Taylor Fritz vs Yosuke Watanuki – Breakdown and Prediction

October 7, 2024

Taylor Fritz vs Yosuke Watanuki: ATP Shanghai – Second round

The highest-ranked American player Taylor Fritz will take on Yosuke Watanuki in the round of 16 of the ATP Shanghai.

Taylor Fritz Profile

Taylor Fritz is currently seventh in the ATP rankings, two spots lower than his career high. The American is 46-19 for the season and 19-9 on hard surface.

He is coming off a 7-6, 7-6 win over Terence Atmane in the second round in Shanghai.

A couple of weeks back, Fritz made it to his first ever Grand Slam final but lost to Jannik Sinner at the US Open, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Fritz won the titles in Eastbourne and Delray Beach this season.

In 2022, he won the ATP Tokyo defeating Frances Tiafoe in the final.

Yosuke Watanuki Profile

Yosuke Watanuki is currently 336th in the ATP rankings, and his career high was No. 72 in the world. The Japanese is 6-7 for the season and 6-6 on hard surface.

Watanuki is coming off a 7-6, 6-3 win over Brandon Nakashima in the second round of the tournament, after beating Pavel Kotov in the opener. This is the first time this season Watanuki to win more than one match in a single tournament.

Last year in Shanghai, he lost in the second round.

Head-to-Head Fritz leads 1-0

Fritz vs Cobolli 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 (2023 ATP Shanghai, second round)

Prediction and Conclusion

The rain has caused a lot of problems with the schedule in Shanghai, and American Taylor Fritz is the first one among the top 10 players to move to the round of 16. He has a great season and looks confident in Shanghai. Yosuke Watanuki missed significant time due to an injury but is playing pretty well this week. He pushed Fritz to the limit last year at the same court, but things will go easier this time for Fritz, so we go with the American to cover the -4.5-game spread in this one.