Zhang Zhizhen continues to set new records as he has become the first Chinese man to reach the quarter-final of an ATP Masters 1000 event after upsetting Taylor Fritz at the Madrid Open.
The 26-year-old made history late last year as he was the first man from China to crack the top 100 in the ATP Rankings and earlier this year he hit a career-best No 91, but his latest incredible win in Spain will see him potentially rise to No 66.
He defeated Denis Shapovalov and Cameron Norrie in the previous two rounds and his incredible win came at the expense of world No 10 Fritz with Zhang also claiming his first-ever victory over a top 10 player.
It was far from an easy win with Zhang saving three match points in the final set tie-breaker during his historic 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-8) victory with the contest lasting two hours and 29 minutes.
“I didn’t think about this. Didn’t really think about [his] ranking, because you just need to give the best you can,” the Shanghai native said after the win.
“Before the match, you know it’s a very tough player. There is no weakness, so [I] just tried what I can do. Then [after] losing the first set, [I was] thinking about trying to play a little bit closer match. In the end [that] I can win, that’s amazing.”
R64 – d. Shapovalov 7-6 in the third
R32 – d. Norrie 7-6 in the third
R16 – d. Fritz 7-6 in the third
World No.99 Zhang Zhizhen might be the CLUTCHEST man in tennis right now 🤯#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/uZQ3NqHUFn
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 2, 2023
Fritz broke once in the opening set before they traded breaks in the second set with Zhang edging the tie-breaker. They again got a break each in the decider before Zhang again pulled out the heroics in the tie-breaker.
Up next is Aslan Karatsev after the former world No 14 stunned second seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, but Zhang admits he doesn’t have fond memories of their practice meeting.
“I’ll tell you a secret. We had a practice, I lost 6-0 with Karatsev,” he said. “I’ll do my best. Here everyone is a great player, huge player. They all have some very good results. [I will] try to do the best what I can do.”
Victory over Karatsev will see Zhang surge into the top 50, which would be an incredible feat for someone who was ranked No 256 a year ago although his current ranking is already remarkable.
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