The second round at the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters delivered was led by predictable dominance of favorites with except of two notable upsets. While the tournament favorites cruised through their matches, two Russian seeds continued their alarming downward spiral in China. Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev both suffered their third consecutive upset loss, raising serious questions about their end-of-season form and ATP Finals qualification hopes at this crucial ATP 1000 event.

Khachanov falls to Shang

Khachanov arrived in Shanghai desperate for a turnaround after consecutive early exits. The Russian lost to Alexandre Muller in Beijing's opening round, continuing a pattern that has defined his Asian swing. Before that, he fell in the second round of the US Open to Kamil Majchrzak. This marks three straight tournaments where Khachanov has been upset by lower-ranked opponents, a concerning trend for a player who reached the Toronto final earlier this season with seven consecutive victories.

The 28-year-old Russian struggled to impose his powerful baseline game on the determined Chinese player. Shang's perfect 3-for-3 conversion rate on break points proved decisive, as he claimed the final three games from 3-3 in the second set and rattled off the final six points of the match. For Shang, this victory represents his first career win over a top-10 opponent and his first third-round appearance at a Masters 1000 tournament. The 20-year-old becomes the youngest Chinese man to reach the Shanghai third round, giving the home fans plenty to celebrate. Khachanov was able to produce just 9 pressure points on return and even despite converting two of them, his 8 aces and some powerful winners were not enough to overcome the Chinese sensation.

Rublev crumbles against Nishioka

Andrey Rublev's nightmare Asian tour continued as qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka stunned the 13th seed 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a remarkable comeback victory. The Russian dominated the opening set but completely unraveled, dropping his fourth consecutive match across three tournaments, being favorite related to odds in all of them. Rublev hasn't won a match since the third round of the US Open, an unusual drought for a player who finished as Shanghai runner-up in 2023.

The 27-year-old Russian's collapse was stark and brutal. After cruising through the first set 6-2 with his trademark aggressive baseline play, Rublev managed just a 37% success rate on his second serve over the final two sets. His body language betrayed growing frustration as unforced errors piled up against the 173rd-ranked Japanese qualifier. At one point, Rublev smashed his racket against the net post after the final handshake, illustrating the depths of his desperation.

Nishioka had entered the match without a victory since Washington in early July, playing his worst season since snatching into top pack of professional ATP players, riding a nine-match losing streak at Masters 1000 level which reflected the huge slump in the rankings. The 30-year-old left-hander exploited Rublev's mental fragility and physical shortcomings, riding a string of aggressive returns to break the Russian's serve repeatedly in the second and third sets. For Rublev, this fourth straight defeat severely damages his ATP Finals qualification hopes.

Favorites roll on, Tien's another comeback

While the Russian duo faltered, the tournament's biggest names delivered businesslike performances. Defending champion Jannik Sinner defeated Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-3 in 98 minutes, converting three of four break points to launch his title defense. The Italian arrives fresh from winning the Beijing title and aims to become the first player since Novak Djokovic in 2013 to successfully defend the Shanghai crown. Sinner now holds a 23-2 record in China and will face Tallon Griekspoor next, holding a perfect 6-0 head-to-head advantage.

Alexander Zverev overcame qualifier Valentin Royer 6-4, 6-4 despite concerns about a right toe injury late in the match. The third seed received medical treatment but managed to serve out the victory, keeping alive his hopes for a first Masters 1000 title of the season. Zverev interestingly voiced support for Roger Federer's recent criticism of court speed homogenization, suggesting the lack of surface variety has contributed to his struggles against Sinner and Alcaraz this year. Felix Auger-Aliassime rolled past Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 6-3, maintaining the momentum from his US Open semifinal run and recent marriage in Marrakech. The 12th seed looks rejuvenated after his strong North American hard court swing and will hope to continue climbing toward the ATP Finals qualification positions.

Daniil Medvedev demolished qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6-1, 6-1 in just 60 minutes, striking 22 winners to nine unforced errors. The 2019 Shanghai champion appears to be finding form after reaching the Beijing semifinals, producing his most dominant hard-court performance in months. It looks like the troubles which forced him to retire from the semifinals against Learner Tien is over for now, once Medvedev can focus to build on the best things from his last week's run in Tokyo. His 19 years-old conqueror has also prevailed that day, passing a tough test against Corentin Moutet. Tien has performed yet another comeback in recent days, defeating the French despite being 4-6 0-3 down with double-break gap in second set. That's a remiscinent of his clash against Medvedev in Tokyo's semis where Tien has also came back from almost lost position. His fighting spirit surely makes him the new promising star in the making.

Sunday's Preview

Sinner vs. Griekspoor

Tallon Griekspoor has broken the series of 7 consecutive defeats, winning over Jenson Brooksby in second round. The American was already a semifinalist in ATP 500 Tokyo, so that looks like a great breakthrough win for the world number 31. However, the another defeat is most probably on the horizon, as it's very difficult to predict any chances for Griekspoor against Sinner who lost just 2 out of 26 matches played on hard courts this year - both to his biggest opponent Carlos Alcaraz. If the Italian conserves his fatigue well after the march into title in Beijing which ended up on Wednesday this week, he should face no trouble against the Dutch.

Fritz vs. Mpetshi Perricard

That's the match-up of two huge servers, however the efficiency of using that tool is far different in both cases. Fritz is 31-11 on hard courts this season, being 3rd best in terms of service games won (90.5%) and fifth best in first serve points won (79.6%). Mpetshi Perricard records 88.1% of service games won (6th on hard courts) and 78% on first serve (5th on hard courts) but that translates poorly into results. His record in 2025 is a miserable 14-21, including 11-12 on hard courts. The French fires 12.7 of aces on average per match on that surface in compare to 11.5 of Fritz. That promises a bombserving fest with a probable tiebreak settlements, however Fritz's consistency and huge advantage on return should make the job done if the American shows his proper performance. He overcame struggles against Fabian Marozsan in second round, coming back from 2-6 and being just a few points from elimination in second's set tiebreak. Perricard moved past Luca Nardi by 6-3 7-6(4), firing 11 aces and saving 4 out of 5 breakpoints.

Rune vs. Humbert

10th seed Holger Rune holds a dominant 4-0 head-to-head advantage over 21st seed Ugo Humbert, including three victories on hard courts. The Dane most recently defeated Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 at Indian Wells in March 2025, showcasing his ability to win tight matches against the Frenchman. Rune arrived in Shanghai with momentum after reaching the Tokyo quarterfinals and dispatched Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-4 in the second round despite dropping serve three times. His season is a mix of peak moments and unexpected early exits so far. Humbert presents a tricky test with his aggressive lefty game, though his 18-17 record in 2025 and 12-8 on hard courts. The 26-year-old Frenchman defeated Jordan Thompson 6-3, 7-6(4) but has won just four of his last ten matches. The former world number 13 struggles on return this season, being vulnerable on first serve return which can be punished by Rune on his proper serving day.

Goffin vs. Diallo

The veteran-versus-young-gun matchup between David Goffin and Gabriel Diallo offers intrigue. Goffin, at 34 years old, turned back the clock with his upset of sixth seed Ben Shelton being second consecutive win over the American that year, saving all three break points and dominating with his precision baseline game. The Belgian will seek for proving any consistency, as he won just 8 out of 23 matches played on hard in ATP Tour this year. Three of those were against top players (Shelton x2 plus one against Carlos Alcaraz), but Goffin is more like upset-merchant at this point, having no sufficient powerful and service tools to dominate against lower ranked opponents. Diallo, the 31st seed from Canada, defeated Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4 without facing a break point, showcasing rock-solid service games that won 91% of first serve points. The Canadian grows-up to be mentioned in the pack of best servers in the tour in some future, scoring 8.4 aces on average on hard courts in 2025, but struggling on return. His record is just 9-12 on that surface in top tier level. This match could go either way with an interesting take to see how far can Goffin arrive after dropping the 6th seed of the tournament on early stage.