Shang Juncheng and Zhang Zizhen nearly made it a Chinese double of titles on Tuesday when they respectively contested the Chengdu and Hangzhou crowns in front of partisan home crowds.
But it was Shang who was successful when he beat the top seeded Lorenzo Musteti of Italy, 7-6(4) 6-1 to become the second Chinese male player to win an ATP Tour title following Wu Yibing’s success in Dallas last year.
The 19-year-old showed plenty of promise as he outhit and then dominated with his serve, the Italian who, this season, was a finalist at Queen’s and Umag, who failed to add to his country’s mounting tally of titles won this year by Jannik Sinner (6), Luciano Darderi (1) and Matteo Berrettini (3).
In his run to the title the popular Shang dispatched Japan’s Kei Nishikori, the eighth seeded Russian, Roman Safiullin, the second seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan and Germany’s Yannik Hanfmann and then produced a stunning 99-minute performance in the final itself.
“It’s really, really special for me,” Shang said. “Especially to do it at home. It’s been tough matches this week. I’ve played really good tennis, kept calm, and overall, I’m just very happy to be here in Chengdu.”
Marin Cilic picks up his 21st title
(Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images)
Meanwhile Zhang’s attempt at joining his compatriot with title No.2 on the day, was foiled by the veteran Croat Marin Cilic who kept his nerve in the hostile environment to outlast him 7-6(5) 7-6(5).
The 35-year-old wild card was competing in his first tour-level event since Buenos Aires in February and arrived in Hangzhou at No. 777 in the world rankings, but the former to-tenner looked sharp throughout the week dropping just two sets to become the lowest-ranked champion in the ATP Tour’s history.
“Thank you to my family, my boys, my wife. Everyone who has been with me in this difficult period,” Cilic said during the trophy ceremony. “Working with me day by day, pushing me and giving me strength and spirit. I am so happy and proud to make this victory not only for me but for them too.”
“It has been a difficult period for me in the past few months. I lost my ranking, and I didn’t play too much,” Cilic added. “So a big thank you to the organising team for giving me the opportunity [with the wild card].”
It was also his 21st career title, his 16th on hardcourts and first since 2021 having missed several months off the tour in 2024 for knee surgery.
Zhang was competing in his first tour-level final and was trying to become just the third Chinese man to lift a trophy on the tour.
Meanwhile Alexander Zverev has withdrawn from the China Open in Beijing which starts this week.
The German has not revealed why he has made the decision but cited an illness during last weekend’s Laver Cup in which he made a major contribution to Europe regaining the Trophy.
The Beijing draw will be made later Tuesday with the No. 1 player Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, leading the field which also includes Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, last year’s finalist.
Also starting play on Wednesday is Japan Open in Tokyo which is headed by Taylor Fritz and includes Britain’s No.1 Jack Draper.
