Carlos Alcaraz beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, days after winning the Tokyo Open for his first trophy since returning from injury. The Spanish star, seeded second, needed just 66 minutes to get past the 55th-ranked Argentinian.
Alcaraz, a 23-year-old former world number one, said he was very happy with his performance and described the match as difficult. He pointed to the short preparation time after arriving from Tokyo, where conditions were very different. He also appeared on court with a new moustache and told an on-court interviewer that it would stay. He will face either Ignacio Buse or Zizou Bergs in the next round.
Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime also through in Shanghai
Earlier, Daniil Medvedev recovered from a slow start to beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. It was the Russian’s first match since he was disqualified from the China Open. He was defaulted from his semi-final against Novak Djokovic in Beijing after hitting a spectator with a ball, which left him with zero ranking points and no prize money. Medvedev, now sixth in the rankings, said the incident was an accident. He served 21 aces and will meet Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina next.
World number five Felix Auger-Aliassime also had a close call, winning in three hours against 77th-ranked Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 7-6 (7/1), 7-5. The Canadian will play Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round. Several afternoon matches were suspended because of rain, but Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud and Arthur Fils all progressed when play resumed.
