Zhang Zhizhen of China celebrates his win over Taylor Fritz of the United States during their men's singles fourth round match at the Madrid Open, Spain, May 2, 2023. /CFP
The fairy tale continued for 26-year-old Zhang Zhizhen as he became the first Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 event when he made a comeback win over fourth seeded American Taylor Fritz in the Madrid Open fourth round on Tuesday.
Zhang saved three match points in the tie-break in his 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (10/8) victory against world No. 10 Fritz, continuing his strong run after upsetting world No. 13 Briton Cameron Norrie on Monday.
"...Didn't really think about [his] ranking, because you just need to give the best you can," Zhang said in his on-court interview. "Before the match, you know it's a very tough player. There is no weakness, so (I) just tried what I can do."
He added that "(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."
Taylor Fritz of the United States serves during the men's singles fourth round match against China's Zhang Zhizhen at the Madrid Open, Spain, May 2, 2023. /CFP
The world No. 99 said he would do the best he could against Russian Aslan Karatsev in the last eight, who defeated Danil Medvedev 7-6(1), 6-4 in the round of 16.
"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 I can do."
Karatsev is recovering his form after a dip in performances saw him slip from a career high of No.14 in 2022, down to his current ranking of 121st.
Andrey Rublev meanwhile lost to another Russian player Karen Khachanov 7-6(8) 6-4, and Khachanov will next face home favorite Carlos Alcaraz, who made a comfortable win over German Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2.
Zhang Zhizhen of China attends a press conference after his win over Taylor Fritz of the United States at the Madrid Open, Spain, May 2, 2023. /CFP
It has been a superb year for Chinese tennis so far. In February Wu Yibing beat John Isner in the Dallas Open to become the first Chinese player to lift an ATP tour trophy.
Wu beat Fritz in Dallas on the road to the final, securing a first victory over an ATP top 10 opponent for a Chinese player.
Zhang had already become the first Chinese player to break into the top 100 of the ATP rankings in October 2022.
He is now guaranteed to climb to at least world number 66 on Monday, the highest ranking of his career. If he defeats Karatsev, he is projected to crack the Top 50 and become the highest-ranked Chinese man in history, passing close friend Wu, who ascended to world No. 55 earlier this year.
(With input from agencies)