In a men’s singles match in the first round between two home players at the China Open in Beijing on Friday, Buyunchaokete came back to defeat Shang Juncheng 6(3)-7, 6-2, 6-4 to progress through the tournament.
Both players have been in good form after achieving career breakthroughs. Buyunchaokete advanced to the semifinals at the Hangzhou Open in east China’s Zhejiang Province this week. Shang won his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour title at the Chengdu Open in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
The first set reached 3-3 after each side held their first three serves. Shang earned two break points in the seventh game. Though Buyunchaokete wiped them with two aces, he still allowed this game and trailed 3-5 after the opponent held his fourth serve.
Buyunchaokete soon returned the favor by converting one break and holding his serve. The first set reached tiebreak and Shang outplayed Buyunchaokete to claim the first set, leading 1-0 in the match.
Buyunchaokete began the second set with a break and that was just one of the three breaks he scored in this set. Though Shang broke Buyunchaokete’s first serve, he couldn’t stop the opponent from dominating the set and ending it with an ace.
Both Buyunchaokete and Shang scored two breaks in the first eight games of the third set to tie at 4-4. Shang then failed to hold his fifth serve. In the match game, Buyunchaokete grabbed a match point with an ace and then served to score and ended the competition.
Having secured his first win at the China Open, Buyunchaokete will face No. 6 seed, Lorenzo Musetti of Italy next.
Another Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 in the first round on Friday. Second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France 6-4, 6-4 on the same day.