CHENGDU, September 21, 2024 (Press Release)
China’s rising star Shang Juncheng thrilled home fans with a superb come-from-behind victory over Roman Safiullin, defeating last year’s finalist 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 18 minutes in tonight’s featured Centre Court match at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre.
In a closely contested battle, the 19-year-old world No. 67 stayed composed when needed and aggressive when required, saving six of nine break points and converting five of eight to advance to his fourth career quarterfinal, all achieved this season.
Quarter-final bound 🤩
Shang comes through a brilliant match to defeat Safiullin and becomes the first Chinese quarter-finalist in @ChengduOpen history! pic.twitter.com/QUe3PAslrx
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 21, 2024
“The atmosphere today was incredible; the crowd was unbelievable. I had a bit of a rough start – the slower conditions didn’t suit me well – but I’m glad that I fought through. Overall, I’m super happy,” said Shang.
Musetti fights past O’Connell
Earlier in the evening, top seed Lorenzo Musetti had to dig deep to overcome a strong challenge from Christopher O’Connell in his opening match, rallying from a set down to secure a 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(4) victory in two hours and 37 minutes on Centre Court.
The Italian world No. 19 faced the prospect of an early exit at 3-5 down on serve in the final set, but managed to break back immediately and force a tie-break, where he took a 3-1 lead and held on to notch his personal best 35th win of the season.
What a match 🥵
Top seed Musetti fights past O’Connell 6-7 6-4 7-6 to make the quarter-finals in Chengdu!@ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/MQzZerHehv
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 21, 2024
“I think at times I struggled to maintain a high level and made some key mistakes, but I tried to stay in the match and not give up, even when Chris was serving at 5-3. I had to be patient, and I’m happy to be in the quarters,” Musetti said.
Second seed Alexander Bublik also secured a second-round win, saving four of five break points and converting three of six to defeat Argentinian Federico Agustin Gomez 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 27 minutes. This victory ended a five-match losing streak that stretched back to his third-round defeat to Tommy Paul at Wimbledon in July.
“I think it was a relatively average performance on my part, but a win is a win. I haven’t won since Wimbledon, so every win counts, and I’m just really happy to get through,” said the world No. 27 from Kazakhstan.
In the day’s first Centre Court clash, 19-year-old local wild card Zhou Yi came close to a major upset against fifth seed Adrian Mannarino in his ATP Tour second-round debut. The world No. 531 rebounded from a set down to dominate the Frenchman in the second set and led 3-1 in the decider, but Mannarino fought back to win 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4 in two hours and 45 minutes, securing his 62nd career quarterfinal.
“Not my best performance today. I wasn’t aggressive enough and should have been a little bit more consistent but well done to him because he kept a really consistent level throughout the entire match for such a young player. I was surprised and I think he’s going to be a really good player,” said the 36-year-old, who becomes the oldest quarterfinalist in the tournament’s history.
Zhou paid tribute to the strong crowd support and took heart from his strong performances here: “The fans really helped me come back in the second set and I appreciate every single one of them. This tournament has showed me I can achieve more and puts me on the right track forward.”
In doubles action, all four top seeds advanced to the semifinals. Defending champions Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul from France recovered from dropping their first set of the tournament to defeat the American duo Evan King and Reese Stalder 5-7, 6-2, 10-6. Second seeds Ivan Dodig and Rafael Matos, meanwhile, comfortably dispatched local wild cards Mo Yecong and Tang Sheng 6-1, 6-1.
Also advancing are the third-seeded Indian-French pairing of Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti, and the fourth-seeded Mexican-Australian duo of Miguel Reyes-Varela and John-Patrick Smith, with both teams securing their spots in the semifinals via super-tiebreaker wins in their respective quarterfinal matches.
The Chengdu Open singles quarterfinals will take place tomorrow from 1pm onwards, and will for the first time feature the top five seeds coming into the event.
Top seed Musetti is set to face Mannarino, having lost to the Frenchman in their only previous encounter at the Indian Wells Masters last year. “It’s always tough to face a tricky opponent like him. He’s a lefty, and in our only meeting last year at Indian Wells, I lost, so I’ll try to get revenge here,” said the 22-year-old.
The most intriguing match will be between friends Bublik and Shang, who had a thrilling five set three hour and 34-minute encounter at the US Open last month, with Shang, the lower-ranked player, knocking out Bublik.
“Shang is an upcoming player and a good friend; we talk a lot. He beat me in a four-hour match at the US Open. He has a bright future, so let’s see how it goes on his home soil,” said Bublik of the rematch.
Third seed Nicolas Jarry, who ended a 7-match losing streak to reach the last eight, will meet 22-year-old Alibek Kachmazov, who is playing in his first ATP Tour quarterfinal, while fourth seed Pedro Martinez will face Yannick Hanfmann for the third time on tour. Each player has won once in their previous two meetings, both on the clay courts of Santiago in 2022 and 2023, but this will be their first clash on hard courts.
