On May 14, Beijing time, in the 4th round of the men's singles of the 2024 ATP1000 Rome Masters, China's first brother Zhang Zhizhen faced off against Monteiro, a dark horse player in the Brazilian qualifiers. Zhang Zhizhen won the first set 7-6 (4) tie-break, and won another set 6-3 in the second set, and finally Zhang Zhizhen defeated Monteiro 2-0 on aggregate, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters for the first time in his career, and will face the "Djokovic" Chilean left-hander Tabilo in the quarterfinals (swept Djokovic 2-0 in this tournament).
First, Zhang Zhizhen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters for the first time in his career.
Second, Zhang Zhizhen became the first player in the history of Chinese men's tennis to advance to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters.
Third, Zhang Zhizhen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Masters for the second time in his career.
Fourth, Zhang Zhizhen became the fourth Chinese player in the history of the Roma 1000 to advance to the quarterfinals, the first three being Li Na, Zhang Shuai and Zheng Qinwen.
Fifth, Zhang Zhizhen's instant ranking rose to 42nd in the world, setting a new career high.
China's No. 1 brother Zhang Zhizhen had suffered three consecutive singles defeats before the Rome Masters, but he ushered in a strong recovery in this tournament. Zhang Zhizhen eliminated Garland with a total score of 2-0 in the first round, eliminated No. 19 seed Mannarino with a total score of 2-0 in the second round, and continued to upset No. 12 seed Shelton with a total score of 2-0 in the third round.
Now Zhang Zhizhen is facing Monteiro, the dark horse of the qualifying tournament, in the fourth round of the men's singles, becoming the first time in his career that the two sides have met. In the first set of this match, Zhang Zhizhen and Monteiro started a long service battle mode, and both sides held serve in the first 12 games, and the two were never able to complete the break battle to a 6-6 draw.
When it came to the tie-break, Zhang Zhizhen scored three points in a row after 4-4 to win the tie-break 7-4 and win the first set 7-6 (4).
Entering the second set, Zhang Zhizhen and Monteiro still held serve in the first four games to maintain a 2-2 draw. Zhang Zhizhen continued to hold serve in the fifth game and took the lead in the sixth game to complete the break, and Zhang Zhizhen continued to suppress Monteiro to hold serve again, and has extended the lead to 5-2. Monteiro held serve in the 8th game, and Zhang Zhizhen won the serve game in the 9th game to win another set 6-3, and finally swept Monteiro 2-0 on aggregate, successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, and continued to make Chinese men's tennis history.