CHINA’S SHANG SERVES UP CAREER-BEST TRIUMPH
Teenager stays cool to stun No 3 seed Tiafoe in straight sets to maintain a remarkable run and march into semi-finals of Hong Kong Open today
Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng plans to continue “having a blast” at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open, after reaching the semi-finals with a flawless straight-sets victory over No 3 seed Frances Tiafoe yesterday.
World No 183 Shang, who meets world No 5 Andrey Rublev in the last four today, had not taken a set from Tiafoe in two previous meetings. But the new hero of Victoria Park beat him 6-4, 6-4 and outplayed the American, who created only one break point in the one hour and 29 minutes of the contest.
The 18-year-old had already achieved what he called the “two best wins of my career” to reach the last eight, surviving marathon battles with top-50 players Laslo Djere and Botic van de Zandschulp.
But Florida-based Shang stepped up another level against Tiafoe, breaking once in each set and closing out the match with a volley that clipped the sideline and brought a nearly full Centre Court to its feet.
“To get these amazing wins back in China means a lot to me,” said Shang, who gained prominence by winning four matches to reach the second round of last year’s Australian Open. “Playing in front of these fans is amazing. I have been having a blast this week.
“With my team, I always believed in my tennis, but sometimes not in my body. You can lose a match because of mentality. I am still young and trying to adapt to the professional level.
“Keeping a straight head on court is the most important thing for me. Hopefully, this year I can be a happy kid on court and enjoy the tour.”
Shang captured his first break at 2-2 in the opening set. Tiafoe had already staved off five break points in the match, but sent a backhand long to put Shang in the box seat.
The youngster wrapped up the set in 47 minutes, cannily drawing Tiafoe to the net before leaving his opponent stranded with a flashing cross-court forehand.
Unerringly accurate on both flanks, Shang broke Tiafoe’s resistance with a series of shots that landed plum on the lines. The 25-year-old overhit another backhand for Shang to break and lead 3-2 in the second set, before Tiafoe finally got a look-in on Shang’s precise serve in the following game.
Shang coolly wriggled out of trouble at break point down, and showed admirable composure to complete the best win of his nascent career.
“The first time I played Frances [in the 2023 Australian Open], he played amazingly, I had no chance,” Shang said. “The second time [in Washington in August], I was rushing too much.
“This time, I stayed calm ... he was not doing much damage to me. I thought, ‘If he is too good, I will take that; if he is not, I will find my chance to attack him and move him’.”
Shang will meet Rublev for the first time, after the Russian top seed’s victory over Frenchman Arthur Fils. “He hits the ball pretty hard, the same as my opponents in these three matches ... nothing will change,” Shang said. “I will still be very positive on the court, and hopefully I can continue without thinking too much about the result.”
He received the first fruits of his Hong Kong exploits when Australian Open organisers granted him a wild card into the main draw of this month’s tournament in Melbourne.
“I played my best tennis there, and am going to have fun,” he said.
“I am not changing [ambitions for this year], I will stick to the mindset I had when I came here. I want to win as much as possible, but having fun on court means everything to me.”
Playing in front of these fans is amazing. I have been having a blast this week SHANG JUNCHENG