Perfect beginnings are emerging as a Carlos Alcaraz trademark, with the No.1 seed successfully launching his maiden Rolex Shanghai Masters campaign on Saturday.
With a 6-2 7-5 victory over Gregoire Barrere, the Spanish superstar remained unbeaten in 15 opening-round matches this year.
"Honestly, I don't feel the nerves at all at the beginning of the tournament," said Alcaraz, who is competing in Shanghai for the first time. "I just focus on what I have to improve, what I have to do better, that's all I'm thinking about."
Consistency was the key as Alcaraz completed the 6-2 7-5 over the world No.73 Frenchman in an hour and 42 minutes. He took a 4-0 lead before a more competitive Barrere found some rhythm, with the players exchanging breaks midway through the second set.
But a fourth service break provided the turning point that Alcaraz required; with a 6-5 second-set lead, he calmly served out the straight-sets win.
"I think not having up and downs on my game, I just stay at the same level all the time," the 20-year-old said "He increased his level, but I think my level of focus it was all the time the same. I think that I'm pleased the most about that."
Jannik Sinner was equally satisfied with a successful debut at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, in which he navigated a second-round challenge from Marcos Giron. The American held four set points in the opening set before Sinner settled to secure a 7-6(2) 6-2 win.
"It was a tough match today, for sure, but I knew this before the match already. I haven't had, obviously, so much time to adapt for these courts," said the sixth-seeded Italian, who arrived in Shanghai fresh from winning a ninth career title, and third this year, in Beijing on Wednesday.
"That's why it means a lot to me to be able to win here the first-round match … The conditions are a little bit more similar to Beijing and here, but still I had to fight very hard."
At a peak world No.4 ranking after defeating Alcarez and Daniil Medvedev for the Beijing title, Sinner showed the composure that increasingly complements his aggressive tennis as he turned the match after the first set.
"I was a little bit lucky when he was up 6-5 in the breaker, but then I think in the second set, I raised the level a little bit, and I was able to play a little bit better," Sinner said, having registered 26 winners against eleven unforced errors to book a third-round meeting with Sebastien Baez.
With his sixth straight match win in China, the 22-year-old Italian became the fourth man to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals. While a debut in the eight-man tournament fulfils a goal Sinner set at the start of the year, his focus for now is entirely on a success in Shanghai.
"The season is not finished yet. I want to finish strong, if I can. Here is a good chance to play good here for the first time, so let's see how it goes."
Taylor Fritz required all his top-10 experience as Japan's Yosuke Watanuki pushed the seventh-seeded American to three tense sets.
Fritz claimed a tight first set in a tiebreak but trailed 2-5 after dropping serve in the second set.
Saving set points in the eighth and ninth games, Fritz persisted to force a tiebreak, where he took a 5-1 lead. But the blazing winners kept coming from the 79th-ranked Watanuki, who levelled the match on his third set point.
As service games started coming more easily for the American, Watanuki at last appeared to be tiring and as Fritz gained another break in the 10th game, he secured the match after two hours and 33 minutes on court.
