CHENGDU: Teenager Shang Juncheng beat Italy’s Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(4), 6-1 in the Chengdu Open final on Tuesday to become the second Chinese player to win an ATP title.

It marks a first ATP Tour title for Shang, who is China’s number two and ranked 55 in the world. The 19-year-old former juniors number one is also the youngest ATP winner this season.

Li Na remains China’s most successful singles player with Grand Slam wins at the French Open in 2011 and the Australian Open in 2014, while there are several women hoping to emulate her including Paris Olympic Games gold medallist Zheng Qinwen.

But success on the men’s side has largely eluded the nation, and Wu Yibing became the first Chinese player to capture an ATP trophy when he won the Dallas Open last year.

Shang has also strengthened his push to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time. The competition, hosted in Saudi Arabia in November-December, will feature the world’s top 20-and-under singles players from the ATP Tour season.

“I’m really delighted to have lifted the trophy here in front of my home crowd,” said Shang.

“While I felt some pressure to perform, the crowd really encouraged and supported me to play my best tennis throughout the week. It’s been amazing.”

In the Hangzhou Open, Croat wild card Marin Cilic became the lowest-ranked champion in ATP Tour history on Tuesday with success in his first tour level event since February.

Cilic, who turns 36 on Saturday, won his first title since 2021 with a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win over China’s number one and sixth seed Zhang Zhizhen, who was playing his first tour level final.

The triumph for Cilic, who has been sidelined with a knee injury, lifted the former world number three from 777th at the start of the tournament to 212 in the ATP rankings.

It was the 21st title of Cilic’s career, with the Hangzhou Open having replaced the Zhuhai Championships on the calendar.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2024