Alcaraz shrugs off Monfils, reaches quarter-finals in Shanghai

Carlos Alcaraz kept his winning streak alive on Wednesday as he earned a 12th consecutive victory to advance to the quarter-finals at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Alcaraz was forced to battle hard in a 6-4, 7-5 win over Gael Monfils, becoming the first Spaniard to reach the last eight in Shanghai since 2017 (Nadal, Ramos-Vinolas). In a display of bruising ball-striking paired with sumptuous touch from both players, Alcaraz held his nerve to improve to 3-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“The main thing I tried in this match was to stay calm, to control my emotions and wait for my chances,” said Alcaraz, who improved to 51-9 on the season. “I had a few opportunities to break his serve at the beginning of the second set [and] I couldn’t take them. In those times, I tried to stay calm and think ‘I am going to have more’.

”That helped me a lot to show my best tennis during the match. I am feeling the ball really well, much more than I was during the American swing. So, I am happy to be able to do it and keep going.”

The winning streak continues ?‍?@carlosalcaraz defeats Monfils 6-4 7-5 to make it 12 consecutive wins and book a spot in the Shanghai final eight.@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/awYDshGIr3

Having beaten Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Open in August, Monfils was bidding to emulate that form and carve his name into history as the second-oldest ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalist in series history (since 1990), but the Spaniard had other ideas.

Alcaraz used his craft and guile to outmanoeuvre Monfils in the gruelling exchanges, with the 21-year-old proving clinical to win 88 per cent (7/8) of points at the net, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The first set was largely dominated by imposing ground strokes from both players that backed up their explosive serves, but it was Alcaraz who was forced to fend off the first break point of the match in the sixth game. Monfils appeared to be in a strong position to snatch the opener, but a lapse in concentration handed his opponent a crucial break in the ninth game.

In the 10th game of the second set, Monfils struck two ferocious forehand winners en route to clawing the scoreline back to deuce and building the tension inside centre court. However, Alcaraz kept his cool to come out of the game unscathed.

Alcaraz drew on this momentum to surge to an ultimately decisive break in the next game. The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings then sealed victory on serve in one hour and 27 minutes to set up a quarter-final clash with either Tommy Paul or Tomas Machac.

Alcaraz remains on a collision course with Jannik Sinner, who battled past Ben Shelton, to meet in the last four. Alcaraz defeated the Italian last Wednesday in an absorbing showdown match to clinch the China Open title, his fourth of the season.

“It’s a great goal to reach the semi-finals, let’s see if he can make it as well," said Alcaraz, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 6-4. “I’ve been watching his matches before mine, he’s playing at a great level, and it helps me to put on a good show before I step on the court.”