Alcaraz beats home favourite Shang in Shanghai opener

Carlos Alcaraz began his Shanghai Open campaign with a straight-sets win over China's Shang Juncheng, bringing up his 10th straight victory.

Just three days on from his epic victory over Jannik Sinner in the China Open final, Alcaraz recorded a 6-2 6-2 win over Shang inside one hour and 17 minutes.

The four-time grand slam winner wasted no time by breaking in the very first game of the encounter, then repeated the trick six games later to take the opener, avoiding any pressure as he won 82% of his first-serve points.

Alcaraz produced the shot of the match early in the second set, producing a brilliant backhand flick to salvage a point while backtracking from the net.

Back-to-back breaks midway through the second set sealed Alcaraz's 10th straight victory, after which he hailed the performance of his 19-year-old opponent.

"I'm not used to playing against players younger than me," Alcaraz said. "He has been playing good tennis lately, winning his first ATP title [in Chengdu], so I'm pretty sure he's going to climb the rankings.

"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."

Nothing but respect @SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/7IrQ9zFx0q

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 5, 2024

Data Debrief: Double figures for Alcaraz

Alcaraz's victory was his 10th in succession since he suffered a shock second-round defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open in August.

He will face another Chinese player in the next round, taking on world number 560 Wu Yibing.