Shanghai Masters: De Minaur advances to third round with straight-sets win

SHANGHAI: Seventh-seeded Alex De Minaur defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli with a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 victory to advance to the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.

The Australian dominated from the first set and depicted complete control throughout the game.

Reflecting on the triumph, De Minaur expressed satisfaction with his performance, while asserting that he could have broken his record had he not get injured but expressed proud over his ability to come back.

“I'm happy with myself. It's a great achievement to show the consistency,” said De Minaur.

“I feel like I probably could have broken that record last year if I hadn't gotten injured. To come back this year and just show that consistency week-in and week-out, I'm very proud of my efforts," he added.

He further vowed to continue the momentum and add more triumphs to his tally.

“Saying that, there's still a lot of tennis to be played, so hopefully I can keep adding wins to that tally. Keep doing what I'm doing, keep my head down, keep working hard, keep showing up, and just keep the confidence and momentum going,” he added.

In the same main event, Yoshihito Nishioka upset 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 12th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 6-3, and Kamil Majchrzak defeated Brandon Nakashima, the 29th-seeded American, 6-4, 6-0.

De Minaur, earlier this week, lost the semifinal to the world’s number two, Jannik Sinner, in the China Open. That was his 11th straight loss against the Italian player.

Carlos Alcaraz, the highest-ranked following his victory in Tokyo, and the winner of the Japan Open last week, declared that he will not be playing in Shanghai because of minor health issues.