The Shanghai Masters is in full swing, and SBOTOP tennis fans are sure to be delighted with the action-packed first and second rounds of the tournament.
Nail-biting bouts greeted the faithful who weathered the rain when some matches had to be postponed due to the weather conditions in Shanghai, but the matches that pushed through showcased world-class tennis from baseline to baseline.
Some matches that overcame ended in stunning upsets, dominant victories, and everything in between. We still have a lot of tennis to play, but first, here are updates on some of the notable players and matches from the Shanghai Masters.
Carlos Alcaraz advances
After suffering a crushing defeat against his rival Jannik Sinner in the semi-final of the China Open earlier this week, Alcaraz is now on a mission for his third Masters 1000 crown of the year in Shanghai, as he comfortably defeated his second-round opponent, No. 73-ranked Gregoire Barrere.
This was Carlos Alcaraz’s debut at the Shanghai Masters, but it didn’t take long until the Spaniard settled in. He flexed his form by defeating Barrere in straight sets. (6-2, 7-5)
It seemed like Alcaraz had put his defeat against Sinner to good use, as he began to dissect his game and identify his weaknesses. The Spaniard told the press after his defeat against Sinner that he has some work to do when it comes to his mental preparation and staying focused under pressure.
Going into his match against Barrere, Alcaraz told the official ATP website, “Well I always say that mentally is the toughest part to practice but at the same time it’s the most important thing if you want to be the best in tennis.”
“I’m trying to work in every practice, in every tournament that I go [to], learn from the things that probably I was not doing great. For example, the last match against Jannik I said that I [was] out of my mind in the second set so this is something that I have to work on. I’m trying not to happen the next time.” he added.
This could be great news for Alcaraz, his camp, and his fans, but I can’t say the same for his next opponents. The 20-year-old Spaniard is set to face off against No. 30 seed Dan Evans, who dominated Mikhail Kukushkin at the Qi Zhong Stadium on Sunday.
Zhang Zhizhen’s historic run in home soil
Zhang Zhizhen has been in form since winning gold at the Asian Games, doubling up his stellar performance at the US Open, where he amazed the tennis world by defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud in five hard-fought sets.
He once again stunned everyone by beating the 28th seed, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, becoming the first home player to reach the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters. Zhang edged out Etcheverry and completed a comeback victory (4-6, 6-3, 6-4).
“I just tried to hold my service games and see if I could break him. First set my return was not working well, so I changed my position a bit and I’m happy to win the match of course.” Zhang said after the match. “I just tried to go point by point. It was a very tough match because I couldn’t find any chance on his serve until the second set. I had to be patient and I’m glad I broke him in the end. I’m pretty happy.” He added.
Continuing his historic run, Zhang will face a more formidable opponent in the 16th seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Daniil Medvedev exits the tournament early
One of the most gruelling upsets of the tournament happened yesterday when American Sebastian Korda rallied and eliminated the defending champion Daniil Medvedev.
The defending champion was one of the favourites in the Shanghai Masters 2023 odds coming into the tournament, having won the title the last time the event was played back in 2019, as subsequent editions were cancelled due to COVID-19.
Earlier in the tournament, he made history by recording his 60th win of the year, making him just the fourth active men’s player to have multiple 60-win seasons. He joins Djokovic, who pulled out of the Shanghai Masters, and multiple Grand Slam winner Andy Murray.
The 23-year-old Korda impressively won his first Top-5 win when he beat No. 3-ranked Daniil Medvedev in straight sets by 7-6(8) 6-2, which may be the biggest Shanghai Masters 2023 news in the tournament so far. He is now 1-6 against Top-5 opponents, and 6-10 against Top-10 opponents. “I’m just really happy to get that first set under my belt and then it was just a matter of getting into one of his service games and hopefully taking it home after,” Korda stated.
The No. 26-seeded Korda is set to face the winner of Sunday’s fixture between No. 20 seed the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo and unseeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
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