(Reuters) – 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 ever Chinese player to win an ATP title.
It is the first ATP Tour title for Shang, who is currently China’s number two and ranked 55 in the world. The former Juniors number one is also the youngest ATP winner of the season at 19-years-old.
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 Olympics 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 of the ATP Tour season.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
