Italy’s world number one, Jannik Sinner, and his Spanish rival, Carlos Alcaraz, both secured comfortable victories in their opening matches at the Shanghai Masters, just three days after their intense battle in the China Open final.
Sinner, 23, rebounded from his loss to Alcaraz in Beijing by cruising to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Japan’s Taro Daniel at the ATP 1,000 event.
The top seed took only one hour and 17 minutes to secure his place in the third round. His win came right after a similarly commanding performance from third seed Alcaraz, who spent just one minute less on court during his 6-2, 6-2 win over China’s Shang Juncheng.
It marked the 21-year-old Alcaraz’s 10th consecutive victory, following his China Open triumph and wins for Team Europe at the Laver Cup in September.
“I’ve been playing really good tennis lately and I’m just trying to keep that up,” said Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion who has already claimed four titles on the ATP Tour this year.
Alcaraz will next face China’s world number 560, Yibing Wu, while Sinner is set to play 37th-ranked Martin Etcheverry in the third round. Etcheverry advanced after defeating the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp in a gruelling 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5 match that lasted three hours and 43 minutes—the longest in the tournament’s history.
Elsewhere, Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev suffered a 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-3 loss to the Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik.
Later on Saturday, Novak Djokovic, a four-time Shanghai Masters winner, will take on 20-year-old American Alex Michelsen as he aims for his 100th tour-level title.
