Arthur Rinderknech’s start to the Shanghai Masters was frustrating, as he appeared distracted by his opening-round opponent Hamad Medjedovic’s medical timeout, which led to complaints and ultimately cost him the first set. However, the tournament has since turned into a happy run for him, as he reached the round of 16 after upsetting world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, marking his second victory over the German in as many meetings this year.
The Frenchman struggled through the first half of the year, going 2–10 on hard courts and winning just seven matches across all surfaces by the end of the European clay swing. Since then, he has experienced an unexpected and remarkable turnaround, arguably playing the highest level of tennis of his career and exuding confidence, thanks to the strong results and performances he has delivered in the second half of the season.
He ended a 15-match winless streak against top-10 players by defeating Ben Shelton at Queen’s Club, marking his first-ever victory over a top-10 opponent. Since then, he has added two more top-10 wins, both against Alexander Zverev, and has competed closely against players like Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur. While this surge in performance has not fully erased the damage from the first half of the year—his season win-loss record still sits slightly negative at 28–31—it has put his career firmly back on track, and he is set to re-enter the top 50 next week.
Things could improve significantly with one more win, as it would give Rinderknech his first-ever quarterfinal appearance at Masters level. Both of his previous round of 16 matches at this stage came against top-10 players, and although he put in strong performances on both occasions, he was unable to prevail, losing in three sets to Grigor Dimitrov in Paris 2024 and Hubert Hurkacz in Montreal 2024.
Jiri Lehecka, after a quiet period midway through the season, has experienced a resurgence since the start of the grass-court swing. He has carried that momentum into the Shanghai Masters, where he comfortably defeated Quentin Halys and Denis Shapovalov in straight sets to reach his first-ever round of 16 appearance at this event.
Since transitioning back to hard courts during the US Open swing in July, Lehecka has delivered consistent results and often played to his potential. Continuing this form in the coming days could further solidify his position inside the top 20. During this prolific stretch on hard courts, he has won 13 of 17 matches, with all four losses coming only against top-20 players: Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Lehecka, who made his Masters main-draw debut in 2022, has already played several round of 16 matches at this level and has enjoyed success on a couple of occasions. He holds a 2–4 record at this stage in Masters tournaments, and one of the most memorable wins of his career came in the round of 16, when he defeated then-world No. 512 Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Masters in 2024.
Head-to-head: Tied at 1–1. Jiri Lehecka will understandably start as the favorite due to his higher ranking, higher ceiling, and stronger track record at Masters level. However, Arthur Rinderknech is currently playing extremely competitive tennis, and it is likely he will rise to the challenge, making this a close contest as he did in both of their previous meetings. He could even pull off a win if Lehecka’s inconsistent version appears.