Carlos Alcaraz has replied to Alex de Minaur after the Australian said it was 'annoying' to face him, as the Paris Masters continues at the La Defense Arena. Alcaraz, the recent Vienna champion, is set to play his opening match against Alex Michelsen.
Alcaraz responds to De Minaur
Alcaraz is on a five-match winning streak after lifting his 28th career title last week, thrashing Alex de Minaur 6-1 6-4 in Sunday's final. The Australian has since lamented how tough and "annoying" it is to face Alcaraz, against whom he now has an unwanted 0-7 record.
During his runner-up speech, De Minaur said: "I will say one thing, though. It is very annoying to play against you." The world No. 9 also shared a photo dump on Instagram, recapping his week in Vienna and doubling down on his comment. "Congrats @carlitosalcarazz! Always a pleasure… even if you make my job a little annoying," he joked.
Alcaraz replied with a touching comment. "You are so great Alex! Here's to all that's coming," he wrote.
Zverev on upset alert
Alexander Zverev is playing his first match as the new world No. 1, but he is losing. The top seed at the Paris Masters received a bye to the second round and was handed a tough draw, coming up against former top-five star Lorenzo Musetti, who has dropped down the rankings due to injuries.
The Italian is on the verge of causing a huge upset, as he has just won a close first set 7-6(5). Zverev had a big 5-2 lead in the first set tiebreak, but fell apart as Musetti reeled off five straight points.
British women in Asia
It has been a mixed back for the British women in Asia. Teenager Mika Stojsavljevic got into the Hong Kong Open as a lucky loser and stunned former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. Katie Boutler lost to Claire Liu, while Jodie Burrage suffered defeat in Chennai and then shared vile death threats she received after the match.
