Alcaraz passes Chinese test against Wu

Carlos Alcaraz admitted he was tested by Wu Yibing on a rainy Sunday at the Shanghai Masters. But the emerged with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 result to reach the fourth round.

Due to the poor weather only a handful of five showcourt matches were completed, throwing the event well behind schedule with seeds like Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner into the fourth round with second-round contests still waiting to be played.

Weather forecasts for Monday call for more of the same.

Alcaraz claimed his 50th win of the season as he took down the No. 560 who is recovering from an injury absence.

The Spaniard admitted that he had a fight on his hands and needs to lift his own level.

“I’m happy I got through; I was not afraid but I had to focus more as I was playing him for the first time.

“I had to find my best. He’s a powerful player and I felt I was not dominating the game against him like in other matches – I’m not used to feeling that way.”

Alcaraz added after advancing on his second match point: “I need to play harder from the baseline. He was hitting harder than me. 

“I’ve been working over the last few weeks to try and get to the net as soon as possible.

“Today I couldn’t do that – he was there all the time.”

Alcaraz has now won 11 straight matches since exiting in the US Open second round two months ago.