Zverev wins Shanghai opener against Bellucci
Alexander Zverev began his 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters campaign with a successful start, wrapping up the star-studded lineup on Stadium Court after Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic also won their matches.
The German registered a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting to advance to the third round on Saturday.
[ATP APP]“He is actually a very good player. He surprised me a lot for his size. His serve is incredible. He gets quite a lot of speed on that, and from [the] baseline he is very, very aggressive,” Zverev said after the match.
After withdrawing from the China Open due to pneumonia last week, the 27-year-old notched his first victory in Shanghai since 2019 in one hour and 36 minutes.
“I didn’t practise, I didn’t do anything really. So, of course, I am happy with the level,” admitting there was uncertainty leading up to the tournament due to illness.
Last year in Shanghai, Zverev lost to Roman Safiullin in straight sets in his opening match.
The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will face either Jordan Thompson or Tallon Griekspoor in the third round.
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