Juncheng Shang continued his breakthrough season as he reached his first ATP tour final and did it on home soil.
The 19 year-old rising star is into the final in Chengdu after a dominant 6-4 6-4 victory over Yannick Hanfmann.
Shang cruised past the German to reach his maiden ATP final as he continues his sensational season.
It means he is only the third Chinese player to reach an ATP final after Yibing Wu did it in Dallas last year and Zhizhen Zhang achieving the feat in Hangzhou today.
Speaking after his win Shang spoke about the significance of the achievement and the strength of Chinese tennis on the ATP tour, “A lot of emotions tonight,” Shang told the ATP website.
“I played some really good tennis to get some breaks on his serve and overall I just played solid tennis. I was very calm in my head and enjoyed the crowd.
“We’re doing a lot better on the men’s side. The women’s side, they’ve been so good in the past. I’m just glad we can make some breakthroughs… I just focus on myself to become a better player, because I know it’s a long way to go if you want to become one of the best.”
Shang will climb to a new career high ranking after Chengdu and a title would put him at 52 in the world.
That is some achievement given he started the year outside the world’s top 170 and is now on the edge of the top 50.
Next up for Shang will be top seed Lorenzo Musetti as he looks to claim a first ATP title.
