Tennis News

Sinner notches 250th win, cruises through Shanghai opener

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner became the first player to reach 60 wins on the season Saturday when he defeated Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-4 in his Rolex Shanghai Masters opener.

Adding to an already spectacular season, Sinner also became the first player born in the 2000s to reach 250 wins as he remains on track to surpass his record 64 wins last season, which stands as the most by an Italian man in the Open Era.

“I felt quite comfortable today,” said the 23-year-old, fresh off his Beijing final run. “I feel in good shape also physically, which is very important for me. Of course I will try to improve for tomorrow’s performance, but today I was serving really, really well, especially in important moments, and was moving well.”

Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index Leaders (2024)

*still to play Saturday

Sinner is now 14-0 in opening-round matches this year and has reached the quarter-finals in all 13 tournaments played in 2024. He is 51-0 against players outside the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings since losing to No. 66 Serbian Dusan Lajovic in Cincinnati last year.

Safety first ⛑️@janniksin | @SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/AAYDH6IbOe

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 5, 2024

The Italian will next meet 31st seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round. He could face a Shanghai rematch with 14th seed Ben Shelton beyond that, one year after the American knocked him out of the ATP Masters 1000 in what was their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

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Alcaraz earns 10th straight win, tops China's Shang in Shanghai

Three days after beating Jannik Sinner in a three-set epic to claim the Beijing title, Carlos Alcaraz picked up where he left off Saturday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The Spaniard earned his 10th consecutive win with a 6-2, 6-2 result against Chinese #NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng.

“I’m not used to playing against players younger than me,” said the 21-year-old Alcaraz, two years Shang’s elder. “He has been playing good tennis lately, lifting his first ATP [title in Chengdu], so I’m pretty sure he’s going to climb the rankings. I’m just happy to to be able to win these kinds of matches.

“At the net he told me that it’s a pleasure share the court with you. So these kinds of things that I hear from [younger players], it’s great.”

Always eager to put on a show, Alcaraz drew gasps from the Shanghai crowd on the third point of the match when he followed a daring net approach with great anticipation and soft hands to bring up 0-40 in the opening game. The Spaniard won the first nine points on the stadium court and never looked back, winning four of seven break points and all seven of his net points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Welcome to the @carlosalcaraz show 🤩@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/PZtEpXoPPX

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 5, 2024

The moment of the match came early in set two, when a backtracking Alcaraz pulled off a backward flick to rescue a point. Alcaraz escaped to win that lengthy exchange, then wriggled out of trouble on the scoreboard by saving his lone break point to lead 3-1. As he closed in on the victory, a booming return drew a laugh from the overmatched Shang, who was bidding to become the first Chinese man to beat a Top 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Alcaraz will meet another Chinese star in the Shanghai third round, when he opens his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Wu Yibing. The third seed has not lost since his shock second-round defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open. Having played just three matches on the North American hard-court swing across Cincinnati and New York, the Spaniard said he is feeling fresh for the home stretch of the ATP Tour season.

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