On January 5, the third round of the ATP 250 Hong Kong began, and in a high-profile battle that just ended, 18-year-old Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng brought a surprise, he defeated the world No. 16 Tiafoe 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals. This was another major breakthrough in Shang's career, beating a top 20 player for the first time, reaching the semi-finals of an ATP tournament for the first time, and reaching a new personal high of 143rd in the world rankings.
Born in 2005, Shang Juncheng is the most promising rising star in Chinese men's singles. However, in 2023, compared with Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yixuan's big breakthrough, Shang Juncheng fell into a slump and did not play the results expected by the outside world. In the first match of the year, he entered Hong Kong as a wild card and performed well in the first two rounds, beating Jerrey and Van der Shanschulp respectively to reach the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals, his opponent was Tiafoe, who is currently ranked 16th in the world. Tiafoe is known for his strength, having reached a world ranking of 10th and is one of the top men's singles players today. The two sides have played each other twice before, with Tiafoe winning the game. The odds given by the official website of this game are very different, with Tiafoe 1.3 and Shang Juncheng 3.5.
In the first set, the two served well, and each easily held serve in the first two games, with a score of 1-1. In the third game, Shang Juncheng missed three break points, and Tiafoe struggled to hold serve, and the match between the two sides came to 2-2. In the fifth game, Shang Juncheng won three break points again, and completed the break at the third break point, bringing the score to 3-2. After that, both sides held their serves, and Shang Juncheng won the first set 6-4.
The second set was the same as the first, with both sides holding serve in the first four games to make it 2-2. In the 5th game, Shang Juncheng hit consecutive winning points and broke serve again, and the score came to 3-2. Shang Juncheng tactically gave up the service game and tried not to lose it in the service game. It was a very good tactic, and in the end he retained his advantage and won another set 6-4 to win 2-0.
In the whole game, Shang Juncheng's serving state was average, and there was a big gap with Tiafoe. Tiafoe hit 12 aces, and the success of the first shot was much higher than Shang Juncheng. However, today, Shang Juncheng's return and multi-shot holding line selection is very powerful, making up for the weakness of strength.
Upset No. 16 in the world, this is the first time Shang Juncheng has defeated the TOP20, and it is also the first time that he has reached the semi-finals of the 250 event, making two major breakthroughs. With this victory, Shang Juncheng scored 100 points and soared 40 places in the world ranking to a new personal high of 143rd.