Shanghai Masters 2023: Carlos Alcaraz vs Dan Evans preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match details
Fixture: (1) Carlos Alcaraz vs (30) Dan Evans
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2023
Date: Monday, October 9
Round: Third Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China
Category: ATP 1000
Surface: Hard (Indoor)
Prize money: $8,800,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dan Evans preview
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will take on his first seeded opponent at the 2023 Shanghai Masters in the form of Dan Evans in an exciting third round encounter on Monday.
Alcaraz, who came into the tournament fresh off a semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner at the China Open, needed two tight sets to get past Frenchman Gregoire Barrere in the previous round. He fought off some big serving and stayed baseline hitting to come through unscathed 6-2, 7-5.
Playing against Evans, however, he faces a completely different opponent next. Looking to reclaim the World No. 1 ranking, Alcaraz will look to further his pursuit of a fee bonus ranking points.
Evans, meanwhile, also suffered a tight three-set defeat to Sinner at the China Open. His win over Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round here, in fact, was his first in three tournaments in China.
Notably, Evans had managed to take a set off Alcaraz when they met at the US Open last month. He will look to produce a similar performance when takes on the top seed here.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dan Evans head-to-head
Alcaraz has a 3-0 lead over Evans in their head-to-head record. Besides the 2023 US Open, Alcaraz defeated the Briton in Barcelona this year and Veinna in 2021.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dan Evans odds
Odds to be updated soon.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dan Evans prediction
The match will pit Carlos Alcaraz's firepower agianst Dan Evans' counterpunching and defensive prowess in a nice contest of playing styles.
Carlos Alcaraz will step out looking to be the aggressor and dictate points from the baseline. He will, however, need to be wary of his opponent's ability to direct pace coming at him. Evans also likes to mix things up with net approaches and throwing in the odd short ball.
Ths Spaniard, however, will be prepared for that, given he had played the same opponent just a month ago. He has also played in China longer (in terms of time spent on court) and is accustomed to the court conditions.
If he can keep serving as well as he did in his opener — when he won 70% of the first serve points — and put pressure on his opponent's rather attackable second serve, Alcaraz should be able to take control of the proceedings.
Prediction: Alcaraz to win in straight sets