On May 14, the 1/8 finals of the ATP1000 Rome Masters ended with a key battle, and China's Zhang Zhizhen performed well, defeating clay master Monteiro 7-6, 7-, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters. This is the first time Zhang Zhizhen has reached the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, and has made another big breakthrough, and the world ranking has reached a new high of 42nd.
Zhang, ranked 56th in the world, exploded again in this tournament, beating Gran, Mannalino and Shelton in quick succession to advance to the round of 16. In the fourth round, Zhang Zhizhen's opponent was clay expert Monteiro. Monteiro defeated Monfils, Thompson and Kecmanovic in successive matches to advance to the round of 16. The two sides were evenly matched in this match, with the official odds given at 1.91 for both sides.
In the first set, Zhang Zhizhen missed three break points in the first game and failed to complete the break. In the next 12 games, both sides successfully held serve, and the score came to 6-6. In the tie-break, Zhang Zhizhen exploded after 4-4, won 3 points in a row to win 7-4, and successfully won the first set.
In this set, both sides served quite well, Zhang Zhizhen hit 6 aces, and Monteiro also had 5. The key to Zhang's victory was the key moment at the last moment, and the opportunity was well grasped.
In the second set, Zhang Zhizhen's service form declined, and he struggled to hold serve after saving break points in the first and third games, and the score came to 3-2. In the sixth game, Zhang Zhizhen broke serve with four straight points, and the score came to 4-2. In the next two games, both sides held their serves, and the score came to 5-3. In the 9th game, Zhang Zhizhen easily completed the hold, won 6-3, won 2-0, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
This is Zhang's first time reaching the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, and it is also his second Masters quarterfinals. After this victory, Zhang Zhizhen will get 200 points and win a bonus of 161995 euros, fame and fortune. Zhang Zhizhen's ranking will reach a new high, ranking 42nd, once again refreshing the new high of China's men's singles ranking.
In the quarterfinals, Zhang Zhizhen's opponent is the No. 29 seed Tabilo, and Zhang Zhizhen will be very hopeful of advancing to the semifinals and refresh the history of Chinese men's tennis.