Shang Juncheng and Marin Cilic Triumph in Historic ATP Moments

During the Chengdu Open final on Tuesday, budding talent Shang Juncheng defeated Italian Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-1. This win positions Shang as the second Chinese athlete to secure an ATP title. Currently ranked as China's No. 2 and the world's 55th, this constitutes Shang's debut ATP Tour title victory. Also, being the youngest ATP winner this season at 19 years old earmarks his achievement.

Furthermore, Shang's victory stirs his ambition to qualify for the first time in the Next Gen ATP Finals, a competition to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, featuring the season's top 20-and-under singles players of the ATP Tour.

Concurrently, during the Hangzhou Open, Croatian wild card Marin Cilic became the lowest-ranked champion in ATP Tour history on Tuesday and triumphed in his first tour-level tournament since February. On turning 36 on Saturday, Cilic won his first title since 2021, with a 7-6(5) 7-6(5) win over China's number one seed and sixth seed, Zhang Zhizhen. This was Zhang's first tour level final.

For Cilic, formerly ranked third in the world, this win served as a comeback as he moved from position 777 to 212 in the ATP rankings after being sidelined because of a knee injury. Cilic's win at the Hangzhou Open, which replaced the Zhuhai Championships on the calendar, was the 21st title of his career.