Carlos Alcaraz edges into Australian Open second week over injured opponent

Carlos Alcaraz completed his set of Grand Slam second week appearances in anticlimactic fashion at the 2024 Australian Open on Saturday, taking a two-set lead on young challenger Juncheng "Jerry" Shang before the Chinese teenager was forced to retire, trailing, 6-1, 6-1, 1-0.

The reigning Wimbledon champion, Alcaraz missed out on playing in Melbourne last year due to his own injury struggles, and is playing Down Under for the first time since winning his two major titles and becoming world No. 1. Seeded No. 2 Down Under, he is into the fourth round with the loss of just one set, advancing over Shang after 66 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

The disappointing end belies the hype surrounding the third-round clash between Alcaraz and Shang. For the first time in his career, the 20-year-old Alcaraz would be playing someone younger than him. And Shang is no slouch: the teenager is a junior US Open finalist and made his Grand Slam main draw debut at this tournament last year, reaching the second round as a qualifier.

Currently at a career-high ranking of No. 140, Shang was made to battle through his first two matches, defeating American Mackenzie McDonald in five sets and Indian trailblazer Sumit Nagal in four. Facing the likes of Alcaraz for the first time in his young career, Shang was overawed from the outset.

Alcaraz wasted little time in making quick work of his teenaged opposition, breaking serve three times in the opening set and twice more in the second to earn a two set lead. It was in the middle of the second set when Shang showing signs of physical distress, calling a medical time out for a leg issue.

With the physical discomfort lingering at the start of the third, the left-handed Shang debated whether to continue before ultimately pulling the ripcord after losing serve one last time.

For Alcaraz, the easy afternoon comes as a relief after his hard-fought four-set second round against Italian rival Lorenzo Sonego, and allows him to rest up ahead of his fourth-round encounter with Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic. Kecmanovic saved two match points before dropping a fifth-set bagel on 2023 semifinalist Tommy Paul on Margaret Court Arena earlier this afternoon.

The pair last played at the 2022 Miami Open, when Kecmanovic was in the midst of a career-best stretch, and was two points from defeating Alcaraz in a third-set tiebreaker before the then-teenaged Spaniard turned the tables to survive. Alcaraz would go on and win his first Masters 1000 title in Miami, setting the stage for his blockbuster season that culminated with a maiden major victory at the US Open.