Alcaraz takes four to stop Sonego

On Saturday, the right-hander is eyeing a first AO fourth-round berth when he tackles Chinese wildcard Juncheng “Jerry” Shang.

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“He's one of the best players on tour, I've watched him the whole year,” Shang said of Alcaraz on Thursday.

“In 2023, he had amazing runs, amazing matches in the Grand Slams.”

The 18-year-old has “low expectations” ahead of his maiden clash against Alcaraz.

“I expect nothing but a really nice crowd,” said the southpaw. “Just [want] to enjoy every point, every moment out there, try to learn … it's going to be great, I'm going to have fun.”

Similarly, Alcaraz has watched Shang's recent successes.

“I know he’s playing well, I follow[ed] his run in Hong Kong, he beat some big guys,” said the Spaniard, referring to Shang’s upsets over Laslo Djere, Botic van de Zandschulp and Frances Tiafoe before a three-set loss to top seed Andrey Rublev.

“I know he has the level, he's already there. What I've seen so far from him, he's an unbelievable player, he's ready to make a good result.

“I think it's going to be a fun match to play … for the fans I think it's going to be great, as well.”