At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, Chinese tennis continued to perform strongly.
At the ATP 250 Hong Kong Open on January 1, teenager Shang Juncheng faced world No. 33 Jerre of Serbia in the first round of the tournament, where he reversed his opponent 2-1 to advance to the second round.
Shang Juncheng in the game.
This is the first time that Shang Juncheng has beaten a world ranked top 40 opponent, and he has made a good start to the new season with a milestone victory.
On the other side, in the United Cup, the Chinese team led by Zhang Zhizhen and Zheng Qinwen also locked in the quarterfinals in advance - the 2024 season of Chinese tennis is the first to be lucky.
Shang Juncheng celebrates the victory.
Fighting locally, Shang Juncheng created personal history.
For Shang Juncheng, the 2023 season just past, his performance in China was not good - he was out of the first round of the three tours in Beijing, Shanghai and Zhuhai.
But in the new season, he played at home again, and he surprised all the spectators.
In the first round of the ATP250 Hong Kong Open on New Year's Day, Shang Juncheng, ranked 183rd in the world, and Serbian star Jerre, ranked 33rd in the world, met in a narrow way.
However, the process of the game was beyond people's expectations.
In the first set, the two sides fought to tie-break, and Shang Juncheng unfortunately lost when he once led 5-3. In the next two sets, Shang Juncheng became more and more courageous, first equalizing the score 6-3 in the second set, and then winning in the deciding set.
Serbian star Djere.
The tie-break in the third set was a classic battle - Shang Juncheng saved two match points and cashed in on his second match point to win the game.
This match also created a milestone in Shang's career - it was his first domestic tour victory, and it was also the first time he defeated a top 40 player in his career.
It was the biggest win of my career so far. In his post-match interview, Shang Juncheng's excitement was palpable, "With so many people supporting me and my most important family, everything is very special. ”
I've had a tough 2023 season and to be able to enter the new season with such a great win makes me look forward to the road ahead and hopefully I can perform at my best this year." Shang Juncheng said.
Take advantage of flexibility to the fullest.
As Shang Juncheng said, in the past year, his tennis career has been full of ups and downs.
From reaching the second round of the Australian Open at the beginning of the year and making a major breakthrough in his career, to being forced to leave the court temporarily due to injury, to the poor performance of the Chinese season due to fitness problems, ......He turned 19 in February and is in the throes of adapting to the senior game.
But in the face of various problems, Shang Juncheng chose to adjust in a positive way.
After making a new career history, Shang Juncheng also revealed his situation in the preparation period for the new season - he said that he focused more on movement and flexibility training than strength training in the offseason, and even lost 4-5 kilograms of weight.
Shang Juncheng, who was not physically strong, chose a somewhat unexpected training path, which was a trade-off he made after careful consideration.
Now it's 73 kilograms, which can only be considered a lightweight. After all, there are a lot of big players on the tour, and I can't be them, so I still hope to make the most of my more flexible advantages, which will better help me to take the initiative in the game, and I think it should be the right direction. He said after the game.
At least from the debut of the new season, everything is on track, "I haven't played for a while, so I still need to continue to rely on games. But at least I was in very good physical condition for this match, and although it was a long three-set match, I was fit. ”
When you think right, you can do things right.
In fact, at the beginning of the new tennis season every year, Shang Juncheng can bring surprises.
At the Indian Wells Masters in March 2022, Shang Juncheng participated in the qualifying tournament with a wild card and successfully broke through, becoming the first Chinese mainland male tennis player to break through from the Masters qualifying tournament since the Open era.
At the 2023 Australian Open, Shang Juncheng once again advanced all the way from the qualifying round and went to the second round of the main event.
Although he is not very old, he has already experienced a lot of ups and downs in the professional tennis world, and his mentality has become quite calm. He revealed a small habit of himself, that is, to assign himself a "small homework" every day.
When I wake up, I write down a small goal for the day on my phone, which is something as simple as it can be done, such as not getting angry, not complaining, etc. ”
On the day of the beat, he wrote "enjoy every moment of the game" – the right thing to do is when you think right. Shang Juncheng said.
Shang Juncheng thanked the fans at the scene.
However, while focusing on his own game, Shang Juncheng did not forget to pay attention to another battlefield in the Chinese tennis world - the United Cup.
In the group stage, the Chinese team led by Zhang Zhizhen and Zheng Qinwen defeated the Czech Republic 3-0 and lost to Serbia 1-2, and has ensured that they will advance to the quarterfinals.
Especially in the competition with the Serbian team, Chinese men's tennis star Zhang Zhizhen and Djokovic played against each other, although they lost, but it was also a valuable experience, "The gap is indeed there, but half of it is that I put too much pressure on myself." Zhang Zhizhen said frankly after the game.
In a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency, Djokovic also praised the rapid progress of Chinese tennis, "Chinese athletes have achieved great success in women's tennis, and now men's tennis players are also working hard to reach the top 100 and top 50 rankings in the world, and I support all Chinese players." ”
Nowadays, whether it is in the singles arena or the team arena, whether it is a backbone like Zhang Zhizhen or a new generation of young players like Shang Juncheng, they are all working their respective battlefields.
The 2024 season of Chinese tennis is promising.
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