Jaume Munar has been one of the surprise revelations on hard courts this year, showing significant improvement outside his comfort zone thanks to hard work in the offseason. He has delivered excellent results, including semifinals in Hong Kong and Dallas and a round of 16 at the US Open, performances that helped him achieve a career-high ranking of No. 37.
Building on those strong performances and the confidence gained, the Spaniard would have hoped to capitalize on the remaining hard-court events of the season. Unfortunately, fitness issues have disrupted those plans, and his season now appears to be losing momentum. He suffered an injury during the round of 16 at the US Open a few weeks ago and subsequently lost his next two matches at the Davis Cup and in Tokyo.
Munar now makes his third consecutive appearance at the Shanghai Masters, aiming to secure a win and return to form. He holds a 2-0 record in first-round matches at this event, having defeated Rigele Te in 2023 and Hugo Gaston in 2024.
Marton Fucsovics has occasionally shown sparks this year, but his season peaked when he won the Winston-Salem title, the third ATP crown of his career, which brought him closer to the top 50. In his subsequent ATP event in Tokyo last week, he entered as a qualifier and reached the second round.
The Hungarian missed the entire Asian swing in 2024, and this marks his return to Asia since the Shanghai Masters 2023, where he defeated Denis Yevseyev and Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the third round. He also holds a 2-0 record in first-round matches at this event.
Head-to-head: Marton Fucsovics leads 2-0. Fucsovics is the more experienced and effective hard-court player, and with some fitness concerns for Jaume Munar, this presents an ideal opportunity for Fucsovics to continue his recent good form and extend his unbeaten record against the Spaniard.
