Nats’s historical victory in Shanghai, his first against the top ten players – Tennis Now
The reaction is pure and joyful. Achievement is undeniable.
In Shanghai, another great moment for Chinese tennis, 20-year-old Juncheng Shanghai won his first top ten victory in his first career with Karen Khachanov 7-6 (3).
The Chinese brought it to the tiebreak through the opening ceremony (he broke up, then broke up). The second set was even dead until Khachanov missed a wide sideline volley and smashed the ball into the ether, committing a code violation.
Then, Zhou Zhongyu won the victory.
“Today’s game against Karen is incredible. He’s a very solid top 10 player,” Zhou said. “I didn’t start perfectly in the game, but I’ve been fighting and always focused, and I’m very happy whether I win or lose.”
By doing so, the world number 237 (formerly No. 47) became the youngest Chinese player ever in Shanghai and maintained three consecutive games in Shanghai. Zhang Zhizhen reached the fourth round in 2023, while Wu Yibing reached the third round last year before falling into Carlos Alcaraz.
It was a tough year for Xiang’s year, who suffered a right foot injury at the Australian Open and had to undergo surgery in March. He ranks 50th, but after six months off, he returned to Canada outside the top 100 this summer.
Zhou was 0-6 before winning No. 10 Khakanov, who was in the top ten and is now the fourth Chinese in history to beat the top ten players, as well as Wu, Zhang and Bu Yunchaokete, all of which have been in the past three years.
Shang’s grandmother attended the meeting, and Shang said she was trying to give him tactical advice from her seat.
“I’m glad I didn’t listen to her, but I’m glad to have family here and it’s incredible to have them watching them.”
Asked how he ended the game so calmly, he said:
“I think overall, I just don’t think too much, sometimes the winner doesn’t think,” he said. “For a player like Karen, you probably have only one chance to turn it off. If I don’t, it could be a wear and tear in the third group, you’ll never know. I’m glad I kept the focus.”
