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Teen wildcard Shang Juncheng’s run to the Hong Kong final ended by battling Andrey Rublev
On Saturday, world no. 5 Andrey Rublev (26) advanced to the Hong Kong Open final despite a tough challenge from Chinese wildcard “Jerry” Shang Juncheng (18).
In two hours and nine minutes of thrilling tennis at Victoria Park, Rublev kept his Australian Open preparations on track and put an end to Shang’s incredible run. Shang was in his first ATP Tour semi-final. Rublev won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a fierce match.
The top-seeded Russian player in the final on Sunday will play Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland, who defeated world number 43 Sebastian Ofner of Austria 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Shang, the energetic world number 183, has been defeating more experienced and ranked opponents all week with calm, composed tennis.
Shang was full of confidence after defeating Frances Tiafoe, ranked 16th in the world, in a career-best straight-sets victory on Friday in the quarterfinal.
In the first game, he broke Rublev with a flying start.
After Shang’s ace after 43 minutes to decisively close out the opening set, Rublev lost patience as he failed to convert any of his three break points.
In the opening game of the second and third sets, the explosive Russian, who had drawn blood when he smashed his racket into his left knee in rage, faced two more break points.
On every occasion, though, he remained solid and eventually overcame his courageous opponent as his own serve and winners started to find their range.
“He was playing unbelievable,” Rublev said of Shang, who has delighted the city in southern China to capacity crowds.
“I was helpless.”
“There were times when I felt like I had no chance since he was in control and I was helpless, not knowing what to do.
“Somehow I just keep fighting, keep trying, trying to say something positive, trying to say this cannot happen.”
In the second game of the second round, Rublev eventually broke Shang, and he let out a huge yell, both with celebration and relief.
Before Rublev broke Shang to take the lead for the first time in the match at 5-3 in the third set, which might have gone any way, he held his own serve to ensure the victory.
World number 69 Ruusuvuori fought back from a set down in a 2-hour 12-minute battle to reach his second ATP Tour final, with his first coming at Pune in 2022.
Refusing to surrender after a tight first set, Ruusuvuori forced Ofner to rely on his powerful serve to escape trouble. At 5-6 in the second set, Ofner’s serve cracked, leading to a decider.
In the sixth game of the third set, Ofner saved four break points, but Ruusuvuori secured a crucial 4-2 advantage, eventually serving out comfortably.
Ruusuvuori commented, “It was a very tough match. A very good win, and now I’m in the final, and that’s why we play tennis, so I will just go and enjoy that one. I just tried to stay as strong as possible physically and make it as tough as possible for him.”
