Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic ended World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz’s journey at the Shanghai Masters in east China’s Shanghai Municipality, defeating the Spaniard 7-6(5), 7-5 in the men’s singles quarterfinals on Thursday.
Machac put pressure on Alcaraz with quick serves and powerful groundstrokes, establishing an early advantage by taking the first-set tiebreak. In the second set, the players exchanged breaks, but Machac broke Alcaraz’s serve again in the 11th game to complete the stunning victory.
Alcaraz praised Machac’s performance, acknowledging the Czech player’s exceptional competitiveness.
“I feel like I was playing against a Top 5 player, not even Top 10. His level was so high. I thought that he was going to give me an opportunity, a window, but he didn’t. His ball speed, it was unbelievable,” the four-time Grand Slam winner said.
Reflecting on his three weeks in China, Alcaraz expressed satisfaction.
“It has been a really good swing. Obviously lifting the trophy in Beijing was a great thing to achieve. Coming here, I went farther than last year, so it was a good point,” he noted.
Reference(s):
Alcaraz ousted by Machac, Sinner makes semifinals at Shanghai Masters
cgtn.com
