On the evening of April 9, Beijing time, good news came from the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters. China's Zhang Zhizhen made history by defeating American Marcos Giron 2-1 on aggregate with a total score Chinese mainland of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the first round match in 2 hours and 5 minutes, and after a three-set battle, he defeated Marcos Giron of the United States with an aggregate score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Zhang Zhizhen
The first clay-court ATP1000 tournament of the 2024 season, the Monte Carlo Masters, is star-studded. Led by top seed and two-time tournament champion Novak Djokovic, the top eight seeds are played together as follows:[1]Djokovic vs. Rublev[6] [3]Alcaraz vs. Ruud[8][4]Medvedev vs. Zverev[5][2]Sinner vs. Rune[7]. Due to Nadal's withdrawal again, Zhang Zhizhen made history by qualifying for the main tournament of the ATP Monte Carlo Masters as a substitute, becoming the first player from Chinese mainland to enter the main tournament of Monca. The Monte-Carlo Centre Court is arguably the most beautiful tennis court in the world, and Zhang Zhizhen will enjoy this dream journey.
Marcos Giron
China's No. 1 brother Zhang Zhizhen has repeatedly made history this season, reaching the second round of singles for the first time in his career at the Australian Open, and in the doubles field, he partnered Mahachi to reach the semifinals, and Zhang Zhizhen set a new record for the best result of a men's tennis Grand Slam in Chinese mainland. After that, the two teamed up again and won their first men's doubles title at ATP 250 Marseille! Zhang Zhizhen also became the first Chinese mainland player to win the men's doubles title on the ATP Tour. Zhang Zhizhen is currently ranked 49th in the world, firmly ranking as China's first brother.
The opponent in this round is Marcos Giron of the United States, ranked 51st in the world. There have been 1 previous encounters, and Zhang Zhizhen has emerged victorious. The strength and rankings of the two sides are relatively similar, and a tough battle is inevitable.
In the first set, Ji Long took the lead in serving, and Zhang Zhizhen took advantage of the opponent's unstable foothold and successfully broke serve. In the second game, in his own service game, Zhang Zhizhen withstood the opponent's crazy counterattack, drew many times, and Zhang Zhizhen finally cashed in on the 5th match point, 2-0. After that, Zhang Zhizhen fought back and forth on his own serve in the fourth game, and Zhang Zhizhen saved six break points and finally cashed in his third game point. In the end of this set, Zhang Zhizhen stubbornly held his serve while relying on the only break of the game in the opening game to take the next game 6-4.
In the second set, Giron continued to start. In the third game, Zhang Zhizhen seized the opportunity to break first, but in the fourth game, the opponent successfully broke back. After that, the opponent scored four points in a row in the sixth game and broke serve again. In the end, relying on the advantage of one more break, 6-3 also took color. In the second set, Zhang Zhizhen appeared to lack stamina when he broke serve first, and was reversed by his opponent, which was slightly regrettable.
In the deciding set, Zhang Zhizhen took the lead in serving. In the first 5 games, they held serve, and in the 6th game, Zhang Zhizhen relied on the opponent's many active mistakes in the stalemate, and successfully broke serve and led 4-2. After that, each held serve in the next two games, 5-3. In the 9th game, Zhang Zhizhen's serve won the game, Zhang Zhizhen got the match point 40-30, but issued a double fault at the critical moment and wasted the match point, but Zhang Zhizhen got the match point again, successfully held serve, and won the deciding set 6-3.
Congratulations, Zhang Zhizhen made history. In the next round, Zhang Zhizhen's opponent will be France's Hugo Ambelle, who fought hard in three sets in the first round and reversed Argentina's Coria with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the second round of men's singles. Ranked 15th in the world, Amber is still very strong, and eliminated Zhang Zhizhen in the second round of this year's Australian Open, so the showdown again is not only a good learning opportunity for Zhang Zhizhen, but also a battle for revenge.
Shang Juncheng
In addition, in the just-concluded first round of the CH100 in Madrid, the fourth seed of the tournament, Shang Juncheng of China, defeated Canas 7-5, 6-2 to face Hussler in the next round. Gain 7 points, rank 114th instantly, and get closer and closer to the top 100!
Congratulations, Chinese men's tennis Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng!