Carlos Alcaraz vs Gregoire Barrere: 2023 Shanghai Masters - Preview & Prediction

05/10/2023 12:30 | by Evita Mueller

Carlos Alcaraz will make his 2023 Shanghai Masters start against Gregoire Barrere, and that's a really fair draw for the Spaniard.

Alcaraz, of course, was in action just this week in Beijing, and he's pretty excited about his first Shanghai Masters. It's an event where his tennis should be greatly rewarded because traditionally, it's played as one of the fastest courts on the ATP Tour.

That's vastly different from Beijing, which played rather slow, and it gave Alcaraz some issues when he faced Jannik Sinner, who bested him. Barrere plays that hyper-aggressive style as Sinner does, but he's nowhere near as good at it as the Italian. It will require a serious approach from Alcaraz because he could beat him technically, even though it's very unlikely.

Head-to-head:

Alcaraz and Barrere have not played before, even though both are playing on the ATP Tour. It's an interesting matchup on paper though, likely very close considering how Barrere likes to play tennis but it's not impossible to image Alcaraz completely smashing his opponents.

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Prediction:

So what might happen here? Well, expect Barrere to keep the rallies really short, as he has no desire to play long rallies. He likes to attack quickly and has a solid serve, which will help him set up those winners. Whether he actually hits many of those remains to be seen, especially how well Alcaraz covers the tennis court.

Barrere is really prone to mistakes as well, so it's not hard to imagine him hitting himself out of a match. I expect a really solid match from Alcaraz, probably nothing special, as he will ease himself into the event. He should win, though and comfortably, even though Barrere might push him to a tiebreak. Beating the Spaniard seems rather unlikely in my humble opinion.

Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to win in two sets.

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