On the evening of May 10, Beijing time, in the just-concluded second round of the ATP1000 Rome Masters, China's first brother Zhang Zhizhen swept France's Mannarino 6-1, 6-3 and advanced to the top 32 of the Rome Masters for the first time in his career.
China's No. 1 Zhang Zhizhen reached the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters on clay last year, but was eliminated in the first round this year, losing 170 points and dropping to 59th in the instant rankings, falling out of the top 50. As the second stop of the Masters in Rome, Zhang had to make a difference. Zhang Zhizhen had good overall luck, facing Colombian player Garlan, who is ranked 90th, in the first round, and defeated his opponent in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 to unlock the first victory of the Rome Masters, showing good competitive form.
In this round, he will face the No. 19 seed of France, Mannarino, ranked 21st in the world. Despite his high world ranking, Mannarino is not good on clay, with a career record of 16-57 on clay, and has experienced 12 consecutive defeats on clay. Therefore, it is a good opportunity for the first brother in China.
Sure enough, in the first set, Zhang Zhizhen was like a rainbow, and in the first case, he broke the opponent's first two service games in a row and took a 5-0 lead. In the 6th game, Mannarino successfully held serve and avoided swallowing eggs. In the 7th game, Zhang Zhizhen scored four points in a row to hold serve strongly, and took the next city 6-1.
In the second set, Mannarino's form improved, and the two sides went back and forth. In the first 6 games, they held serve separately, 3-3. After that, Zhang Zhizhen began to exert his strength, broke the belt and protected it, and won three games in a row, 6-3.
Congratulations to Zhang Zhizhen for making history and advancing to the top 32! The third-round opponent was the winner between 12th seed Shelton of the United States and Russia's Kotov. I wish Zhang Zhizhen to make persistent efforts and continue to create history.
Lucky Shang Cheng
It is worth mentioning that Shang Juncheng, a Chinese teenager who was eliminated in the qualifying round, perfectly interprets the meaning of Saiong's loss of horse and not knowing the meaning of happiness. With No. 13 seed Ember retiring, Shang Juncheng became the lucky loser, replacing Ember's signing and enjoying a first-round bye, while the second-round opponent was Napolitano, a wildcard ranked 125th, who could reach No.88 in the instant ranking if he advanced. It depends on whether the small businessman can catch this splashing wealth, and the refueling business is completed!
Tonight at the WTA1000 Rome station, China's Jinhua will collectively play in the first round of doubles. Wang Xinyu/Zheng Saisai vs Xu Yiman/Watson combination, women's doubles reappeared in the derby. Zhang Shuai/Linette vs Zvonareva/Andreeva. Guo Hanyu/Jiang Xinyu vs wildcard players Moratelli/Rosatello. I wish the Golden Flowers a successful promotion.