Rolex Shanghai Masters—China
Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic Advance to Third Round of Shanghai Masters
Saturday’s action-packed day at the Rolex Shanghai Masters featured top seed Jannik Sinner, No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz and four-time former winner Novak Djokovic all advancing to the round of 32.
First-up, Alcaraz needed two tidy sets to dismiss tainted Chinese star Juncheng Shang 6-2, 6-2. In a match that latest one hour and 16 minutes, Alcaraz struck 14 winners, three aces and broke the serve of his opponent on four occasions.
Improving to 2-0 against Shang on Tour, the recent China Open champion will next face Yibing Wu for place in the round of 16. Wu ousted towering Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 6-1 on Friday.
Elsewhere, world No. 1 Sinner also advanced in comfortable fashion on Saturday, ousting Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-1. Sinner, who owns six titles on the season, needed one hour and 18 minutes to dismiss his No. 93 ranked opponent. Sinner will next face No. 31 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who dispatched Botic van de Zandschulp on Friday in three sets.
Next up, four-time former winner Djokovic played his first match since the Davis Cup tie in Belgrade, Serbia, needing two tough tiebreakers to defeat Alex Michelsen of the United States 7-6(3), 7-6(9).
In a topsy turvy match that lasted one hour and 55 minutes, Djokovic hit seven aces, withstood 10 from his opponent and added 35 winners to his victory.
Never playing his opponent on Tour, Djokovic will next face either No. 28 seed Flavio Cobolli or three-time Major winner Stan Wawrinka for a place in the round of 16.
Djokovic is currently ranked No. 4 in the world.
Other results on the day included No. 20 seed Alexei Popyrin, Alexander Shevchenko and Jakub Mensik all reaching to the next round.
Mensik defeated No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 and Shevchenko dismissed No. 27 seed Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(7), 7-5.
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Gauff, Muchova Reach Beijing Open Final
Former US Open winner Coco Gauff and talented Czechia player Karolina Muchova booked semifinal victories at the China Open on Saturday.
First up, Gauff needed three sets to defeat No. 15 seed Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. In a match that lasted two hours and 20 minutes, Gauff hit six aces and broke serve on six occasions.
Gauff, who holds one title on the year, will next face Muchova for the title.
Muchova dashed the hopes of the local fans on Saturday by defeating Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 6-4.
The Olympic Gold Medalist was no match for Muchova during the semifinals, losing her serve on two occasions.
Muchova and Gauff have played on two occasions, with the American holding a 2-0 lead.
Sunday’s winner will capture 1000 ranking points and $1,100,000 in prize money.
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