Beijing, March 8 (Liu Xingchen) On the morning of the 8th, Beijing time, the ATP1000 Indian Wells Masters qualifying round was staged in the Chinese derby, and Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng met in the final round. In the end, after 3 rounds, Zhang Zhizhen defeated Shang Juncheng 2:1 and won the main draw seat of this Masters. The scores of the three games were: 6(10):7, 6:3, 7:6(5).
From left to right: Wu Yixiang, Shang Juncheng, Zhang Zhizhen. Image source: Zhang Zhizhen Weibo
In this tournament, Shang Juncheng's first-round qualifying opponent was Japan's Yosuke Miankan. The former took nearly 2 hours and won the game with two tie-break wins. Zhang Zhizhen faced Sweden's Imel in the first round, and after taking a 6-3 lead, he also won the second set by stealing seven sets.
At the time of Shang Juncheng's qualification qualifier, Zhang Zhizhen had not yet confirmed the promotion, but Shang Juncheng was sure to meet his teammates: "I believe in his strength, he will definitely be able to break through Immel, and he can meet me in the second round." Talking about the Chinese derby before the game, the young Shang Juncheng is looking forward to it, "I trained with him once, it must be a very interesting game, and I am looking forward to it. I will give it my all and believe that I can win this victory. ”
And Zhang Zhizhen also talked about the word, "expectation".
As promised by the duo before the match, the Chinese derby did not disappoint.
Image source: ATP Tour Weibo
Focus on the game, the showdown
In this match, the young Shang Juncheng was the first to enter the game, and he broke serve in the opening game to take a 2-0 lead. After that, the two sides alternated leads, and the first set was matched to win seven sets. In the seventh game, Shang Juncheng was 4:6 behind. But he stubbornly chased after the next few rounds, and the two fought until a 10:10 draw, and after missing several sets in a row, Shang Juncheng seized the opportunity to take the lead 7:6 (10).
In the second set, Zhang Zhizhen recovered and took a 3-1 lead after breaking serve in the opening game. In the end, he equalized the aggregate score 6-3.
In the tiebreaker, the third game between the two sides was fiercely contested. After several rounds of entanglement, Shang Cheng was successful. After that, Shang Juncheng completed a key hold in the 9th game to take a 5-4 lead. But in the ensuing match, Zhang Zhizhen saved the match point in a row, dragging the game into a tie-break again. In the seven-game tie-up, Zhang Zhizhen once took a 6-1 lead, after which Shang Juncheng saved four match points, but unfortunately lost in the end.
A battle that took 3 hours and 1 minute ended with Zhang Zhizhen, who was more experienced, winning.
Image source: ATP website screenshot
Chinese derby, long awaited
With Djokovic and Nadal both absent, the ATP1000 Indian Wells Masters has received a slight drop in attention compared to the past.
But Chinese tennis fans are happy.
The Chinese derby, for the Chinese men's tennis, is an unattainable word in the international arena for a long time.
With the rise of a new generation of Chinese men's tennis players, such a scenario may often happen in the future.
Image source: screenshot of netizen comment
At the Australian Open at the beginning of this year, Wu Yixiang, Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng played together in the men's singles arena, which was the first time since the open era that three Chinese mainland men's singles players participated in the main tournament of the Grand Slam.
At that time, Shang Juncheng won the first Grand Slam main draw 3:1 in the first round, winning the first Grand Slam main draw, becoming the first Chinese mainland male player to advance to the second round of the Australian Open.
A layer of window paper was stabbed.
Shang Juncheng (2nd from left), Wu Yixiang (3rd from left). Image source: Wu Yixiang Weibo
Chinese men's tennis, headwind
Turning back more than 20 days, in the ATP250 Tour Dallas final, Wu Yixiang defeated his opponent in three sets and won the Tour title for the first time in his career against the American star Isner who ranked much higher than himself. It was the first ATP Tour singles title won by a Chinese mainland men's singles player.
At this time, many people began to realize that the long-dormant Chinese men's tennis is ushering in a new era.
As of the 8th Beijing time, Wu Yixiang ranked 67th in the world and Zhang Zhizhen ranked 93rd. The two are moving towards higher goals.
Image source: ATP website screenshot
Image source: ATP website screenshot
Wu Yixiang reached the third round of the US Open, setting the best record of Chinese mainland male player in a Grand Slam; At just 17 years old, Shang Juncheng turned professional, becoming the youngest male tennis player to rank among the top 200 in the world...
Over the past year or so, the progress of China's men's tennis is obvious to all. Ahead of the China derby, ATP Tour officials set up a poll inviting fans to guess which Chinese player will win.
One fan left a message: "Whoever wins is a happy event". Indeed, the meeting of Chinese players in the international arena has already reflected the improvement of their strength from the side. Being able to accumulate experience through competitions and further stabilize and improve the world ranking is undoubtedly good news for the Chinese men's tennis.
Data map: Wu Yixiang in the game
Today, China's men's tennis is steadily rising. Wu Yixiang and Zhang Zhizhen have talked about the battles of several Chinese players, and in their opinion, competition and encouragement between each other are important reasons for their continuous breakthroughs.
In the eyes of Chinese women's singles star Zhang Shuai, the progress of China's men's tennis in recent years has also surprised her. "I started playing at the Australian Open as a junior and I didn't see Chinese men at all. This year, junior players like Shang even made it to the senior main event. This also shows the rapid progress and development of Chinese tennis, which makes people full of hope for the future. ”
After this Chinese derby, many people said that this was a collective victory for the Chinese men's tennis. Three players have the opportunity to train together, enjoy tennis together, and realize their dreams together... In the future, there may be younger players playing alongside them.
There is no doubt that after many years of dormancy, the Chinese men's tennis is ushering in an era full of hope. (End)
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