Carlos Alcaraz Debuts Mustache in Shanghai Masters Win

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the Shanghai Masters after defeating Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 6-3, with the second seed debuting a mustache look alongside his team in Shanghai. The Spaniard said the change came from a celebration agreement after his Japan Open title victory.

According to the source report, Alcaraz extended his winning streak to seven matches with the victory over Cerundolo. The result followed his first title since February at the Japan Open earlier in the week.

Alcaraz explained that the facial hair was connected to a team promise made before the Tokyo tournament. He said the group decided to keep the look during the Shanghai event after his title success.

"It's going to stay for the week," Alcaraz said.

The 23-year-old added that he had wanted to appear on court with the style before making the team agreement. The mustache became part of the group's celebration during his Shanghai campaign.

"I always wanted to step on the court with a mustache," Alcaraz said.

Alcaraz described the agreement with his team before the Japan Open and said they were enjoying the experience together. He entered Shanghai after a seven-match unbeaten run following his Tokyo triumph.

"Before Tokyo it was like, 'All right, if I win the tournament, we all have to have the mustache and play Shanghai with a mustache.' It's going to be fun. We're laughing around, just having fun with it," Alcaraz said.

Other seeded players also progressed in Shanghai. Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5 after nearly three hours.

Daniil Medvedev won his first match since being defaulted in Beijing, coming back to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. According to the report, Medvedev had apologized after the Beijing incident, describing it as accidental.

Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a delay of more than 15 minutes caused by overly bright screens at the back of the court to defeat 18th seed Luciano Darderi 6-3, 6-4.

Valentin Vacherot, the surprise Shanghai champion last year as a qualifier, began his title defense with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Sebastian Baez.