg just 2 months ago. What struck the eye apart from his playing style is his calm demeanor. He won the final in the decider after losing the previous set 0-6. It had taken him a tough 10 years since he turned pro to get off the mark and gain a bit of attention.
Basilashvili has had a good record in ATP 500 events but has failed to transition those performances into the Masters. He has played four 500 tournaments winning 9 out of 11 matches but has lost 4 out of 6 matches in the masters. But this time he is ranked his highest ever going into an ATP 1000 event and it's the first time he's qualified into such events directly. So, this will be Nikoloz Basilashvili's best chance to put in a better performance, and I reckon he will.