Carlos Alcaraz cruised through his first match at the 2024 Shanghai Masters despite a tough draw.
As the season neared its end, there was uncertainty about whether he could grab more titles this year. Previously, his last victories came at Wimbledon and the US Open in past seasons.
Before 2024, Alcaraz hadn’t won any titles after the US Open. But this year, he changed that by winning the Laver Cup with Team Europe and then taking home the China Open trophy after defeating Jannik Sinner in a thrilling final.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz | 21 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
Alcaraz’s Journey Through Shanghai
After these achievements, both players had to quickly head to Shanghai for their next challenge. The tournament organizers helped them by delaying their matches by a day so they could rest properly. On October 5th, they were scheduled for back-to-back matches on the main court in Shanghai.
First up was Alcaraz against Jerry Shang, a rising Chinese star who recently celebrated his first title win. Despite facing strong local support and Shang’s good form, Alcaraz showed no signs of struggle.
Fans might think it’s amazing how easily Alcaraz handles pressure from tough opponents.
He began with an impressive streak of nine points in a row, quickly leading 2-0. Though he missed another break chance early on, it didn’t matter much as he dominated the first set 6-2 without facing any break points himself.
The second set saw more magic from World No. 2 as Shang managed to hold serve initially but then witnessed an incredible shot from Alcaraz at 15-15 in game two—a moment that left spectators in awe!
This rally demonstrated just how formidable Alcaraz is; soon enough he broke Shang’s serve again to lead 2-1. Even when faced with his only break point during this match shortly afterward—he saved it effortlessly before extending his advantage further by breaking once more en route towards securing victory: another comfortable scoreline of 6-2 sealed passage into round three where awaits yet another talented Chinese player named Wu Yibing!
What do you think? Can Carlos continue this winning streak?
