Fresh off his stunning victory against Jannik Sinner in Beijing, Carlos Alcaraz switches focus to the Shanghai Masters, where he takes on Juncheng Shang in Saturday's second-round match.
The Spanish sensation is seeking his sixth Masters 1000 success and fifth title in 2024 and aims to avoid a shock exit so soon after confirming his return to form.
Match preview
Alcaraz's brilliance inspired Team Europe to success at this year's Laver Cup, and the Spaniard has not let up, underscored by his recent ATP 500 triumph.
Beating Sinner in a thrilling final on Wednesday sealed his fourth title of 2024 and ended the world No. 1's 6-0 run in deciders this season, signalling a return to form after a post-Olympics dip.
That loss to Novak Djokovic preceded early exits in Cincinnati and the final Grand Slam of 2024 in New York, where Alcaraz suffered a shock round-two loss to Botic van de Zandschulp.
Seemingly back to the best as 2024 reaches its climax, the 21-year-old is seeking consecutive titles and a fifth in 2024 to continue the resurgence and maintain an undefeated run in singles events, which stands at nine.
Only Sinner took a set off the world No. 2 in Beijing, further showcasing the form of the four-time Grand Slam winner, who is looking ominous as he heads to Shanghai.
Shang heads into Friday's second-round match hoping to catch Alcaraz on a rare bad day, hoping to count on the home support against the heavy favourite.
The left-handed 19-year-old is a one-time Tour-level champion, with that triumph coming at a recent ATP 250 event on home turf in Chengdu, where he defeated former Grand Slam champion Kei Nishikori in the first round, Alexander Bublik in the quarter-final and Lorenzo Musetti in the decider.
Strikingly, the teenager claimed those victories in straight sets, with Roman Safiullin the only player to take a set off him in the second round.
Although that Chengdu success was followed by a three-set tournament-opening loss to countryman Yunchaokete Bu in Beijing, Shang's 6-4, 6-4 first-round success over Coleman Wong points to the teenager moving on swiftly from disappointment heading into Friday's match-up with Alcaraz.
Tournament so far
Carlos Alcaraz:
First round: Bye
Juncheng Shang:
First round: vs. Coleman Wong 6-4 6-4
Head To Head
Australian Open (2024) - Third round: Alcaraz 6-1 6-1 1-0 ret
Alcaraz's only meeting with Sheng came at this year's Australian Open third round, where the Spaniard seemed bound to record a straight-sets victory before the Chinese player retired at the start of the third.
The four-time Slam champion enters Shanghai with a 12-3 win-loss record in 1000 events, while his opponent holds a 4-4 record at Masters tournaments this season ahead of his second ATP Tour match-up with the world No. 2.
We say: Alcaraz to win in two sets
Unless Alcaraz starts slowly and struggles with complacency early on, the five-time Masters 1000 champion is anticipated to dispatch the home player in straight sets to book a place in round three.
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