The tournament is finally back on schedule after all the rain delays with top half quarterfinals on Thursday. It promises to be an entertaining day of tennis with  both the world #1 and world #1 set to be in action at the ATP Shanghai Masters. But who do you think will make the final four at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena?

ATP Shanghai Quarterfinal Predictions

Carlos Alcaraz vs Tomas Machac

Head-to-head: Alcaraz 1-0 Machac

This pair met only last month during the Davis Cup group stage with Carlos Alcaraz playing an extremely tight opening set, but then fighting back to before Tomas Machac retired with cramps. So much has happened since with the world #2 winning every match he has played – a run that includes winning the ATP China Open in Beijing last-time out – while the Czech has also been firing, first in Tokyo and now Shanghai, playing some of the best tennis he’s ever produced so far. Machac can be a tricky opponent to face with how early he takes the ball, especially when he’s finding that trademark backhand down-the-line. But Alcaraz just simply feels unstoppable at the moment and has so many tools to adjust mid-match. He’s not the same player as a month ago and looks to be operating at something close to the peak of his power right now.

Prediction: Alcaraz in 3

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Jannik Sinner vs Daniil Medvedev

Head-to-head: Medvedev 7-6

Daniil Medvedev once led this rivalry 6-0 with Jannik Sinner struggling to make it past his amazing defense. But it was around this time last year when the Italian first got the better of him, perhaps surprising the Russian with how much more comfortable he was in the forecourt, either by finishing points at the net or bringing out dropshots mid-rally. Later on he realized that by now he could also beat Medvedev in many different ways, not only by going for the surprise tactic. The reality is that this seemed pretty close when the draw came out, but Sinner has looked stellar so far, responding to every threat he has faced so far in impressive fashion. On top of that, Medvedev’s shoulder issue made an appearance in his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Russian needs his serve to be booming here, but it doesn’t look like it will be.

Prediction: Sinner in 2