Break through the demons! Zhang Zhizhen has repeatedly set the history of Chinese men's tennis in half a year, and the best season may hit the world's top 50

In the men's singles final of the Hangzhou Asian Games tennis men's singles that ended on September 30, Beijing time, Zhang Zhizhen, the top seed of the tournament and China's post-selection, completed a strong reversal in an unfavorable 1-4 start, and finally defeated Japan's Yosuke Mianguan in straight sets, successfully helping China win the men's tennis singles gold medal at the Asian Games again after 29 years. From repeatedly breaking 5 sets in Grand Slams to helping the Chinese men's tennis make breakthroughs this year, Zhang Zhizhen has really changed this season.

Past: The son of a football celebrity is confused, and the 5 sets of the Grand Slam are reversed into a heart demon

Zhang Zhizhen, born on October 16, 1996, is the son of Shanghai football star Zhang Weihua. Although he became a football celebrity, Zhang Zhizhen unexpectedly chose tennis and officially turned professional tennis at the age of 16. At the beginning of his career, Zhang Zhizhen played very confused, although he did not beat himself up and worked hard to improve, but he seemed to have been standing still, and the gap with his boyhood friend Medvedev was getting bigger and bigger.

Although Zhang Zhizhen began to grow into a Chinese men's singles brother after winning the first Challenge title in 2019, at Wimbledon in 2021, Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese mainland male player in the Open era to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam, but there is still a long way to go from "breaking the window paper". Starting from Wimbledon in 2021, Zhang Zhizhen has played five sets at the 2022 US Open, the 2023 Australian Open and the 2023 Wimbledon but all of them have become the losing side, and even won match points but were reversed. This also made Zhang Zhizhen have been criticized by Chinese tennis fans as "too poor psychological quality".

Now: Asian Games gold + new history of Chinese men's tennis in half a year, playing the best season of his career

And Zhang Zhizhen's real transformation is precisely in 2023, he has created a number of new histories of Chinese men's tennis. At the Madrid Masters held in May, Zhang Zhizhen was a blockbuster. From the second round to the fourth round, Zhang Zhizhen won 5 of the 6 tie-breakers, facing the world's top 10 and the first brother of the United States, Fritz, and resolved three match points, becoming the first Chinese player to reach the quarterfinals of the Masters.

At this year's French Open, Zhang Zhizhen received Rajovic's withdrawal from the tournament with a big lead, winning the first victory of the Chinese men's tennis in the main tournament of the French Open, and then Zhang Zhizhen followed further, defeating Tyrant and reaching the last 32 of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

After winning the top 8 of the Masters and the round of 32 of the French Open, Zhang Zhizhen's self-confidence has been greatly improved. At the Hamburg Masters in June, Zhang Zhizhen reached the final four of the Tour and the semifinals of the 500 for the first time in his career, setting the best result of the Chinese mainland men's tennis above the ATP 500 level. At the recent US Open, Zhang Zhizhen became one of the biggest dark horses of the tournament, beating local player Wolff 3-2 in the first round to win a Grand Slam five-set match for the first time in his career. In the second round, Zhang Zhizhen beat former runner-up Ruud 3-1 to reach the round of 32 of the US Open for the first time in his career, and he was also the first Chinese player to beat the world's top 5.

With Zhang Zhizhen's victory at the Asian Games, he is sure to qualify for the men's singles at the Paris Olympics, and the Chinese men's tennis team stands on the Olympic stage again after 16 years after participating in the men's singles competition in tennis (Yu Xinyuan, Zeng Shaofang, Sun Peng) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Zhang Zhizhen has repeatedly made breakthroughs and made history this year, and the important reason is psychological transformation. In the past, he would publicly hit back at netizens because he was criticized by fans for losing, and was ridiculed as "unspeakable". But now, Zhang Zhizhen's psychological quality has been greatly improved. For example, in the final of this Asian Games, Zhang Zhizhen was disturbed by the home audience who did not understand tennis etiquette, but Zhang Zhizhen was able to adjust quickly. The rhythm has been regained from the distractions, and the improvement is indeed more gratifying than the results.

Future: The goal is to hit the world's top 50, the most trustworthy candidate for Chinese men's tennis

At present, only Zhang Zhizhen, Wu Yixiang and Shang Juncheng can stand in the Grand Slam men's singles arena, although Wu Yixiang is the first 250 champion of the Chinese men's tennis, but this year's Asian Games wasted 5 match points to be out of the game once again proved that Wu Yixiang's ability to withstand pressure continues to improve. As for the small businessman, he still needs to improve his skills step by step, and he cannot help the seedlings. In other words, Zhang Zhizhen, who is in the year of play, is indeed the most trustworthy candidate for Chinese men's tennis.

After winning gold at the Asian Games, Zhang Zhizhen will also participate in the Shanghai Masters, a Masters tournament held in his hometown, where Zhang Zhizhen does not need a wild card to qualify, which is already a huge improvement for Chinese men's players.

In the 2023 season, Zhang Zhizhen has set himself two small goals: the first is to enter the world's top 50, and the second is to rely on ATP Tour points to stay in the world's top 100. At present, Zhang Zhizhen ranks 60th in the world, and the second small goal can basically be achieved. With the arrival of the Chinese season, if Zhang Zhizhen can continue to grab points with the help of home field advantage and good form and the self-confidence accumulated by winning gold in the Asian Games, it is not impossible to hit the world's top 50 before the end of the year. Let us continue to look forward to the "Chinese brother" to bring more surprises to the Chinese people in the remaining season of 2023.