Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs Nicolas Mejia Prediction Shanghai Rolex Masters - Shanghai · Oct 8, 2026

Analysis

This is about as open as a first-round match gets, with the key edge being conditions: Mejia has already won twice in Shanghai this week, beating Michael Zheng 2-0 on 6 October and getting past Chun Hsin Tseng a day earlier in a match recorded at just one set, which suggests it ended early. Cerundolo arrives with a more mixed recent run: straight-sets wins over Yi Zhou on 23 and 24 September, then a 0-2 loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and a three-set, 1-2 defeat to Bu Yunchaokete on 30 September. The Bu Yunchaokete scoreline shows he can hang with quality opposition, but his game is built on heavy topspin and long rallies, which the quicker, lower-bouncing Shanghai hard courts tend to blunt. Mejia's flatter, more direct ball striking suits the surface better, and the match-sharpness from back-to-back wins on site is worth something in an early round. Expect a tight contest decided by a handful of service games rather than a one-sided afternoon.