SHANGHAI (AFP) – Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz showed why they were top in the world at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, as they raced into the third round with comfortable straight-sets wins.
Sinner dispatched Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-4, while earlier in the day Alcaraz made short work of China’s Shang Juncheng, winning 6-2, 6-2.
Sinner has said he is not in a “comfortable” situation thanks to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal against a decision by tennis authorities to clear him of wrongdoing after he twice tested positive for a steroid in March.
His recent blistering winning streak was broken by Alcaraz in the China Open final on Wednesday.
But there was no tiredness on display from either player on Saturday, with 23-year-old Sinner looking completely unruffled in the first set against the 93rd-ranked Daniel.
Daniel fell behind again in the second and despite rallying halfway through to gently test Sinner, the Italian kept his cool, ending the set 6-4.
“I had only one practice session yesterday but I felt very comfortable on the court,” he said after the match.
“Today’s performance means a lot to me.”
Earlier, his arch-rival Alcaraz also looked comfortable throughout, breaking in the first game.
Teenager Shang became only the second Chinese player to win an ATP Tour singles title at the Chengdu Open last month, but he was unable to make much headway against the world number two.
Despite their enthusiasm for Shang, the crowd couldn’t resist Alcaraz’s charm.
At the Spaniard’s encouragement, they broke into loud cheers when he won a particularly exciting rally in which he hit a tricky backwards shot to keep the point alive.
“I’ve been playing really good tennis lately so I want to just keep going and keep feeling it, keep feeling this good,” 21-year-old Alcaraz said after the match.
“I just had one practice then was straight into this match, so to be able to show this level in the first match, I’m just really proud,” he added.
The tournament lost its second top ten player on Saturday, as Russian Andrey Rublev fell to 65th-ranked Jakub Mensik 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 6-3, joining Norwegian Casper Ruud on the notable casualties list.
