China's Zhang Zhizhen secures career-first win at the Australian Open

Zhang Zhizhen of China beat Federico Coria of Argentina 3-0 [6-4, 7(7)-6(3) and 7(7)-6(5)] in the men's singles first-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday.

It was Zhang's first win at the Grand Slam tournament, which he participated in for the second time. The two haven't faced each other before. Zhang began the first set with an early 3-0 lead and won it in the 10th game. Both of the following sets entered tie-breaks. Coria lost the second with a double fault and the third with two unforced errors.

Zhang has been making quick progress in the past year. He became the first male player from the Chinese mainland to advance the men's singles third round at both the French Open and the U.S. Open in 2023. This time, he made another breakthrough at the Australian Open. He is currently in the world's 54th place. Monday's win is likely to enable him to surpass his career-high No. 52 world ranking that he reached in July 2023.

Zhang's next opponent will be the tournament's No. 21 seed, Ugo Humbert of France. He knocked out David Goffin of Belgium 3-1 (6-2, 7-5, 5-7 and 6-3) on Monday.

One day earlier, two female Chinese players, Wang Xinyu and Bai Zhuoxuan exited the Australian Open in the women's singles first round. Wang Xinyu lost to Diane Parry of France 1-2 (3-6, 6-2 and 3-6). Bai lost to Elina Avanesyan of Russia 1-2 (6-4, 5-7 and 2-6).

Another six Chinese players will continue to compete at the Australian Open on Tuesday in the following matchups:

Men's singles: Shang Juncheng vs. Mackenzie McDonald of the U.S.

Women's singles: Wang Xiyu vs. Emma Navarro of the U.S. (Ni. 27 seed)

Wang Yafan vs. Sorana Cirstea of Romania (No. 22 seed)

Zheng Qinwen (No. 12 seed) vs. Ashlyn Krueger of the U.S.

Zhu Lin (No. 29 seed) vs. Oceane Dodin of France

Yuan Yue vs. Katie Boulter of Britain