The Paper reporter Pu Yaolei
When he was about to complete the "breaking hundred", Zhang Zhizhen felt that he was about to fight to the limit.
Opposite him is Argentine player Baez, who is ranked 37th in the world - Zhang Zhizhen said he knew that if he could win this match, he would basically improve the world ranking to less than 100.
"I was already showing a little bit of cramps, so I played aggressively in the second set, knowing that if I couldn't win the second set, I might not be able to carry the third set." Zhang Zhizhen recalled to surging news reporters.
But the 26-year-old fought hard, put together this match, and also spelled out another piece of his career and even Chinese men's tennis.
Zhang Zhizhen has fulfilled his expectations for many years.
"Break a hundred", break the ceiling
"Very intense" and "very excited", recalling the game that ATP Napoli defeated in the second round not long ago, Zhang Zhizhen used these six words to describe.
The so-called "intense" refers to the process of the match - both sets were played to tie-break, and in the second set, Zhang Zhizhen saved two sets and missed match points several times, ending the match on the fifth match point.
The so-called "excitement" refers to his mood at the moment of winning the game - the window paper that was stabbed by everyone's expectations was finally no longer the existence of the ceiling above Chinese mainland men's tennis after this game.
At that time, the world No. 37 Baes was undoubtedly not an opponent who could easily defeat Zhang Zhizhen, "he is good at clay, and that game may not have played to his best level, but even in that case, it is still particularly difficult to fight."
"Although the physical energy consumption is not particularly large, the mental consumption is particularly large." He lamented to surging news reporters, "Nervousness is definitely nervousness, but in the end it was overcome." ”
Breaking through the world's top 100 in this imminent kick, Zhang Zhizhen completed the pass in an exciting and thrilling way.
But before this success, it was the experience of attacking strong enemies again and again that gave him enough confidence in this attempt:
At the Cordnons Challenge in August this year, Zhang Zhizhen defeated the host Vwasori in the final to win the cup, and won the challenge for the first time in three years.
In the subsequent US Open, Zhang Zhizhen participated in a long run, and at the beginning, without even having time to fall for jet lag, the qualifying round won consecutive victories, and stood on the US Open main stage for the first time in his career.
At the ATP 500 Astana in early October, Zhang Zhizhen defeated Karatsev, who was ranked 39th in the world at the time, in the first round, after losing a set first, and won another tour main event after the 2019 China Open.
It was not until the first round of the Napoli tournament that he also staged a battle with Hungary's Fosovic, experienced the twists and turns of the match interruption and make-up, saved five sets in the second set, and finally won the pass.
Of course, it's not just wins that have helped him grow, but every defeat also allows him to learn, such as the one against top 10 player Rublev in the second round at Astana.
"When I'm preparing for a game, part of it is about learning, but I also want to win. If you win that game, you can also get into the top 100. ”
But the miracle did not happen, Zhang Zhizhen lost the game, "the strength is indeed relatively different, and the difficulty (of the game) is not in the same grade." ”
But to be able to play against such a top player is also a rare opportunity, as he said: "That game made me very aware of what I still need to improve, and I have gained a lot. ”
Love to fight, in order to be stronger
Dare to confront the strong, willing to confront the strong, is the characteristic of every successful person, and you can see this in Zhang Zhizhen.
After the US Open this year, the coach asked him a question - should he continue to score points in the Challenger Tournament, or go to a higher-level, more competitive tour to "give it a try"? Zhang Zhizhen gave an answer without hesitation.
"Actually, I've always wanted to play on the tour, but I couldn't do it before, only in China (with a tour) for two or three weeks." What Zhang Zhizhen refers to is that he was not high enough in the world ranking that year, and he could only rely on the wild card of the domestic tour to get the opportunity to participate.
"It's a different feeling to be able to play on your own and on a wild card now." He told surging news reporters, "Because the results before the US Open are not bad, they have reached the expected range, so I think I can try the tour to experience what it is like." After all, our goal is much more than that, and we must go up. ”
Choosing a tour with a higher overall level means that the pressure will increase, and even in a way, it is not a completely "cost-effective" option.
Zhang Zhizhen gave an example: reaching the final four in the 250-point tour and winning the challenge can both earn 90 points, but the former is undoubtedly more challenging in comparison.
After getting used to the challenge arena, entering the tour stage will feel uncomfortable, which is a problem that many players in the tennis world have encountered, so Zhang Zhizhen chose to face it directly, "I want to adapt early." ”
Judging from the performance of these three tournaments after this year's US Open, Zhang Zhizhen's adaptation speed is undoubtedly satisfactory to the audience and himself - three races won the main event, the 500-point Astana station reached the second round, and the 250-point Fiorentina and Napoli reached the first and third rounds respectively.
"After playing in the past three weeks, I have also met high-ranking players, and I can know that some of them can fight, and some of them will take a while to fight, and I have a clear understanding."
In addition, such a high-pressure confrontation has exercised Zhang Zhizhen's mentality, "because everyone can fight with them." ”
"There is no easy game". This is Zhang Zhizhen's most intuitive feeling after competing in consecutive tours.
Having tasted this, he is also ready to work hard in this world for a long time: "Next year, the challenge may be relatively small, try to participate in the tour as much as possible, and improve his strength." ”
Zhang Zhizhen represented the Chinese team in the Davis Cup.
Grow and find the right path
From being ranked 323rd in the world in January this year to being ranked 97th in the world today, Zhang Zhizhen's rise in the 2022 season has given all Chinese tennis spectators a huge surprise.
But such an outburst, even for himself half a year ago, may have been a little unexpected - in the first half of the year, he also suffered a period of unwinning, and he was out of the early stages of the challenge in a row.
"Basically, I have been losing, I haven't won much, and it was a difficult time, because I was more anxious when I lost all the time, and my view of things would be different, including the emotions of getting along with people, which would be more emotional."
"It's not easy to have confidence when you win, to control your emotions and get through that time." He said in an interview with surging news reporters.
This year's post-Wimbledon Braunschweig Challenge may be a turning point for Zhang Zhizhen to "open low and go high" this season.
At that tournament, he defeated Martinez of Spain, then ranked 50th in the world, and beat the Top 50 players again three years later, as well as the first time in his career to defeat a Top 50 player in an overseas competition.
More importantly, he feels that he has gradually found a suitable way to play, "I feel that my style of play should be more aggressive, not the type that drags with opponents all the time, and now that I can enter the top 100, it can be regarded as telling myself that this path is the right one, and I have not taken crooked paths." ”
Indeed, it is very important, if not the most important, for any athlete to find their own right path.
For Zhang Zhizhen, insisting on overseas competition is the first step on this road, and finding the right pace of competition is the second step.
As he himself said, "every player has his own path, and everyone's ascent speed is different" - but once he sets foot on the right rhythm, Zhang Zhizhen's ascent can enter the fast lane, the engine has been ignited, and how many surprises he can create for Chinese tennis in the future is also expected by more and more people.
"At the beginning of this year, the goal was to play back about 150, just close to 100, after all, I haven't played in the international arena for two years, and I didn't think about what a big breakthrough it would take." He told surging news reporters.
Now after experiencing the surprise of "exceeding the task", Zhang Zhizhen is still not carried away - whether it is for himself or the entire Chinese mainland men's tennis, reaching the top 100 is just a milestone on the way forward, not the finish line.
"For the time being, my idea is to aim for the first 50 and try to stabilize in the top 100 next year with the main tour and then go to the higher rankings."
Zhang Zhizhen at Wimbledon.
Focus, don't rush it
Only by experiencing setbacks and blows can we remain calm in the face of the joy of success. Zhang Zhizhen's calmness after making history may also stem from the twists and turns in his career.
In 2019, he had a good season, but the following year he suffered an eye injury and the consequent disruption of the pandemic. And even this year, in addition to the poor results in the first half of the year, he also suffered the blow of missing 7 match points in the first round of the US Open.
This defeat made him unable to become the first person to break through the first round of the Grand Slam main tournament in the Chinese mainland men's tennis, and passed the historical record...
But this suffocating defeat did not make him slump, but let him devote himself to the pursuit of "breaking a hundred" in a better state.
"Missing the match point should be more heartache than you, you can not watch it if you are uncomfortable, but it is impossible for us not to want to think after the game, the impression must be very deep."
"Missing match points means that this could have been a win, and if you had won, you might have finished in the top 100 a little earlier. But these are all experiences, good and bad. Zhang Zhizhen told surging news reporters.
Losing can be regrettable, but it is undoubtedly more important to conduct rational analysis than to indulge in emotions, which is exactly what Zhang Zhizhen did after that game.
In the first round of Wimbledon last year, Zhang Zhizhen, who stood on the stage of the Grand Slam for the first time, also lost in five sets, and this year's US Open first round was also lost in five sets, but the gains were different.
"The last five-set match [at Wimbledon] dragged on for a long time, with a break in the middle (interrupted by rain in the middle), and this time it was played in one go, which is two different feelings."
"The emotional changes on the field, the physical fitness, all gave me a good experience. I'm not in a hurry either, the first Grand Slam victory will surely come. He told surging news reporters.
Yes, it is the accumulation of victories and defeats that has created the current Zhang Zhizhen little by little, and now he will change through more tempering in the future.
Change never stops. In Zhang Zhizhen's eyes, five years ago he was just a "potential player" who "could do one or two or three or four games well, but could not maintain a good state for a whole season", but now, he can play at least half a season of good ball.
In the future, he will not go alone
What else can Zhang Zhizhen do in the future? It's hard to say for sure at the moment, but it's definitely expected.
In August this year, Zhang Zhizhen canceled his Weibo account in order to make himself more focused on tennis: "Because of the break in the game, I will still be interested in brushing Weibo, and I feel that this is not a good phenomenon, so I canceled it." ”
With the cancellation of Weibo, he also stayed away from some voices, "I am grateful to those who support me, but the more I look forward to it, the more people will step on it, so just look down, what they say is their business." Zhang Zhizhen told surging news reporters.
For Zhang Zhizhen at the moment, what he thinks about the most is how to play the ball better, even if he returns to China for a wedding after the end of this season, he is thinking about bringing a physical coach with him so as not to waste training.
On the road ahead, he will continue to move forward, and at the same time he will not be alone.
"I also know that everyone in China is talking about breaking through the top 100, and everyone has been waiting for a long time. Thank you very much for the contributions of your predecessors, this is not something that can be done alone, although it is an individual project, there is also a sense of collective honor. ”
"For example, when Ah Yun (Wu Yiyu) won the US Open, we were very excited, and this time I broke 100 and he was also excited. With the first time, there will be a second time, and in the future, there are many more that we can break through. ”
Senior Editor of this issue Xing Tan