Overseas battles are no longer difficult, Chinese men's tennis has opened the "road to winning"

　　On August 8th, Beijing time, the Chinese men's tennis day ushered in the championship day.

At the ATP Challenger Tournament in Lexington, USA, Shang Juncheng, a 17-year-old Chinese teenager, defeated Gomez and won the first ATP Challenger Championship trophy in his career.

At the ATP Challenger Tournament in Cordenon, Italy, Zhang Zhizhen won the third title in his career and the first overseas challenge title.

Since the beginning of the new season, under the encouragement of Wu Yibing winning three consecutive challenges, Shang Juncheng and Zhang Zhizhen have also found their own "road to winning".

　　Fighting overseas is no longer difficult

　　Before the championship day of the China Men's Net, 25-year-old Zhang Zhizhen and 17-year-old Shang Juncheng each fought in different corners of the professional tennis landscape.

As they each have a foothold overseas for training and rehabilitation, they also gain the ability to continuously fight abroad.

　　Shang Juncheng takes the United States as a training base, and is accompanied by a team including his father Shang Yi for training, rehabilitation and competition.

In the Lexington final of the ATP Challenger Tournament, Shang Juncheng defeated his opponent in two sets, but he injured his side abdominal muscles before, and the game was full of hardships.

"Today's game is actually not easy, because the opponent has just won the championship of the challenge, and he is more confident." Shang Juncheng introduced after the game, "For both sides, this game is particularly difficult, because Both of them are basically exhausted. I think the best part of today's performance is being very calm and able to concentrate and know what to do better than before."

　　Similar to Shang Juncheng, Zhang Zhizhen participated in the ATP Challenger Tour in Italy's Cordenon Station, which is very close to his tennis training base in Ljubicic, a small island in Croatia.

This also helped him maintain good physical fitness and condition during overseas battles.

In the final, after losing the first set 2-6, Zhang Zhizhen grabbed the score in the second set and won the tiebreaker to tie the game.

Since then, Zhang Zhizhen's physical fitness has prevailed, and he won the final victory 6-3.

This is also the first time that Zhang Zhizhen has won the Challenge Championship overseas in his career, which is of great significance.

　　Continuous battle to grow independently

　　The 2022 season is the fastest career improvement for the three Chinese men's tennis players.

Shang Juncheng won his first personal challenge championship; Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing each got out of the trough, and with their victories in overseas battles, they successfully locked in the qualifications to play in the US Open qualifiers.

Shang Juncheng also won the favor of the former world number one Rios with his performance.

　　The victory at Lexington Station allowed Xiaoshang to set a number of new tennis records.

Shang Juncheng became the first post-05 player to win the ATP Challenger Tour, and the ninth youngest active ATP Challenger Champion.

After earning 80 points, Shang Juncheng's ranking in the latest issue was raised to 241st. He became the only player under the age of 18 among the TOP500 players and the only player under the age of 19 among the TOP250 players.

　　For players like Xiaoshang who have just transitioned from the youth arena, every match of the ATP Challenger Tournament is a challenge and an opportunity.

Shang Juncheng was fortunate to be favored by former world No. 1 player Rios.

It is reported that Xiaoshang once privately stated that one of the players he admires most is Rios.

Now the former Chilean world No. 1 also said that he is most optimistic about the potential of small businesses. For this reason, he has come to the United States and started to guide the completion of the business.

　　On Zhang Zhizhen's side, after winning the first overseas ATP Challenger Championship, his world ranking came to 161, and he became the highest-ranked player in the Chinese Men's Open again.

Wu Yibing, who is preparing for the US Open qualifiers in the United States, also praised and cheered on the two champions on Weibo.

The overseas training and competition mode of the three players is expected to continue to push up the world ranking of the Chinese Men's Open.

　　At present, Zhang Zhizhen does not have his own team, but he can be well taken care of in Ljubicic's training base.

Zhang Zhizhen also said that as the results of the competition get better and better, he believes that the day when he will complete the team will not be far away.

　　Facing a new career start

　　Shang Juncheng, Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen have already achieved great success in the 2022 season.

For now, the results they have achieved promise to usher in a new chapter in their careers for the trio.

　　For Shang Juncheng, transforming into a professional player as a top young player requires the tempering of the challenge and the polishing of a good coach.

Shang Juncheng is going through such a process.

Speaking of this week's game in Lexington, Xiaoshang said that he has gained in every game.

Xiaoshang said that his training with Rios in recent days has helped him improve his confidence.

"I have trained with Rios for a few days, and I have gained a lot. The most important thing is to improve my self-confidence. He affirmed many of my ideas, including the use of some techniques and tactics."

　　The next chapter of Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen's career may start at the US Open.

Previously, Wu Yibing won three consecutive ATP Challenger Championships, ranked among the top 200 in the world, and also locked in the qualifications for the US Open.

Zhang Zhizhen participated in the challenge in Europe and also achieved great success.

At present, his ranking has reached 161, reaching a new height in China Men's Net.

　　At present, Wu Yibing has begun to prepare for the US Open.

The US Open also has a special meaning for Wu Yibing.

In 2017, Wu Yibing defeated Axel Geller in the US Open Junior Men's Singles final to win the championship.

After that, he partnered with Xu Yuxiu to win the men's doubles championship, becoming the second U.S. Open junior double champion in history and the first Grand Slam junior men's singles champion in mainland China.

With this championship trophy, Wu Yibing topped the world number one in the youth world.

　　It is a pity that after Wu Yibing turned into a professional player, there were injuries and other situations, and his state returned to a low point.

In the 2022 season, Wu Yibing regrouped and obtained the qualification to return to the US Open through the rankings in one fell swoop.

Looking forward to the next US Open qualifiers, Wu Yibing made a bold statement saying: "The US Open is the place where my youth career ended, and now it may become the place where I start a new chapter in my career." I wish the Chinese men's tennis players a smooth start to their respective careers new chapter.

　　Text/Photo courtesy of our reporter Chu Peng/Visual China