In this Shanghai Masters bout, we have ourselves a face-off with Arthur Rinderknech and Alejandro Tabilo. Now Tabilo, if you remember, previously served Rinderknech a bagel in their last meeting, that's 'love' for all you casuals out there. So naturally, you'd think Tabilo is all set to string his racket with Rinderknech's pride again. But hold your horses!
Let's examine the recent records. Tabilo has been hitting some rough patches of late, it's like watching a dove dive into a window, folks. I'm talking one win out of the last five matches. That's a horror show even for a Halloween special.
Rinderknech, on the other hand, despite having the charisma of a damp rag has shown some plucky stuff in the recent past, that's a bit like being the valedictorian at summer school but still counts. Two winning matches out of five, all squared up against seeded opponents, that's not too shabby, folks.
And let's not forget that Tabilo is seeded 19 in the tournament, while Rinderknech didn't even make the cut. But you know what they say about the underdogs, they're just like your in-laws visiting for the summer – surprising and possibly a little annoying.
With everything considered, I'm about as certain as a weather forecast, but here's Albert's Prediction: Rinderknech in 3 sets.