Shanghai Masters Day One Tips: Djokovic faces Del Potro and Tsonga takes on Davydenko

Events / Ben Caudell / 08 November 2008 / 1

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Ben Caudell has rooted through the form and odds to bring you his selection for the first day of the Shanghai Masters...

At last, the final event of the men's professional tennis circuit is upon us. The $4.45 Million circuit finale includes the crème de la crème of men's tennis with the top 8 players in the world (excluding Nadal) not only battling it out to capture this prestigious title, but also competing to position themselves as high as possible in the ATP 2008 Race.

Will Federer be in total control and win his fifth Masters Cup title having won the last two in Shanghai or will it be a first for the inform debutants such as Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Gilles Simon?

With the calibre of players and the magnificent Shanghai Stadium showcasing this eight day extravagance, it is going to be interesting to see if every player plays at the highest level. What I do know is that I will be giving my predictions each and every day of the tournament starting today with my tip's for Sunday's early morning clashes - Djokovic v Del Potro and Tsonga v Davydenko

Novak Djokovic v Juan Martin Del Potro
This is a very hard match to call and could go either way, Djokovic won their only previous meeting at last year's US Open in straight sets, however Del Potro has been in a different class this year having won four successive tournaments in five finals after Wimbledon, two on clay and two on hard court. Both have similar form from their last eight matches, however Djokovic struggled this time last year, losing all three of his matches in the 2007 Master Series cup, therefore the value is definitely with Del Potro

Selection: Back Del Potro @ [2.8].

Davydenko v Tsonga
Tsonga is riding the crest of a wave at the moment, having won the Paris Masters last week and looks to have sorted out most of his injury worries. That said, Davydenko is no pushover and could prove to be a lot trickier than Tsonga imagines. The Frenchman loves playing against baseliners and his win over Nalbandian, Djokovic and Roddick last week proves he can handle it at this level, I expect this to be a close match with the pumped up Tsonga eventually winning in three sets.

Selection: Back Tsonga @ [1.8].

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djoks | 11 June 2011

go djoks go :)