On January 3, the second round of the ATP 250 Hong Kong station started, and in the first and final focus matches, China's 18-year-old Shang Juncheng broke out, and the world's 50th Van der Shanchulp fought in three sets, all three sets were tie-breaks, and finally Shang Juncheng narrowly won 2-1 and entered the quarterfinals of the ATP tournament for the first time. After two consecutive wins, Shang Juncheng scored 50 points and rose 18 places to 165th.
Born in 2005, Shang Juncheng made a stunning debut two years ago, but he didn't perform well last year, and with Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yixuan both achieving big breakthroughs, his performance fell far short of expectations. He earned a wild card in Hong Kong this week, beating seventh seed Jerey 2-1 in the first round to advance to the second round.
In the second round, Shang Juncheng's opponent was world No. 50 Van der Chanschulp, and his consecutive matches against the world's top 50 were a big test for him.
In the first set, in the first 10 games, both sides held their serves, and the score came to 5-5. In the 11th game, Shang Juncheng missed a 30-0 advantage, lost 4 points in a row and was broken, and the score came to 5-6. In the 12th game, Shang Juncheng immediately broke back, and the score was chased to 6-6. In the tie-break, Shang Juncheng missed a 4-2 lead and finally lost a set 5-7.
In the second set, Shang Juncheng was the first to be broken in the fifth game, and the score came to 2-3. Shang Juncheng broke back in the 6th game, and the score came to 3-3. After that, the two sides held their own serves, and the score came to 6-6, and they entered the tie-break again. In the tie-break, Shang Juncheng performed strongly and won easily 7-2.
In the third set, Shang Juncheng was the first to be broken, and the score came to 5-3. Shang Juncheng missed the opportunity to win the game on serve, and was broken back by his opponent, and the score came to 5-5. After that, the two sides held their respective serves, and the score came to 6-6 and entered the tie-break again, and in the tie-break, Shang Juncheng played strongly again and won 7-2 smoothly, winning 2-1.
In the whole game, which took 3 hours and 32 minutes, Van der Schulp blasted out 13 aces, far higher than Shang Juncheng's two. However, Shang Juncheng took the lead in changing the line in the multi-shot stalemate and had an advantage. Shang Juncheng's weakness and physical fitness were also withstanded, and he was able to win in the three-set tie-break battle, which was very rare.
After two consecutive wins, Shang Juncheng reached the quarterfinals of the ATP tournament, and after scoring 50 points, Shang Juncheng's ranking improved by 18 places to 165th. In the quarter-finals, Shang Juncheng's opponent was the winner of Tiafoe and Kecmanovic, and this challenge was even greater.