Semifinal spots in Chengdu will be handed out on Sunday, when home hope Jerry Shang continues his title bid against Alexander Bublik. Top seed Lorenzo Sonego is facing French veteran Adrian Mannarino.
Jerry Shang vs. (2) Alexander Bublik
Bublik and Shang will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the third time this season when they clash in the Chengdu quarterfinals on Sunday. They have split their two previous encounters; Bublik prevailed 6-4, 6-1 at the Indian Wells Masters before Shang won a five-setter (6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4) in round one of the U.S. Open.
Shang should get the job done again on a similar surface–and probably in simpler fashion since he is playing in front of the home crowd in China. The 19-year-old is off to a strong start this week with victories over Kei Nishikori and No. 8 seed Roman Safiullin. Bublik followed up an opening bye with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of little-known qualifier Federico Agustin Gomez. The 27th-ranked Kazakh is a dreadful 1-5 in his last six matches, so his chances against an opponent like Shang look slim.
Pick: Shang in 2
(1) Lorenzo Musetti vs. (5) Adrian Mannarino
It has been a tale of two different seasons for Musetti and Mannarino heading into the Chengdu quarterfinals. Musetti has been outstanding in 2024, highlighted by a semifinal run at Wimbledon and a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Mannarino is a horrendous 11-24 on the main tour this year and was 1-17 in the span of 18 matches before finally finding the winners’ circle again at the U.S. Open. Victories this week over Terence Atmane and Yi Zhou should do little to inspire any confidence in the Frenchman.
Musetti opened by surviving a 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(4) thriller against Christopher O’Connell. That may not be a spectacular result, but O’Connell is a tough opponent and the Italian can be expected to improve now that he has a match under his belt on the Asian swing. Anything other than a straight-set beatdown in the world No. 19’s favor would be a surprise.
Pick: Musetti in 2
