Shanghai Masters: Jannik Sinner rallies past Tomas Martin Etcheverry to reach 4th round; Alcaraz advances
Sinner will next play either No. 16-ranked Ben Shelton, who beat the Italian here last year, or Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain.
Published : Oct 06, 2024 17:14 IST , SHANGHAI - 2 MINS READ
Jannik Sinner in action during the men’s singles 3rd Round match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. | Photo Credit: ZHE JI/Getty Images
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner overcame a one set deficit to rally to a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.
A night after winning his 250th career match with a straight-sets victory, the 23-year-old Italian faced a much sterner third-round examination against the No. 37-ranked Argentine under the roof inside Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena that hosted play due to rain.
Sinner will next play either No. 16-ranked Ben Shelton, who beat the Italian here last year, or Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain.
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Etcheverry produced the shot of the night with a stunning drop volley to bring up set point in the first set tiebreak, which he converted to take the lead.
Sinner began to better find his range in the second and after trading breaks midway through the set, the Italian found another opportunity to level the match.
The momentum was all with Sinner in the third as he broke Etcheverry twice more to advance in 2 hours, 39 minutes.
Alcaraz wins again
Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who won the China Open on Wednesday for his fourth title of the year, defeated Chinese player Wu Yibing 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Wildcard Wu did well to hold off the Spaniard until the tiebreak in the first set.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz hit his stride in the second set, breaking in the sixth game.
Wu was ranked at a career-high 54 last year but injury has seen him slip to 560th.
“Once again he’s shown his level, he deserves to be in the top (100),” Alcaraz said of Wu, to roars of approval from the home crowd.
“I’m very happy to get through, it was a tough match.”
Wu is the second Chinese player Alcaraz has defeated this tournament, having beaten Shang Juncheng on Saturday.
“Thank god I’m not going to play a Chinese player again, I hope more people will cheer for me!” Alcaraz joked.
Play was only possible under the roof of the main court, with rain forcing matches on outside courts to be postponed for the second consecutive day.
(With inputs from AFP)