Shanghai's son shows how far he's come

Zhang Zhizhen takes plenty of positives from impressive run at hometown tournament

A defeat to the same opponent at the same event four years apart — but for China's Zhang Zhizhen the narrative has been very different at the Shanghai Masters this time around.

One win away from matching his career best at an ATP 1000-level tournament, Zhang put on a brave fight against world No 17 Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, yet still came up short in the third-set tiebreaker to lose to the Polish star 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6 (4), in a Tuesday night match that lasted over two and a half hours and finished just past midnight.

The pair had last met in the opening round in Shanghai four years ago, when Zhang, a wild-card entry then, lost in straight sets at Asia's only top-flight ATP tournament, which has returned to the East China metropolis for the first time since 2019.

And while the result didn't go his way again, this time Zhang was a completely different prospect for Hurkacz. Now as the leading light of Chinese men's tennis, Zhang can mix it with the sport's big guns.

Despite missing an opportunity to break into the world's top 50 for the first time, Zhang said he would leave his hometown tournament with nothing but positives.

"Like many times already this year, this narrow miss was good enough for me," said Zhang, a 26-year-old, who in May reached the quarterfinals on clay in Madrid to mark his best run at an ATP Masters.

"My goal this season was to stay within the top 100 by mainly competing on the ATP Tour, which I think I've already achieved. To run for a top-50 spot feels like a bonus so I don't feel any pressure, making it or not.

"Today was close, yet the level I need to hang in there (within the top 50) may be still far. I will have chances, though. For sure I will keep working hard to come back with another try," said Zhang, whose No 52 ranking in July is the highest a Chinese player has ever made it in the ATP rankings.

With Zhang enjoying all the crowd support, Hurkacz had to bring out his best tennis on the stadium court of Qizhong Tennis Center to fend off his surging opponent. The Pole hit 25 forehand winners and fired 16 aces on his way to reaching the last eight at an ATP Masters event for the second time this year.

The former world No 9 said his opponent's improvement from their meeting four years ago was obvious.

"Zhang was playing some really amazing tennis. It was a battle," Hurkacz said of the match, during which there were no breaks of serve in the first and final sets.

"It was a good couple of years ago, but, yeah, I mean, he improved his game incredibly. Yeah, just really great improvement from his side. If he continues to improve like this, you know, only great results are going to come for him."

With a tall build similar to most of his Western counterparts, Zhang has taken his game up a gear this year. He already had big serves and aggressive forehands in the arsenal, but now he allies his power to a greater resilience, tactical maturity and mental toughness.

All those elements were on display during his impressive claycourt swing this year, including the Madrid campaign and a run to an ATP 500 semifinal in Germany in July.

He also notched his first win over a top-five opponent, beating Norway's Casper Ruud in a five-set thriller in the second round of the US Open. The loss to Hurkacz ended an eight-match win streak that included a run to claiming China's first Asian Games men's singles gold in 29 years.

With his face adorning posters all over the tennis center in Shanghai's southern suburbs and fans swarming to his every practice session, Zhang admitted he's still not quite used to the star treatment.

"I used to be here only as a wildcard holder or for the qualifiers, but I am here this year because I belonged in the field due to my ranking. And I've managed to win a couple of matches. So the overall experience was hugely different but a wonderful one," said Zhang, who had never won a set in his previous six matches in Shanghai from 2012-19.

With organizers implementing a major upgrade, this year's tournament gained "Super Masters" status as Shanghai celebrates 25 years of men's pro tennis in the city.

Staged over two weeks, the tournament this year features an expanded 96-player singles draw with organizer Juss Event delivering on its promise of promoting world-class tennis in the city, which landed its first pro tournament in 1998.

Shanghai organizers have also renovated Qizhong Tennis Center by expanding the players' area and refurbishing the gym and locker rooms, while more grassroots promotions and interactive activities have enhanced the fan experience.

"China is a very big market and tennis is a global sport," ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said in Shanghai. "Our presence here in China is really important for us because we want tennis to become a popular sport in the entire world."

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn