Second-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz raced into the third round at the Rolex Shanghai Masters with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo in just 67 minutes on Saturday.
Alcaraz struck eight aces, never faced a break point and finished with a 24-8 advantage in winners. He also won 13 of 20 points at the net with an aggressive and effective game plan.
“It wasn’t the plan at the beginning,” Alcaraz said after the match. “I tried to be ready and get used to the conditions. The speed of the court is very fast, which I like. Thanks to that, I started not very well, not getting the rhythm. So I tried to do something different.”
Up next for Alcaraz, who is bidding to become the first Spanish man to lift the ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Shanghai, is Zizou Bergs. The Belgian needed only 65 minutes to complete a 6-0, 6-3 win over No. 32 seed Ignacio Buse of Peru in the second round.
A potential fourth-round matchup looms for Alcaraz against defending champion and No. 17 seed Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, who defeated Sebastian Baez of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 (5).
No. 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia both needed three sets to advance.
Auger-Aliassime rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5 win against Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli in just under three hours, while Medvedev outlasted Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 52 minutes.
In the only other match involving a top-10 seed, No. 8 Arthur Fils of France posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov.
No. 11 Taylor Fritz had nine aces and saved four of five break points in a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. Fellow Americans Learner Tien and Tommy Paul, the Nos. 14 and 15 seeds, respectively, also advanced in straight sets.
No. 12 Rafael Jodar of Spain stayed alive with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 comeback against Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante. No. 20 Casper Ruud of Norway eliminated Chinese wild card Yunchaokete Bu 6-1, 7-6 (2). No. 22 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic held off Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Four other seeded players made an early exit.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas posted a 6-3, 6-4 win against No. 18 Luciano Darderi of Italy. In a pair of three-set matches, Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina took down No. 28 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, and Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta eliminated No. 29 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile. Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp knocked out No. 31 Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
