ATP Shanghai Masters: Matteo Berrettini has the game to surprise Dominic Thiem

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Matteo Berrettini to beat Dominic Thiem
1pt 7-4 Hills

Rising star Matteo Berrettini demonstrated his hard-court credentials with a run to the semi-finals of the US Open and looks a dangerous opponent for Dominic Thiem in their Shanghai Masters quarter-final.

Berrettini has had a fairly light schedule since excelling at Flushing Meadows and was the victim of a tricky draw at the recent China Open, where he lost 7-6 7-6 to Andy Murray in the opening round.

Murray went on to lose 6-2 7-6 to Thiem in the quarter-finals but it would be too simplistic to draw a form line from those two results.

Berrettini had the misfortune to run into a mentally and physically fresh Murray and could still have won had key moments gone his way.

He has responded impressively in Shanghai, winning three matches in straight sets including a 7-6 6-4 victory over eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

If he keeps performing at that level he will cause problems for Thiem, who is not as convincing on hard courts as he is on clay.

Thiem has a solid hard-court game and defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the China Open final, but his match against big-serving Berrettini looks tough to call and there is value in siding with the Italian.

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