Carlos Alcaraz defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round of the 2026 Shanghai Masters.
After missing the Shanghai Masters 12 months ago, Alcaraz made a winning return in 2026, taking down Argentinian star Cerundolo in straight sets. The Spaniard looked excellent from start to finish, extending his winning streak to seven, having recently beaten Taylor Fritz at the Laver Cup before winning the Japan Open.
Alcaraz was understandably delighted with the win and his performance, but was keen to speak directly to the fans in Shanghai, whom he missed last year due to injury.
Carlos Alcaraz says the fans at the Shanghai Masters are ‘super passionate’ and confirms he missed them in 2025
“I missed them, missed them last year. The people here are super passionate, and I can feel it. Every time when I step on the court, it doesn’t matter if it’s in a practice or in a match; they are always there, supporting, giving their energy. That’s what I missed last year; that’s why I couldn’t wait to play my first match here in front of these amazing people,” said Alcaraz during his on-court interview.
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“I’m really happy and really grateful for everything they’ve done for me so far, so hopefully I can give them back that great tennis and great energy, and hopefully they enjoy my games. All I can say is thank you, and I couldn’t wait to play here.”
Alcaraz also spoke about the match itself, where he outplayed the world number 55, securing the win in just over an hour on Shanghai’s centre court.
“Yeah, really, really happy with the level that I played today. It wasn’t easy. I tried to get used to the conditions as quickly as I could; I just had two days of preparation, came from Tokyo. There were totally different conditions; I just tried to be focused, tried to play the best that I can,” he said.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo – Match stats
| Stats | Carlos Alcaraz | Juan Manuel Cerundolo |
| Serve quality | 8.9 | 7.4 |
| Unreturned serve % | 49% | 28% |
| 1st Serve % | 78% | 54% |
| 1st Serve points won % | 86% | 66% |
| Second serve points won % | 60% | 56% |
| Second serve average speed | 171 km/h | 148 km/h |
| Return quality | 6.8 | 5.5 |
| Break points won | 3/7 | 0/0 |
| Forehand winners | 12 | 4 |
| Backhand winners | 4 | 2 |
| Forehand unforced errors | 6 | 9 |
| Backhand unforced errors | 11 | 4 |
| Forced errors | 16 | 21 |
| Net points won | 17/24 | 5/11 |
| Baseline points won | 15 | 14 |
| Points won under nine shots | 53 | 38 |
| Points won over nine shots | 5 | 4 |
“It worked pretty well. The things that I did today, I tried to be aggressive. The court is really, really fast, and I think it helps for me to go aggressive, go to the net, and overall, I’m just really happy to get through and give myself another chance in the next round.”
Alcaraz will return to take on Zizou Bergs in the third round. Alcaraz is 1-0 against the Belgian, defeating him in straight sets at last year’s Japan Open.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Shanghai Masters record
Alcaraz is now 6-2 at the Shanghai Masters. He won two matches in 2023 before losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round. Then, in 2024, he defeated Juncheng Shang, Wu Yibing, and Gael Monfils before coming up short against Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals.
- 2023 Shanghai Masters 2R [WIN] vs Gregoire Barrere, 6-2, 7-5
- 2023 Shanghai Masters 3R [WIN] vs Dan Evans, 7-6, 6-4
- 2023 Shanghai Masters 4R [LOSS] vs Grigor Dimitrov, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6
- 2024 Shanghai Masters 2R [WIN] vs Juncheng Shang, 6-2, 6-2
- 2024 Shanghai Masters 3R [WIN] vs Wu Yibing, 7-6, 6-3
- 2024 Shanghai Masters 4R [WIN] vs Gael Monfils, 6-4, 7-5
- 2024 Shanghai Masters QF [LOSS] vs Tomas Machac, 6-7, 5-7
- 2026 Shanghai Masters 2R [WIN] vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo, 6-3, 6-3
The seven-time Grand Slam champion has yet to find his best tennis in Shanghai, but that could all change this year. He will return for his third-round match on Monday, October 12.
