Alcaraz wins in 56 minutes as ‘China’s Nadal’ extends fairytale

Carlos Alcaraz barrelled into the China Open quarter-finals on Sunday in just 56 minutes as 595th-ranked Zhang Shuai extended her historic run.

Rain in Beijing played havoc with the schedule but four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz made rapid progress under the roof of the Diamond Court with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Tallon Griekspoor

The 39th-ranked Dutchman looked shellshocked.

“I just want to keep going, to keep getting more and more wins,” said Alcaraz after racking up his 200th tour-level victory.

Alcaraz, the second seed behind Jannik Sinner, faces seventh-seeded Karen Khachanov next after an ominous warning of intent from the 21-year-old Spaniard.

Alcaraz, beaten in the second round of the recent US Open, conceded that the “last couple of tournaments didn’t feel as good as I wanted”.

“Right now I feel ready, I feel good. I feel like my tennis came again,” he said.

The Russian Khachanov booked his place with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (11/9) victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.

In the only other match completed on the day in the men’s draw, Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete pulled off a shock 6-2, 6-4 win over Italian sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti.

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There was home joy too in the women’s draw as another Chinese wildcard, Zhang Shuai, reached the last 16 to add another chapter to her fairytale tournament.

The 35-year-old had not won a singles match in more than 600 days when she arrived at the prestigious WTA 1000 event last week.

The two-time Grand Slam singles quarter-finalist, who has been plagued by injuries, has now won three matches in a row after a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Belgium’s Greet Minnen.

Zhang, who faced Minnen as the lowest-ranked player to reach the