Chengdu
#NextGenATP Shang reaches ultimate in Chengdu, performs Musetti
19-year-old turns into second Chinese language ATP Tour finalist in historical past
September 23, 2024
Chengdu opened
Shang Juncheng beat Yannick Hanfmann within the semi-finals of the Chengdu Open on Monday.
By ATP employees
Shang Juncheng confirmed his house followers once more why he’s a rising star for Chinese language tennis on Monday on the Chengdu Open.
The #NextGenATP star defeated Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 6-4 on the ATP 250 in his house nation to succeed in his first ATP Tour championship match. Shang used his left forehand to tug his opponent throughout the courtroom of their first Lexus ATP Head2Head conflict, breaking Hanfmann’s serve as soon as in every set en path to an 89th-minute victory.
“A number of feelings tonight,” mentioned the 19-year-old Shang. “I performed actually good tennis to get some breaks on his serve and general I simply performed stable tennis. I used to be very calm in my head and loved the gang.”
Simply a youngster making historical past 🇨🇳✨
Shang turns into the second ever finalist for the Chinese language ATP Tour after he impressively defeated Hanfmann 6-4 6-4!@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen photo.twitter.com/WAvJENVrPS
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 23, 2024
Shang turned solely the second Chinese language man to succeed in a tour-level ultimate, after 2023 Dallas champion Wu Yibing. Zhang Zhizhen quickly turned the third on that record after beating one other Chinese language participant, Buyunchaokete, within the semi-finals of the Hangzhou Open afterward Monday.
“We’re doing significantly better on the boys’s aspect,” Shang mentioned, when requested about being half of the present wave of Chinese language ATP Tour stars. “The ladies’s aspect, they have been so good previously. I am simply blissful that we are able to make some breakthroughs… I am simply specializing in myself to change into a greater participant as a result of I do know it is a lengthy highway to go if you wish to be among the finest.”
After dropping his first two ATP Tour semifinals in Hong Kong (vs. Rublev) and Atlanta (vs. Thompson) earlier this yr, Shang was proactive in his bid to keep away from one other disappointment within the final 4. He hit the ball with intent all through the match and confirmed little nerve in closing out a victory by which he didn’t face a break level, in accordance with Infosys ATP Stats.
Shang has cemented his place in third place within the PIF ATP Reside Race To Jeddah because of his dream run on house soil. The 19-year-old now trails second-placed Alex Michelsen by simply 68 factors as he chases a debut look on the season-ending Subsequent Gen ATP Finals offered by PIF. He’ll look to surpass Michelsen to complete in second place when he lifts the trophy in Chengdu.
Shang awaits top-seeded Lorenzo Musetti within the championship match, who shall be seeking to take the ultimate step in the direction of the winner’s ring for the third time in 2024.
Musetti defeated qualifier Alibek Kachmazov 6-4, 6-2 to succeed in the championship match in Chengdu. The Italian, who additionally reached the tour-level finals at Queen’s Membership and Umag this yr, held on regardless of a variety of clear baseline hits from his opponent.
Regardless of the one-sided nature of the scoreline, it took Musetti one hour and 42 minutes to finish the fairytale run of Kachmazov, who had not dropped a set all week in Chengdu (together with qualifying) main as much as the match. The Italian saved all three break factors he confronted, in accordance with Infosys ATP Stats, en path to his private finest thirty seventh tour-level victory of the yr.
“He was stable, he was actually spectacular from the start, and it wasn’t straightforward to interrupt him or to carry the serve,” Musetti mentioned in his on-court interview. “I feel it was one in every of my finest performances on serve to this point and I am very proud of it. I am very blissful to be within the ultimate.”
Reaching his fifth ATP Tour ultimate this week in Chengdu has boosted Musetti’s probabilities of a late run at a Nitto ATP Finals debut in 2024. The 22-year-old remains to be fifteenth within the PIF ATP Reside Race To Turin however is now simply 855 factors behind eighth-seeded Alex de Minaur.
Regardless of the semi-final defeat, the 22-year-old Kakhmazov has climbed 73 spots to No. 179 within the PIF ATP Reside Rankings and can look to climb to a private finest within the PIF ATP Rankings on Wednesday after his run in Chengdu, defeating High 100 opponents Aleksandar Kovacevic, Taro Daniel and Nicolas Jarry in the principle draw.