Sunday's quarterfinals in Chengdu set up a Monday semifinal round with real contrast in styles. Hubert Hurkacz needed a third set to see off Marin Cilj-level resistance already this week and now meets the winner of the Lloyd Harris quarterfinal, a big-serving matchup that could come down to a handful of tiebreak points.
In the other half, Denis Shapovalov's left-handed power has carried him past a tricky early draw, and his quarterfinal with Adrian Mannarino pits pure aggression against one of the tour's best defensive counterpunchers. Whoever wins that battle of styles arrives in the semifinal with a very different physical toll than Hurkacz's side of the draw.
The bottom section runs through Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, whose ball-striking has looked sharp all week, and Alexandre Muller, the surprise package of the tournament. Davidovich Fokina's ceiling is the highest left in the field outside of Hurkacz and Shapovalov, and a semifinal berth for him would not be a surprise.
Hurkacz's serve is the single biggest weapon remaining in the draw on this hard court, and it should be enough to get him through a tightly contested semifinal and into Tuesday's final as the favorite.
Prediction: Hubert Hurkacz to reach the final. Confidence: medium.