Carlos Alcaraz and Jessica Pegula were among the big casualties at the 2024 Shanghai Masters and Wuhan Open respectively. While the Spaniard was looking to book his spot in the last-four, the American was playing for a place in the quarterfinals.
With Alcaraz’s exit, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have become the favorites to lift the trophy. Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff lead the women’s field.
Alcaraz and Pegula, meanwhile, were not the only big names exiting their respective tournaments. Here, we have compiled the five biggest shocking results of the day from the Shanghai Masters and Wuhan Open:
#1 Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz had come into the 2024 Shanghai Masters with a title at Beijing under his belt. He had not lost a match since the US Open second round and was primed for success.
The Spaniard, however, failed to hold off an inspired Tomas Machac who stepped onto the court all guns blazing. The Czech was in top form, especially on serve, which he dropped only once en route to a 7-6(5), 7-5 victory.
Alcaraz had faced some resistance in his recent matches against the likes of Wu Yibing and Gael Monfils but had still not dropped a single set in the tournament.
However, after losing the opening set in a tiebreaker, the Spaniard failed to level up and exited the tournament in the quarterfinals stage.
#2 Jessica Pegula
Jessica Pegula had been the player to beat over the course of the North American hardcourt swing, making three big finals in Canada (where she won), Cincinnati and the US Open.
The American, however, has not been able to translate that form into the Asian swing as she made her second consecutive early exit after losing to Wang Xinyu.
Pegula, who had also exited the China Open in the Round-of-16, was pushed behind the baseline after some attacking tennis from her opponent.
Buoyed by a boisterous home crowd, the Chinese player broke Pegula on four occasions to seal the 6-3, 7-5 win. This was the second top-10 win for Wang, who had also beaten Pegula at Wimbledon earlier this year.
#3 Daria Kasatkina
Asia has been a happy hunting crown for Magda Linette, who has even lifted titles like Hua Hin in the past. The Pole had even briefly shifted her training base to China and enjoys this part of the world.
Facing a seed for the second time this week, Linette was near-flawless against Daria Kasakina.
The Pole’s baseline prowess proved too much for her opponent to handle as she fell into the same defensive pattern where Linette wanted her.
The Pole was clinical, converting five of her six break points en route to a 6-2, 6-3 win. She had earlier beaten the big-hitting 11th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the second round.
#4 Beatriz Haddad Maia
For Beatriz Haddad Maia, the Asian swing brought a happy new beginning for 2024. The Brazilian won her first Tour-level title of the season at the Korea Open, beating Daria Kasatkina in the summit clash.
Haddad Maia could not make much of an impact at the China Open but was looking in dangerous form again at the start of the week.
The Brazilian began her week by reversing the China Open loss in the opening round of the Wuhan Open, beating Madison Keys in straight sets. She followed it up with another easy win over Veronika Kudermetova.
Pitted against Magdalena Ferch though, she was unable to find the level of consistency that she would have desired. Her first serve winning percentage hovered around a lowly 50% and it was never going to be enough against a seasoned campaigner like Frech.
