World no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz booked a place in the third round of the Shanghai Masters. The Beijing Open champion faced Juncheng Shang in his opening encounter at the eighth Masters 1000 event of the season and scored a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory in an hour and 16 minutes.
The Spaniard recovered from a marathon against Jannik Sinner three days ago, outplaying a teenager on serve and return and marching through. Both players struggled to find the first serve, and Alcaraz drew the most from that, dropping 13 points in eight service games and defending the only break point he faced.
Shang felt the pressure and cracked under it in front of the home fans, losing over half of the return points and suffering four breaks from seven chances presented to the four-time Major winner. Carlos had the upper hand from the baseline, taming his strokes nicely and hitting 19 winners and 13 unforced errors, leaving the rival’s 8-21 ratio behind and sailing over the top.
Carlos Alcaraz dropped four games against Juncheng Shang in Shanghai.
The Spaniard forged a massive advantage in the mid-range rallies, controlling the pace and making a convincing start.
Alcaraz played a crafty point in the opening game, creating three break chances and drawing the rival’s mistake for a break at love and an early boost. World no. 2 held at love in the second game with an ace before a teenager got his name on the scoreboard in the next one, reducing the deficit to 2-1.
Shang grabbed the fifth game with an unreturned serve before the four-time Major winner secured the next one with a cracking forehand down the line winner. Carlos created a break chance in the seventh game with a forehand down the line winner and landed a volley winner for a break and a 5-2 advantage.
The Spaniard served for the opener in game eight and fired a forehand winner on a set point, wrapping up the first part of the duel in 34 minutes. The Chinese held in the first game of the second set with a well-controlled attack before world no.
2 leveled the score at 1-1 with an unreturned serve.
Alcaraz stepped in on the return in the third game and generated three break points after a massive error from his opponent.
Juncheng sprayed a forehand error on the second, falling 2-1 behind and pushing his rival closer to the finish line. Carlos played his only loose service game in the next one, wasting four game points and facing a lone break point.
The Spaniard denied it with a powerful serve and held for 3-1. Alcaraz made another push on the return in the fifth game, creating three break chances and converting the last with a sharp return and a forced error. World no. 2 held at love for 5-1 and served for the win in game eight.
Carlos painted a forehand down the line winner for three match points and seized the second with an unreturned serve, booking a place in the third round.
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