SHENZHEN, November 3, 2019
Zhizhen Zhang of China took the title of the Shenzhen Longhua Open. The No. 8 seed of the $135,400 ATP Challenger event, held at the Mission Hills Sport & Eco Park Tennis Center, emerged victorious from the all-Chinese title match against Zhe Li on Sunday.
Zhang advanced to the championship match with wins over Goncalo Oliveira of Portugal, Borna Gojo from Croatia, Japanese Go Soeda and Portuguese Frederico Ferreira Silva. The World No. 185 struck nine aces and won 85 per cent of his first-service points to secure a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory in one hour and 42 minutes. Zhang claimed his second ATP Challenger title following his maiden triumph on home soil in Jinan.
Zhang Zhizhen is the champion in Shenzhen!
The first ever all-Chinese 🇨🇳 Challenger championship goes to the Shanghai native 63 46 61 over Li Zhe. pic.twitter.com/WIZemsnqEp
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 3, 2019
“I’m really happy,” said Zhang, quoted by the ATP Challenger Tour website. “I didn’t think I would get it this week, so it’s very nice for me. It’s never easy to play him and he played really good in second set. Barely made any unforced errors in return games. I managed to get the momentum back in the third set and adjust my mindset in the right place.
“I am very happy with this win and it seems like I always play well in Shenzhen. This city has become my special place. This title also helps me reach my goal for this season (Top 150). So lots of pressure released from my shoulder now. It is never easy to win any Challenger title.”
