Shang Juncheng of China looks on in the men's singles first-round match against Oscar Otte of Germany in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2023. /CFP
Shang Juncheng of China defeated Oscar Otte of Germany 3-1 (6-2, 6-4, 6-7(2) and 7-5) in the men's singles first-round match in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
In his first Grand Slam trip, 17-year-old Shang made history by becoming the first player from the Chinese mainland to advance to the men's singles second round in the Australian Open since the event began 118 years ago.
Shang ranks 195th on the Association of Tennis Professionals' (ATP's) world rankings table, while Otte is 74th. The 29-year-old participated in all the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S. Open. His best record was reaching Round of 16 in the U.S. Open in 2021.
Shang Juncheng of China competes in the men's singles first-round match against Oscar Otte of Germany in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2023. /CFP
Otte's rich experience soon helped him lead 2-1 in the first set, but then he kept making mistakes that Shang exploited to launch a counterattack. Having claimed five games in a row, Shang won the first set to lead 1-0.
The second set grew closer as the two tied at 2-2 after the first four games. Shang then stole a march on Otte by winning two straight games. Though Otte immediately took one game back. However, he never overcame the deficit in this set, which he lost after the 10th game.
Neither player led by more than one game in the third set, which went from 1-1 to 6-6. In the end, Otte won the tie-breaker 6-2 to keep the match alive.
Shang Juncheng of China competes in the men's singles first-round match against Oscar Otte of Germany in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2023. /CFP
Shang won the fifth game in the fourth set to lead 3-2 after another 2-2 start. He and Otte exchanged in the next six games until the set entered the 12th game and Shang led 6-5. This time, he didn't let the opportunity get away and turned the first match point into the final victory.
Zheng Qinwen of China competes in the women's singles first-round match against Dalma Galfi of Hungary in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2023. /CFP
Other Chinese players competed in the Australian Open on Monday. Among them, Zheng Qinwen, the No. 29 seed of the tournament, walked over Dalma Galfi of Hungary 2-0 (6-0 and 6-2) in the women's singles first-round match.
Zhu Lin of China celebrates after defeating Rebecca Marino of Canada 2-0 (6-2 and 6-4) in the women's singles first-round match in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2023. /CFP
Zhu Lin, in her third appearance in the Australian Open, beat Rebecca Marino of Canada 2-0 (6-2 and 6-4) in the women's singles first-round competition. Zhu's best record at Melbourne Park was reaching the second round in 2020 and 2021.
Wang Xinyu of China competes in the women's singles first-round match against Storm Hunter of Australia in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2023. /CFP
Wang Xinyu became the fourth player from China to advance on Monday to the second round in the women's singles matches after defeating Storm Hunter of Australia 2-0 (7-6(2) and 6-4). Like Zhu, she will challenge her best record in the tournament this year.
Meanwhile, Wu Yibing went through five sets against Corentin Moutet of France before losing 2-3 (4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 and 5-7) in the over four-hour-long men's singles contest. Yuan Yue lost to Maria Sakkari of Greece 0-2 (1-6 and 4-6) in the women's singles match.