Sports Mole previews Friday's Shanghai Masters quarter-final match between Taylor Fritz and David Goffin, including predictions, head-to-head and their tournament so far.

Friday's action at the ongoing Shanghai Masters will get underway with seventh seed Taylor Fritz facing off against the surging Belgian David Goffin in a quarter-final matchup.

The winner of this match will move on to the final four of the competition, where they will meet either rising Czech star Jakub Mensik or the Serbian maestro Novak Djokovic.

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Match preview

The 2024 season has been an incredible one for Taylor Fritz, as he now holds an impressive 48 wins from 67 matches and is firmly back inside the top 10 in the world rankings.

This season, he has already notched up titles at Delray Beach and Eastbourne before overcoming Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe on his way to his first-ever Grand Slam final at the US Open.

Fritz booked his spot in the quarter-finals here in Shanghai with a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory over Holger Rune on Wednesday, and while the Dane was certainly not at his best on the day, Fritz's performance deserves full credit.

The 26-year-old was particularly impressive with his service game, firing nine aces while winning 86% of points on his first serve against Rune, and if he can maintain that type of form, it could easily carry him to his third title of the year.

Prior to his victory over Rune, Fritz kicked off his Shanghai Masters campaign with a victory over Frenchman Terence Atmane and was far too good for Japan's Yosuke Watanuki, downing both players in straight sets.

Meanwhile, David Goffin, a former top 10 player himself, proved that his is still a force to be reckoned with on the ATP circuit, as he pulled off an upset victory over second seed Alexander Zverev to earn his place in the quarter-final.

In that match, the Belgian was ahead by a set and a break, and while Zverev put up a huge fight to lead the second set at 5-4, Goffin stayed composed, holding his serve to make it 5-5 and broke the German in the next game before serving out to secure the win.

That result followed victories over Australian James Duckworth (6-4, 6-2), number 15 seed Lorenzo Musetti (1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2), and American Marcos Giron (1-6, 6-3, 7-5) in the earlier rounds.

Goffin now holds a record of 15 wins from 29 matches this year, which included a semi-final appearance at the Winston-Salem Open and the ATP Ilkley Challenger title, where he beat Harold Mayot in straight sets.

Up next for the Belgian is Fritz, who he has faced twice before in Qatar in 2021 and Cincinnati in 2018, where both matches had to be decided by a third set.

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Tournament so far

Taylor Fritz:

First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Terence Atmane 7-6(4) 7-6(5)
Third round: vs. Yosuke Watanuki 6-3 6-4
Round of 16: vs. Holger Rune 6-1 6-2

David Goffin:

First round: vs. James Duckworth 6-4 6-2
Second round: vs. Lorenzo Musetti 1-6 7-6(6) 6-2
Third round: vs. Marcos Giron 1-6 6-3 7-5
Round of 16: vs. Alexander Zverev 6-4 7-5

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Head To Head

Qatar Open (2021) - Round of 16: Fritz 6-1 5-7 7-6[9]

Cincinnati Open (2018) - Round of 64: Goffin 6-4 4-6 6-4

These two players have faced each other twice before, but those encounters took place in 2018 and 2021, making it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from those matches.

Since their last meeting, the American has surged up the world rankings, but the Belgian veteran has executed all the fundamentals effectively here in Shanghai, and that victory over Zverev in the last round would have provided him with a huge confidence boost.

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We say: Fritz to win in three sets

If nothing else, Goffin has proven that hard work pays off, as he has worked tirelessly on his fitness on the Challenger circuit and now prepares to make what will be only his second quarter-final ATP Tour appearance for the year.

However, standing in his way now is one of the most consistent players on tour this year in Taylor Fritz, and while we fancy the Belgian to stand his own and win at least a set, we feel the American will be the one to progress to the final four.

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