On January 6, Shang Juncheng was defeated by world No. 5 Rublev 6-4, 2-6, 3-6 in the semifinals of the ATP (International Men's Professional Tennis Association) 250 Hong Kong Open, and missed the first tour final. Although he missed the final, the 05-year-old has brought enough surprises to everyone. In the first stop of the tour in 2024, Shang Juncheng Lianke three TOP50 players, breaking into the semifinals of the tour for the first time in his career.
In addition, the Australian Open officially confirmed that Shang Juncheng received a wild card for the main event. So far, nine players from the Chinese Tennis Association have been confirmed to play in the main draw of this year's Australian Open.
商竣程 图据IC photo
Another breakthrough in his career
Reached the semi-finals of the ATP Tour for the first time
On the evening of January 6, the ATP (International Men's Professional Tennis Association) 250 Hong Kong Open ended the semifinals, and the Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng lost 1-2 to the top seed of the tournament and the world's No. 5 Rublev. Despite missing the final, Shang Juncheng's performance this week was amazing and a good start to the new season.
Shang Juncheng reached the main draw of the Australian Open at the beginning of the 2023 season and won his first Chinese men's tennis victory, but since then he has been plagued by illness and injury, and his form has been up and down. Coming to China for the season, Shang Juncheng suffered multiple cramps in the long set and was unable to cope with the physical demands of the three-set match. During the past winter break, Shang Juncheng changed to a new physical trainer, and the direction of physical training has also shifted from the previous emphasis on weight and muscle strength to mobility and agility.
商竣程 图据IC photo
After participating in the main event in Hong Kong with a wild card, Shang Juncheng fully demonstrated his training results.
In the first round, he defeated Serbian star Jerre, ranked 33rd in the world, 2-1, to defeat a top 40 player for the first time in his career. In the second round, he staged another comeback, defeating world No. 50 Van der Shanschupp of the Netherlands to advance. In the third round, he faced Shang Juncheng against the American star Tiafoe. The two have met twice before, both of which were victorious for Tiafoe.
But this time, Shang Juncheng surprised all the home audience. In the first set, Shang Juncheng put pressure on Tiafoe's serve. In addition, Shang Juncheng's serve was excellent, and he did not give his opponent a chance to break serve throughout the match. With Shang Juncheng breaking in the fifth game of the first set, he then held his serve to take a 6-4 lead. In the second set, Shang Juncheng continued his good hand, broke serve again in the fifth game, and then withstood Tiafoe's counterattack to seal the victory 6-4. This is the first time in Shang Juncheng's career that he has reached the semi-finals on the ATP Tour and the first time in his career that he has defeated a top 20 player.
In the first leg of the new season, Shang Juncheng made a historic trip to the semi-finals of the tour, and his efforts during the winter break are showing little by little, "Overall, my mobility has become stronger, and my ability to grab points has also become stronger. But this game made Shang Juncheng see the gap with the top players, and it will take a long time to challenge for the tour championship, "In the future, we will strive to be able to output stably for three or four weeks in a row, which is the direction that I and the team will strive for." ”
Despite the low level of the Hong Kong Championship, the semi-final results still brought Shang Juncheng a lot of prize money and points, and the world ranking reached a new career high of 142nd.
Think of tennis as work
Work hard every day
Shang Juncheng was born in Beijing in 2005, the son of Shang Yi, a former international player who played for Beijing Guoan for a long time and stayed in Jerez, Spain, and his mother, Wu Na, a former member of the national table tennis team and a mixed doubles world champion with Liu Guoliang. Shang Juncheng, who inherited his parents' sports genes, began to learn Xi tennis at the age of 5. Shang Yi once jokingly said: "I practice big ball, my wife practice small ball, we both like tennis, so I let the child choose this middle-sized ball." ”
In fact, Shang Juncheng tried football, table tennis, golf and other sports when he was a child, but he still felt that tennis was the most suitable for him. In order to receive better tennis training, Shang Juncheng came to the United States with his family to train at the age of 11, first at the Sanchez Tennis School, and later entered the IMG Tennis Academy in Florida, USA, where he had the opportunity to train and Xi with many professional players.
商竣程 图据IC photo
In 2021, Shang Juncheng finished runner-up in the US Open junior men's singles, and in the same year he rose to No. 1 in the junior world rankings and became the first Chinese player to win the ITF Junior World Championship (Junior Player of the Year). In 2023, he qualified for the main draw of his first career Grand Slam.
In a previous interview with the media, the player, who has just started competing in adult competitions, already knows the difficulties of professional tennis and what he is playing for. "Of course I love tennis, but I don't just love it. Because if you just like something, sooner or later you're going to get bored with it, now I'm thinking of tennis as my job and doing it well every day, rather than doing more physical or stretching if I feel like doing it today. Every day should be the same, that is, work hard. ”
On January 5, the 2024 Australian Open officially confirmed that Shang Juncheng won a wild card for the main event. So far, nine Chinese mainland players have been confirmed to play in the main draw of this year's Australian Open. In addition, Buyun Chaoket, Ma Yexin, You Xiaodi and Wei Sijia will play in the Australian Open qualifying tournament and continue to attack the main draw.
Red Star News reporter Pei Han Zhou Yao
Edited by Ou Peng
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