ATP Tour

Altmaier eyes Sinner disruption in Shanghai: 'I think I'm dangerous against the top guys'

Daniel Altmaier has built a reputation as a big-game player, and he has the arsenal to prove it.

On Saturday, he will once again test his flair for the upset when he takes on defending Rolex Shanghai Masters champion Jannik Sinner.

Altmaier toppled the Italian in their most recent meeting at Roland Garros in 2023, and one year before that, he pushed him to five sets at the US Open. For the 27-year-old German, these aren’t anomalies, they’re the blueprint of his game.

“I see myself that I can play tennis well against everyone on Tour. So that's why I feel like I'm dangerous against those [top] guys,” Altmaier, the No. 49 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, told ATPTour.com in Shanghai. “I find my tactic, the way to play, the way to hurt people on the top level. So that's where I’m also aiming to play constantly. I think that's the thing: I can adapt my game, I can see the weaknesses and other opponents. That's also what you play for.”

Altmaier’s numbers in 2025 back his conviction: He took down Taylor Fritz in the first round of Roland Garros — his fifth Top 10 victory — and produced a stirring five-set triumph over former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open.

Two big stages, two scalps of heavyweights. Now, facing Sinner in the Italian’s opening match as defending champion in Shanghai, Altmaier arrives with the scent of another upset in the air.

“I really love these challenges, that's what I play for,” said Altmaier, who is 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Sinner. “I played some brilliant matches this year already. Taylor Fritz, last week [Denis] Shapovalov… I put them all there [at the top] when they have a great day. They are really elite, they are the best players. I think that's what I really look forward to and I think it's going to be an exciting match.”

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Much of Altmaier’s danger lies in his one-handed backhand, a shot that has both sting and subtlety. Against Sinner, he will need every ounce of that unpredictability to keep the World No. 2 unsettled. His deadly down-the-line backhand will make it risky for Sinner to give up too much court in the quest for inside-out forehands.

“I think he has the ability to also adjust his game,” Altmaier said of Sinner. “And well that's one of the elements of my game… I have several different ones. I'm working a lot on the variety on the backhand side.

“I have the slice, I have the backhand that I can play flat, the one I can play a little bit more with topspin, I can switch direction. I think that one-handers do actually have a little bit more variety than two-handed backhands.”

After overcoming qualifier Tristan Schoolkate in his Shanghai opener, Altmaier improved his 2025 record to 17-23 record in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. It’s a steady rebound just four weeks after he was nursing a leg injury that forced him to retire from his third-round clash with Alex de Minaur in New York.

“Tokyo was my first tournament back after my little injury after the US Open, so I'm happy to have a two-set victory here playing some very good tennis,” Altmaier said. “I'm happy about the consistency I was getting recently. There were a lot of challenges throughout the season. The season is long and I'm getting to learn a lot from this year which is a crucial part in my career.”