The 2012 Shanghai Masters are down to eight quarterfinalists and the top five seeded players are still alive in the draw. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga headline the round of eight. Rounding out the quarterfinalists are 10th seeded Marin Cilic and two unseeded players in Radek Stepanek and Tommy Haas.

Friday's order of play, which will feature all quarterfinal matches, is as follows (CST):

2pm: [5] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs [4] Tomas Berdych (CZE)

Not before 3:00 PM: [3] Andy Murray (GBR) vs Radek Stepanek (CZE)

Not before 6:00 PM: Tommy Haas (GER) vs [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Not before 8:00 PM: [1] Roger Federer (SUI) vs [10] Marin Cilic (CRO)

The match that stands to be the most competitive is the one between Tsonga and Berdych. The two players have split their two head-to-head meetings in the past and both have played well in Shanghai so far this week. Berdych is into the quarters following a close three set match against Sam Querrey while Tsonga was forced to a second set tiebreaker in the round of sixteen against Marcos Baghdatis.

Murray looks like the player most likely to make the Shanghai semifinals at this point. The US Open champion is facing a tough player in Radek Stepanek however the Czech is 33 years old now and a surprise quarterfinalist in Shanghai. Murray is 4-1 on head-to-heads against the current World No. 41, a player in his first 1000 series quarterfinal since Paris 2009.

The top two seeds in the tournament do not appear threatened in the quarters either. Federer appears to have Cilic's game down-pat as the World No. 1 is 3-0 against the Croat. In those three matches Cilic has only managed to take away one set and in the other sets played, he's never forced a single tiebreaker situation.

Haas, 34 years old, will have Djokovic's attention from the onset of their quarterfinal match. The German has beaten the Serb in two of their five head-to-head meetings and many will recall that Haas defeated Federer in the Halle final just prior to Wimbledon this season, a result that proves that the German veteran is still a threat to anyone on tour. Djokovic should still have confidence in the match having defeated Haas in the Toronto quarters this season. Additionally, you have to go all the way back to the 2006 Paris Masters to find the last time Haas won his quarter in a 1000 series event.

The semifinals in Shanghai look as though they will feature a Federer vs. Murray semifinal. At least one spot in the other semifinal looks up for grabs as Berdych and Tsonga appear to be in a coin toss. The Shanghai draw does favor Djokovic at this point as Murray and Federer share a semi. While Djokovic cannot catch Federer for the World No. 1 ranking with a title in Shanghai, the current World No. 2 could inch closer and set up a battle for top spot in Basel, Paris, and London.