Carlos Alcaraz overcoming Daniel Evans in the Shanghai Open third round meant that the Spaniard had closed the gap on Novak Djokovic to 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin. And if Alcaraz reaches the finals in Shanghai, he will leapfrog the Serbian into first place after losing the spot in the US Open semifinals to Daniil Medvedev.
Alcaraz is still seeking his seventh tour-level title of the season and his third at the ATP Masters 1000 level after defeating Evans 7-6(1), 6-4 in a two-hour, 25-minute contest. He will play 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Daniel Evans at Shanghai Masters
Carlos Alcaraz overcame a tricky test from Daniel Evans at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, advancing 7-6(1), 6-4 to boost his ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone chances. The Spaniard, who is making his debut in Shanghai, handled Evans’ courtcraft with his own agility and power, prevailing in a series of lung-busting exchanges to improve to 41-1 on the year against players ranked outside the Top 20.
Carlos Alcaraz frustrated Evans with his depth and accuracy in the third-round clash and rallied from a breakdown in the first set to lead. He then committed just two unforced errors in the second set to improve to 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
This was a fourth meeting between the pair, with Carlos Alcaraz having won the previous three, although Evans claimed his first set against the Spaniard in another entertaining contest at the US Open last month. A first set that lasted an hour and 27 minutes saw Evans withstand immense pressure in a contest of incredible rallies before finally succumbing in a tie-break.
Evans led 4-1 but converted his only opportunity, while Alcaraz could take only one of his 13 break points, with his opponent saving six of them in a fifth game that lasted nearly 20 minutes. Alcaraz ultimately fought back to make it 4-4 and dominated the tiebreak, but Evans did not allow his head to drop and came out strongly again to start the second set.
A break for 2-1 was immediately pegged back by Alcaraz, who found a second break of the Evans serve when he needed it most to claim victory on his second match point. Carlos Alcaraz will next play Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who earlier overcame a torrential downpour and a well-matched opponent in Russian Karen Khachanov to win 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.
Carlos Alcaraz shares his honest thoughts on Daniel Evans match
Carlos Alcaraz, who was joined by his brother Alvaro for practice session prior to Shanghai Open, overcame Daniel Evans the fourth time and hasn’t lost against him. The victory led Alcraz to his 63rd win of the season, and allowed him to close the gap on Novak Djokovic to 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.
Carlos Alcaraz shared his honest thoughts about Daniel Evans after the victory: “It was a really tough match. It was one of the toughest matches I have played outside of the Grand Slams. Every time I play Daniel it is a tricky match and I have to play my best to beat him. Both of us played a high quality of tennis and I am really happy to get through.”
Alcaraz’s pool of main rivals has shrunk as the competition has progressed. Second seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev was upset by 26th-ranked Sebastian Korda on Sunday and third seed Holger Rune was taken out a round earlier. If Alcaraz reaches the tile match, he will leapfrog the Serbian into first place.
