Regina Cortina
Shang Juncheng justified his wild card billing with a rollercoaster triumph over World No. 33 Laslo Djere at The Bank Of China Hong Kong Tennis Open 2024 on Monday.
The sold-out crowd witnessed the Chinese teenager save two match points in the third-set tie-break, before closing out a memorable 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(8) victory in just under three hours.
"It’s probably the biggest win of my career so far," stated the 18-year-old #NextGenATP star.
"It’s really special, having so many fans coming here to support me. I also have my family here, so that means the world to me. I had a pretty rough 2023 and coming into this season with this amazing win makes me look forward to what's next. I just hope I can move on to play this best tennis in 2024."
His second match point save at 7/8 in the decisive tie-break was a scintillating point, closed out by two crafty overheads. However, the teenager was unaware of his heroics.
“I did not realise I had saved two match points until I was on the bike with my team after, and my coach talked about that overhead," admitted the World No. 183 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. "That was pretty special."
Shang, the youngest player in the draw, clinched the timely morale boost with his first win since August. This feel-good factor could provide his season springboard.
"Definitely can launch me. I was looking at the rankings and Laslo is a very consistent Top 50 player," added Shang.
"I remember watching him at the US Open playing [Novak] Djokovic, two sets to love up he was playing an unbelievable level, he's a great player, a great guy. So I'm really happy. It’s just an unbelievable experience to be here."
'Jerry' is feeling in fine fettle as a result of a heavy off-season, including acclimatising practice and fitness sessions in Melbourne, the location of the upcoming Australian Open.
Shang will shoot for the quarter-finals against World No. 50 Botic van de Zandschulp. The Dutchman found his groove to oust Japanese youngster Shintaro Mochizuki 7-5, 6-1.
This time last year Emil Ruusuvuori fell in straight sets to Benjamin Bonzi during his season opener in Pune, India.
Twelve months on and the Finn flipped the script with a gritty 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 scoreline over the World No. 73.
"It kind of feels like revenge," said Ruusuvuori. "I'm very happy with my mental performance today.
"Last year he started sharper than me, hit bigger than me in the beginning. Same today, it was 0-3 pretty quick. My level wasn't there, but I slowly got my hands on the match and some tight errors cost me in the tie-break. Then I had a very good two sets.
"This time I managed to turn it around and mentally that's something to be proud of, but I also have to better in the starts. There's always something to learn."
The 24-year-old advances to try and take down No. 2 seed Karen Khachanov at the third attempt. Their most recent battle at Doha 2022 finished 7-6(4), 6-3 in the World No. 15's favour.
"I like that I come into this with one match and he hasn't played yet. I've lost twice, but the goal is to turn that. He's a hell of a player, strong physically, strong mentally, on all surfaces, so we'll have to make a good plan.
"I've had one of my best pre-seasons. The body feels good, the mind feels good. It's great to have that in the background for a top match like this."
Earlier on Monday, World No. 67 Pavel Kotov downed Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4.
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