TENNIS
Carlos Alcaraz beats Daniel Evans to make it to next round of Shanghai Masters
The Spaniard overcame Daniel Evans 7-6, 6-4 to make it through to the next round of the Shanghai Masters.
Carlos Alcaraz had to turn up the gears in Shanghai after what felt more like a game of chess than tennis against Daniel Evans, who constantly made the Spaniard feel uncomfortable during the match.
The 33-year-old Brit, who is 33rd in the world, gave Alcaraz an intriguing game with a lot of nuances to deal with. However, the talent of the 20-year-old was too much and the Wimbledon winner eventually came out on top, winning 7-6 (1), 6-4 in 2 hours 23 minutes. After the game, a tired Alcaraz declared the clash “one of the toughest matches I’ve played so far outside of a Grand Slam”.
Alcaraz now has 63 wins and has only lost once (40-1) this season against someone from outside the Top 20 - the Hungarian, Marozsan (135th), in the third round in Rome. With this win against Evans, Alcaraz showed his tactical side with the help of his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was helping him along the way.
Alcaraz struggles but overcomes Evans
The game, which started an hour later due to the battle between wildcard Schwartzman and Fritz, which was won by the Argentine in a shock result, was long and unpredictable. The match began with Evans taking the lead as he impressed with his backhand strikes, drop shots and frequent forays to the net which troubled the Spaniard, not allowing him to dominate with his forehand.
Evans moved into a 4-1 lead and led by a break in each set, putting Alcaraz under huge pressure to come back into the game. The flair and stamina showed by Evans was rattling Alcaraz, who worked hard to keep up with the electric pace.
Everything went on serve until the tenth game of the set. With Evans serving at 5-4 down and Alcaraz having bounced back to show the Brit what he was made of, the pressure on the world number 33 to keep up his performance finally snapped: the 20-year-old Wimbledon champion broke serve in the final game of the match to earn an incredibly hard-fought win.
What did Carlos Alcaraz say after his win against Daniel Evans?
“It was a really tough match… It was one of the toughest matches I’ve played so far outside of a Grand Slam”, Alcaraz said in his on-court post-match interview, “every time that I face Daniel, it’s a tricky match. I have to give my best if I want to beat him. It’s been a really tough match”.
“I think both of us played a high quality of tennis”, he continued, “I’m really happy to get through.” On Wednesday, Alcaraz will play in the Round of 16 of the Masters 1000 against Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (4), 6-4.