Quentin Halys vs Alexander Blockx Prediction Shanghai Rolex Masters - Shanghai · Oct 9, 2026

Analysis

Quentin Halys walks into the second round with his hard-court game humming: he needed only two sets to see off Chak Lam Coleman Wong on 7 October, and before that he beat Ignacio Buse 2-0 twice in a row and took a set off Alex De Minaur on 3 October. That profile travels well in Shanghai, where a heavy first serve and flat, early strikes shorten rallies in the heavy evening air. Alexander Blockx is the more unpredictable figure: the young Belgian showed his ceiling with best-of-five wins over Francisco Cerundolo (3-1) and Flavio Cobolli (3-1) in early September, but his two most recent matches ended 0-2 against Valentin Vacherot and 0-2 against Karen Khachanov. He also arrives with less match sharpness than the Frenchman, who already has a win on this court this week. Serve should settle the short points in Halys's favour, yet Blockx's depth on the return and his willingness to trade from the baseline make one long, tight set very plausible. Halys in straights is the call, with a real chance of a decider.