Carlos Alcaraz wins in 56 minutes as ‘China’s Rafael Nadal’ extends fairy tale
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China’s Zhang Shuai hitting a return to Belgium’s Greet Minnen during their women’s singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on Sept 29.
PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING – Carlos Alcaraz barrelled into the China Open quarter-finals on Sept 29 in just 56 minutes as Zhang Shuai extended her historic run.
Rain in Beijing played havoc with the schedule but four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz made rapid progress under the roof of the Diamond Court with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Tallon Griekspoor.
The Dutchman looked shocked as Alcaraz racked up his 200th Tour-level win. The world No. 3 is already targeting 300, saying “I just want to keep going, to keep rolling”.
Spain’s Alcaraz, the second seed behind Jannik Sinner, faces seventh-seeded Karen Khachanov next.
The World Anti-Doping Agency on Sept 28 said it had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing following two positive tests for traces of the banned substance clostebol in March.
Said Alcaraz: “I think for tennis it’s not really good... It is difficult for him. I know everyone is talking about it. Probably as he said before New York (US Open), people started to look at him in a different way... I feel (for) him.”
Russian Khachanov booked his place with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (11-9) victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.
In the only other match completed on the day in the men’s draw, Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete pulled off a shock 6-2, 6-4 win over Italian sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti.
There was home joy too in the women’s draw as another Chinese wild card, Zhang, reached the last 16 to add another chapter to her fairy-tale tournament.
The 35-year-old had not won a singles match in more than 600 days when she arrived at the prestigious WTA 1000 event as the world No. 595.
The two-time Grand Slam singles quarter-finalist, who has been plagued by injuries, has now won three matches in a row after a 6-2, 6-3 win over Belgium’s Greet Minnen.
“I had a long, long, long time not getting this feeling,” said the former top-25 player, who has won two Grand Slam doubles titles. “When I play my best I can win a lot of matches, I know that. I just want to keep it simple, keep going and keep winning.”
Zhang, who faced Minnen as the lowest-ranked player to reach the China Open third round in the tournament’s history, faces Poland’s 23rd seed Magdalena Frech next.
Zhang hails from Tianjin, near Beijing, and said she felt very much at home on the hard courts of the Chinese capital. So at home in fact that she jokingly compared herself to Spanish great Rafael Nadal on his favourite surface at the French Open.
“When I am on the court, I feel so like Rafa Nadal on Court Philippe-Chatrier,” she laughed. “When you’re losing, maybe everybody wants to play against you. Now nobody wants to play against you.”
US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula survived a scare to set up a meeting with Spain’s Paula Badosa. The second seed fought back to beat Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova 6-7 (9-11), 6-1, 6-2.
The 30-year-old American is chasing a seventh WTA Tour title.
Badosa booked her place with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Slovakian qualifier Rebecca Sramkova.
The top women’s seed in Beijing is Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Pegula in New York earlier in September for her third Grand Slam crown.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is not in Beijing because of “personal matters”. AFP
