ATP Tour

Home favourite Buyunchaokete completes Zheng revenge job in Hangzhou

Buyunchaokete rode home support to his first ATP Tour victory of the season on Thursday at the AITO Hangzhou Open, where the Chinese star overcame fast-rising American Michael Zheng in straight sets.

The 24-year-old Buyunchaokete prevailed 6-4, 6-3 in the opening-round encounter at the ATP 250 event in his homeland, completing a successful revenge mission after Zheng had won their second-round clash at the US Open last month. He won 85 per cent (29/34) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and crucially saved six of the seven break points he faced.

“I just followed my plan,” Buyunchaokete said in his on-court interview. “We know each other well. He beat me at the US Open and that hurt me a bit. I’m happy to be here and I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the match, but I tried to find my rhythm and I got revenge.

“I’m happy to come back home after a long time not playing in front of the fans here. It’s my first win this year at home so I’m very happy for that.”

Buyunchaokete, a former No. 64 player in the PIF ATP Rankings whose only previous tour-level win of 2026 was a stunning straight-sets victory against Rafael Jodar in the US Open first round, will take on Kamil Majchrzak next in Hangzhou. The eighth-seeded Majchrzak downed Mattia Bellucci 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match.

In other first-round action, Jaime Faria saved two match points in the second-set tie-break before overcoming Terence Atmane 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-4. The 23-year-old Portuguese Faria, who is seeded at an ATP Tour event for the first time in Hangzhou, next plays Hugo Gaston, a 6-4, 6-4 winner against Sho Shimabukuro.

Also on Thursday, Coleman Wong and Adolfo Daniel Vallejo each defeated a home favourite with their first-round victories. Hong Kong star Wong eased past Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-3, while Vallejo won his first professional match on Chinese soil by edging Cui Jie 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-4. The fifth-seeded Vallejo and Wong will face off in the second round, in what will be the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.