The Shanghai Masters continues with second seed Carlos Alcaraz and defending champion Valentin Vacherot among those hoping to secure their places in the last 16. Alcaraz, competing in this tournament for the first time since 2024, is also fulfilling a “bet” with his team this week. The Spaniard and his support camp all sported new moustaches for his opening match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and Alcaraz confirmed they’d all keep it up for the rest of the tournament. It’s an agreement they made when he defended his Tokyo title last week.
Alcaraz to continue 'bet'
When Carlos Alcaraz takes to the court to face Zizou Bergs today, expect to see the Spaniard sporting a moustache. The No. 2 seed had a new look for his opening match a couple of days ago, and his entire team also shaved in matching ‘taches. Eagle-eyed fans realised that Team Alcaraz had been shouting “moustaches for everyone” when he defended his title in Tokyo last week, and the seven-time Major winner later confirmed that the style was a Japan Open-related bet – and something they had to keep up while in Shanghai.
“Well, yeah, it’s gonna be… Yeah, it’s gonna stay for the week,” he smiled. “It was just about a bet. I wanted to play with a moustache, trying how I look with it. And, yeah, the tournament of Tokyo, we said, ‘Okay, if I win the tournament, we all have to do the moustache for Shanghai’. So let's see until when we're going to wear it, but right now we're just having fun and laughing around.”
De Minaur advances with walkover
Alex de Minaur has already booked his spot in the round of 16, beating Rei Sakamoto on Sunday, just five days after he was forced to retire in the middle of the China Open final while facing Novak Djokovic. As the ninth seed, the Aussie got a bye directly into round two and was expected to play his opening match here on Friday. But his opponent, Alex Molcan, withdrew, giving De Minaur a walkover – and two extra days to prepare for his next match. And he admitted that the extra rest did him good.
Wuhan Open hit by withdrawals
On the WTA Tour, it’s day one of the Wuhan Open, but the tournament has been hit by several high-profile withdrawals. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff pulled out ahead of the event, while Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova announced her withdrawal over the weekend. Now, China Open champion Qinwen Zheng and runner-up Mirra Andreeva have both pulled out after playing their final in Beijing. Four lucky losers have made it into the draw.
