Alcaraz narrowly wins third round of Shanghai Masters

China's Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniel Evans 7-6(1), 6-4 in the third round of the ATP 1000 tournament in Shanghai on October 9.

A month after struggling to beat Evans at the US Open, Alcaraz endured another tough match against his British opponent. In both sets, the Spaniard lost his first serve, but came back in the decisive moment.

Trailing 1-4 in the first set, Alcaraz won a serve to level the score and take the set to a tie-break, before winning 7-1 in the nerve-wracking series. In the second set, the 20-year-old came back from behind by winning his opponent's decisive serve. Alcaraz has won 41 matches and lost just one against opponents ranked outside the top 20 this season.

Alcaraz took advantage of three of 15 break-points in the match against Evans. Photo: ATP — Alcaraz took advantage of three of 15 break-points in the match against Evans. Photo: *ATP*

Evans's good serve and forehand, along with his effective defensive backhand, made it difficult for Alcaraz to impose himself. "It was one of my toughest matches this year, outside of a Grand Slam," Alcaraz said after the match. "Maintaining a good mental state was the key to the victory, because I missed a lot of opportunities. The court in Shanghai was slower than the US Open, so I had to adjust my game a little bit."

Alcaraz missed 12 of 15 break points and also dropped two service games. His finishing will need to improve as his fourth-round opponent Grigor Dimitrov is in good form. Alcaraz will have a day off before the match against Bulgaria.

Two of the top four seeds were eliminated. After Holger Rune was eliminated in his opening match, fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Ugo Humbert 4-6, 6-3, 5-7 in the third round. Other notable names such as Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul also advanced.

Today, October 10, four of the eight fourth-round matches take place, with the highlight being the clash between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton - who reached the 2023 US Open semi-finals. Sinner just won the ATP 500 title in Beijing last week. Alcaraz considers the Italian player one of the three players he is most afraid of facing, along with Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev - who was eliminated in the third round in Shanghai.

Vy Anh

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