Carlos Alcaraz‘s journey at the Shanghai Masters ended sooner than expected, as Tomas Machac delivered a surprising performance to knock him out.
The 2024 Shanghai Masters had fans buzzing about a potential semi-final clash between Alcaraz and Sinner. Sinner had already secured his spot in the semis by defeating Medvedev, but Machac had other plans.
Machac had just upset Tommy Paul, who wished him luck with an encouraging “Good luck man. Win this tournament.” Machac replied modestly, “I’ll try my best,” and indeed he did against Alcaraz. The match began with early challenges for Machac as Alcaraz threatened to break his serve in the third game.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz | 21 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
Match Highlights:
Alcaraz couldn’t capitalize on his break points in both the third and seventh games of the first set. With neither player breaking serve, they headed into a tense tie-break filled with mini-breaks—seven in total! Alcaraz was always playing catch-up, even when trailing 2-5. He managed to close the gap to 4-5 but ultimately lost the tie-break 7-5.
Fans might think that such unexpected outcomes make tennis thrilling and unpredictable.
The second set kept everyone on edge as Machac took an early lead at 3-1 after breaking Alcaraz’s serve. But it didn’t last long; Alcaraz fought back to lead 4-3. Both players held their serves comfortably after that, hinting at another tie-break showdown until Machac broke through again with a stunning shot.
In the final game, despite some breathtaking rallies from Alcaraz, he couldn’t win any points against an unstoppable Machac who clinched victory with scores of 7-6(5), 7-5.
Looking ahead, Machac faces another formidable opponent: Jannik Sinner, who is also a two-time Grand Slam winner like Paul. During his post-match interview, Machac expressed his joy over his current form and acknowledged how crucial it was to maintain such high-level play against top-tier opponents like Sinner.
“I knew I had a chance,” he said about facing strong competitors like Alcaraz and Sinner. “But you never know… Today was two sets.”
What do you think? Can Tomas keep up this momentum?
