In the early morning of May 3, Beijing time, the fourth round of the ATP1000 Madrid Masters was contested. China's Zhang Zhizhen will face the tournament's eighth-seeded world No. 10 Fritz. After three sets of fierce matches, Zhang Zhizhen reversed after losing the first set, eliminated his opponent 2-1, and successfully reached the quarterfinals to create a new history for Chinese men's tennis.
In the first set, Zhang Zhizhen was broken by his opponent in the sixth game and trailed Fritz 2-4. In the 9th game, Fritz saved his serve to win the set, and Zhang Zhizhen lost the first set 3-6.
In the second set, Zhang Zhizhen was broken in the 7th game, and he quickly completed the break in the 8th game. The first 12 games between the two sides were difficult to win, and the game was dragged into a tie-break. Zhang Zhizhen won the game 7-5 and dragged the match into the decider.
In the tiebreaker, Zhang Zhizhen broke serve in the 9th game and came to serve 5-4 to win the game. In the 10th game, Fritz broke Zhang Zhizhen's serve to win the game, after which the two sides each saved one game, and the game once again entered the tie-break. Zhang Zhizhen saved 3 match points in the seventh game and cashed in on his second match point to win the tiebreaker 10-8.
In a match that lasted 2 hours and 28 minutes, Zhang Zhizhen defeated the eighth-seeded Fritz 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) and successfully reached the quarterfinals. Zhang Zhizhen made history by becoming the first Chinese player to reach the quarterfinals of the Masters, the first Chinese player to win four consecutive matches in the Masters, and the achievement of reaching the quarterfinals to create the best record of the Chinese men's clay tour.
Zhang Zhizhen, who reached the quarterfinals, earned 180 points and $160,000 in prize money, and his instant ranking reached 66th in the world, setting a new career high. In the quarterfinals, Zhang will compete with Russia's Karatsev for a place in the semifinals.