Marathon in China – AS.com

How crowded the ATP tournament calendar is has been one of the most recurring themes in recent years, with players publicly protesting and the situation worsening during the China tour. The main victims were Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the protagonists of last Wednesday’s events. ATP 500 final in Beijing, which was conquered by the Spaniardand that in just three days they will make their debut this Saturday at the Shanghai Masters 1000. The third seed Murcian will face local Juncheng Shang at 12:30 local time (06:30 Spain M+), before the Italian first faces Taro Daniel. The day will also see the return of Novak Djokovic, who will play his first match on the circuit in more than a month against Alex Michelsen.

All favorites in the fight and immediately. Alcaraz and Sinner, who were on the same plane after their fight in the Chinese capital, were due to make their debut this Friday, but the Shanghai tournament organization took pity on them and gave them a few extra hours of rest. “After the final there wasn’t much I could do. I did abs, took a shower and had to run because we had a flight to catch. “We arrived in Shanghai very late and I couldn’t sleep as much as I would have liked,” The man from El Palmar, who returned to second place in the world rankings, explained his odyssey at a press conference. “I’m glad to be in Shanghai and play here again. “I’m also very happy about the victory and I’m already focused on this tournament.”

This 2024 will be Alcaraz’s second career appearance in Shanghai, where he lost in the fourth round to Dimitrov last year, so he could add plenty of points if he continues to play at a high level. His first stop, albeit in the second round as the seeds are cleared from the opening phase, will be China’s Juncheng Shang, 19, ranked 51st in the world, one of the most promising Chinese tennis players Carlitos has beaten this season. year at the Australian Open due to the Pekingese’s withdrawal. “I only played him once and he got injured. After that I didn’t train or play with him. Yes, I’ve seen a few of their games. I know he has great potential, very good tennis. I will prepare as best I can for the game. “I will have two days to get used to the conditions in Shanghai and prepare for the first game,” analyzed the young Spaniard, who is enjoying a pleasant moment after winning the title in Beijing. “I hope to continue playing the way I am now and we’ll see what happens. But I will be ready.”

The marathon for Sinner and Alcaraz, if they win, will be even longer, since On Sunday they will have to repeat and play the third round without a day of rest (the Spaniard will also face China’s Yibing Wu). The four-time Grand Slam champion once again spoke about how busy the calendar is, albeit humbly. “I have said this many times, the schedule is very tight, but we need to get used to it. I finished a three hour game and then didn’t have time to do anything. I went to the club (from Beijing) with all the suitcases, because I knew that after the final we had to run to catch the plane. We arrived at 4 am. The schedule is very, very tight. We travel from tournament to tournament, arriving one or two days before the tournament starts, so it’s difficult, but we need to get used to it,” Alcaraz said.

In the midst of this whirlwind of matches and lack of rest, Carlitos is shining again after a difficult period after the Olympics, the lowest point of which was an early exit from the US Open. For the Murcian, there are no secrets regarding his improvement. “Trainings. I had a very good month of training after the American tour. Davis and Laver helped me regain my energy and stay motivated. I love playing in teams, and all the people helped me improve and feel great off the court, which is very important to me. These tournaments helped me rediscover my happiness on the court and focus on what was to come. I arrived in Asia enjoying every second of my time on the track. Now I’m ready for the next tournaments, I want to play them and enjoy them again.”

Besides Charlie, two more great Shanghai Coconuts will make their debut this Saturday. After the Spaniard’s match, Sinner’s match will be played against Japan’s Taro Daniel, 31 and ranked 93rd in the world, while the Italian will also have to repeat the match on Sunday, in this case against Argentina’s Thomas Martin Echeverri, 25th and 37th. But the big boost on Saturday will be the reappearance of Novak Djokovic, who will face American Alex Michelsen, ranked 20th and 43rd, in his first ATP match since August 31, when he was surprised by Popyrin at the US Open. Since then, Nole has played just a couple of matches (one singles and one doubles) in the Davis Cup to help Serbia secure their presence in the 2025 qualifiers. Djokovic, fourth in the world rankings, urgently needs to perform in Shanghai. result because he is currently not competing in the ATP Finals in Turin as he is ninth in the race, although he has the advantage that Alex de Mignaur, eighth, is not competing due to injury.

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