Rolex Shanghai Masters tip: Youngster Fils looks nice price against Fokina

We were chinned on the line with our headline tip for the China Open last week as 7/2 selection Daniil Medvedev made the final but lost out to an inspired Jannik Sinner on Wednesday.

It was high-level stuff in Beijing as Sinner beat Medvedev for the first time after six straight defeats against the Russian, thus proving that when it comes to sports gambling sometimes you get the eggs, and sometimes you get the shells.

The action moves up a notch this week in the shape of the Rolex Shanghai Masters - the only Masters 1000 event played in China.

In the absence of Novak Djokovic (who has won Shanghai four times), Carlos Alcaraz is a warm order in the outright betting, with Medvedev and Sinner not too far behind him.

However at this stage of the season trying to figure out the motivation of the Tour’s top names becomes pure guesswork, and while Alcaraz might want revenge after his China Open semi-final defeat he could just as easily bow out early and head back to Europe.

One man who will be motivated is Arthur Fils - the youngest player in the world’s top 50 – who beat Pavel Kotov 6-1 6-4 on Thursday to reach the second round in Shanghai. 19-year-old Fils is one to watch and is making his Shanghai Masters debut at a career-high ATP world ranking of 44, off the back of an excellent breakthrough season on Tour.

Suggested bet: Fils to beat Fokina at 8/5 (Planet Sport Bet)

Fils bagged his maiden title at ATP level in the final of the Lyon Open over Francisco Cerundolo earlier this year and could be set for big things given how talented he is.

After that R1 won Fils signed the camera in Shanghai “Moving like La Monf.” He may be a Gael Monfils fan but in terms of playing style, he has more in common with another exciting Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Big serve, huge forehand and lets to get points finished early.

His reward for that brilliant Kotov win is a second-round clash with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The pair have played twice this season - both in majors - with Davidovich Fokina winning in four at the French Open and in straight sets at Wimbledon.

However, Fils looks comfy on outdoor hardcourts and will be desperate to record a first career win against Davidovich Fokina, who is a solid but erratic type. The Frenchman has going for him the impetuousness of youth.

That brash unpredictability youngers have and a feeling he can move mountains. Ernest Hemingway once said, "When you go to war as a boy, you have a great illusion of immortality. Other people get killed, not you... Then, when you are badly wounded the first time, you lose that illusion, and you know it can happen to you."

Fils is yet to lose his illusion, yet to get badly wounded, and for this reason, he looks like a good punt at 8/5 to beat Davidovich Fokina in the wee small hours of Saturday morning.

Suggested bet: Fils to beat Fokina at 8/5 (Planet Sport Bet)