China News Service, Beijing, March 8th (Liu Xingchen) On the morning of the 8th Beijing time, the final round of the qualifying round of the ATP1000 Indian Wells Masters staged the Chinese Derby. Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng met in the final round.
In the end, after 3 rounds of competition, Zhang Zhizhen defeated Shang Juncheng 2:1 and won the main match seat of this Masters.
The scores of the three rounds were: 6(10):7, 6:3, 7:6(5).
From left to right: Wu Yibing, Shang Juncheng, Zhang Zhizhen.
Image source: Zhang Zhizhen Weibo
In this event, Shang Chengcheng's opponent in the first round of qualifying is Japanese player Yosuke Watanuki.
The former took nearly 2 hours and won the game with two tie-break victories.
Zhang Zhizhen faced Sweden's Immel in the first round. After winning 6:3, he also won the second set through a tie-break.
When Shang Chengcheng advanced to the final round of the qualifying round, Zhang Zhizhen had not yet confirmed his promotion, but Shang Chengcheng was sure that he would meet his teammates: "I really believe in his strength. He will definitely be able to break through Immel's. I will join forces." Talking about the Chinese Derby before the game, the young Shang Juncheng was looking forward to it, "I trained with him once, this must be a very interesting game, and I am also looking forward to it. I will definitely go all out, and I also believe that I can win this victory.”
And Zhang Zhizhen also talked about this word, "expectation".
Just as the two promised before the game, this Chinese derby did not disappoint the outside world.
Image source: ATP Tour Weibo
Focus on the game, wonderful duel
In this game, the young Shang Chengcheng took the lead in entering the state. He broke serve at the beginning and took a 2:0 lead.
Since then, the two sides have taken the lead alternately, and the first set ended in a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Shang Juncheng was behind 4:6.
But he chased tenaciously in the next few rounds, and the two once fought to a 10:10 tie. After missing several sets in a row, Shang Chengcheng seized the opportunity to take the lead with 7:6 (10).
In the second set, Zhang Zhizhen recovered and took a 3:1 lead after breaking serve at the start.
In the end, he equalized the total score 6:3.
In the deciding set, the competition between the two sides was fierce in the third game.
After several rounds of entanglement, Shang Chengcheng secured the victory.
After that, Shang Chengcheng completed the key guarantee in the 9th inning and took a 5:4 lead.
But in the ensuing game, Zhang Zhizhen worked hard to save the match points consecutively, dragging the game into the tie-break again.
In the tie-break, Zhang Zhizhen once took a 6:1 lead. After that, Shang Chengcheng saved four match points, but finally lost with regret.
A fierce battle that took 3 hours and 1 minute ended with the victory of the more experienced Zhang Zhizhen.
Image source: ATP website screenshot
The Chinese Derby, the long-awaited
Due to the absence of both Djokovic and Nadal, the attention of this ATP1000 Indian Wells Masters is slightly lower than before.
But Chinese tennis fans are happy.
The Chinese Derby, as far as the Chinese men's tennis team is concerned, has been an unattainable vocabulary in the international arena for a long time in the past.
With the rise of a new generation of Chinese men's tennis players, such scenes may happen frequently in the future.
Image source: Screenshot of netizens’ comments
At the Australian Open earlier this year, Wu Yibing, Zhang Zhizhen, and Shang Juncheng played together in the men's singles arena. It was the first time since the Open Era that three men's singles players from mainland China participated in the Grand Slam.
At that time, Shang Juncheng defeated German player Ott 3:1 in the first round, won the first Grand Slam main match, and became the first male player from mainland China to advance to the second round of the Australian Open.
A layer of window paper was pierced.
Shang Juncheng (2nd from left), Wu Yibing (3rd from left).
Image source: Wu Yibing Weibo
Chinese men's net, against the wind
Turning the time back to more than 20 days ago, in the final of the ATP250 tour in Dallas, facing the American star Isner, who ranked much higher than himself, Wu Yibing defeated his opponent in three rounds and won the tour championship for the first time in his career.
It was the first time a male singles player from mainland China won the singles championship on the ATP Tour.
At this time, many people began to realize that the Chinese men's net, which has been silent for a long time, is ushering in a new era.
As of the 8th Beijing time, Wu Yibing ranked 67th in the world, and Zhang Zhizhen ranked 93rd.
The two are moving towards a higher goal.
Image source: ATP website screenshot
Image source: ATP website screenshot
Wu Yibing broke into the third round of the U.S. Open, creating the best record of a male player from mainland China in the Grand Slam; Shang Chengcheng, who was only 17 years old, became the youngest male tennis player among the top 200 in the world after turning to the professional arena... …
Over the past year or so, the progress of Chinese men's tennis is obvious to all.
Before the Chinese Derby, the ATP Tour officially set up a poll, inviting fans to guess which Chinese player can win.
A fan left a message: "Whoever wins is a happy event."
Indeed, the encounter of Chinese players in the international arena has already reflected the improvement of their strength from the side.
It is undoubtedly good news for the Chinese men's tennis team to be able to accumulate experience through competitions and further stabilize and improve the world rankings.
Data map: Wu Yibing in the game
Today, the Chinese men's net is steadily rising.
Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen once talked about the battles of several Chinese players. In their view, mutual competition and encouragement are important reasons for their continuous breakthroughs.
In the eyes of Chinese women's singles star Zhang Shuai, the progress of Chinese men's tennis in recent years also surprised her.
"I started participating in the Australian Open from the youth tournament. At that time, I didn't see any Chinese male players. This year, young players like Shang Chengcheng even made it to the adult group. This also shows the progress and development of Chinese tennis It is so fast that people are full of hope for the future.”
After this Chinese Derby, many people said that this is the collective victory of the Chinese men's tennis.
The three players have the opportunity to train together, enjoy the fun brought by tennis together, and realize their dreams together... In the future, there may be younger players fighting side by side with them.
There is no doubt that after many years of dormancy, the Chinese men's net is ushering in a hopeful era.
(over)