Tennis: Cilic crowns comeback – Shang also surprises Musetti

For Marin Cilic (left) and Juncheng Shang it was not a normal Tuesday.
IMAGO/NurPhoto

Marin Cilic has perfectly rounded off his comeback on the ATP Tour. In the non-stop final of the tournament in Hangzhou, the 35-year-old, equipped with a wildcard, won the final against local hero Zhizhen Zhang 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (7:5).

The Croatian had not appeared on the tour since February 12th due to a knee injury. At the end of August he returned to action in two Challenger tournaments in Mallorca and Cassis (France), but did not make it past the quarter-finals in either of them.

The 2014 US Open winner is now ranked 373rd in the world rankings. It was only because of a wildcard that he was able to start in the Chinese metropolis – and took his first tournament victory since 2021. In the quarterfinals, Cilic had fended off two match points against the Japanese Yasutaka Uchiyama.

Hanfmann conqueror Shang writes history

This Tuesday, the veteran spoiled a Chinese tennis holiday to some extent. At the same time, Juncheng Shang surprisingly won the final of the tournament in Chengdu, almost 2,000 kilometers east of Hangzhou, against the number 1 seed Lorenzo Musetti 7:6 (7:4), 6:1.

Shang had eliminated the German Yannick Hanfmann in the semifinals and once again impressed with risky, aggressive forehand shots in the corners. This was clearly evident in the break to 6:5 in the first set, when the 19-year-old top talent patiently prepared the rally against the passive Musetti and then finished it off with a winning shot on the line.

Shang will climb steeply from his world ranking of 55. At the same time, he will be the first tournament winner on the ATP Tour to be born in 2005 or later.

Until this Tuesday, no Chinese had ever reached a final on the tour during the Open Era (since 1968): Yibing Wu at the 2023 Dallas Open (6:7, 7:6, 7:6 against John Isner).