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
© Imago
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.
