Match Report
Shang continues Hong Kong love affair, Nishikori reaches first SF in 4 years
Muller, Munar score upsets at ATP 250
January 03, 2025
HKCTA
Shang Juncheng reaches his fourth tour-level semi-final on Friday in Hong Kong.
By Sam Jacot
Shang Juncheng made it consecutive semi-finals at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open on Friday when he battled back to defeat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Hong Kong.
The #NextGenATP lefty hammered 36 winners and earned the decisive break of the match in the fourth game of the third set to earn a one-hour, 45-minute win. Shang, who hit nine aces according to Infosys ATP Stats, will next meet Kei Nishikori.
“I am very happy and again today I didn’t make the best start but kept my cool and kept fighting,” Shang said.
Shang’s success in Hong Kong last January provided the launchpad for him to become the first Chinese teenager ever to break into the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings in May. Four months later he reached a career-high No. 47 after clinching his maiden ATP Tour title in Chengdu.
Nishikori overcame Cameron Norrie 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final since Washington in 2021.
“Most of the match he played solid but gave me a few chances,” Nishikori said. “I made more returns in the third set, played more aggressively and everything worked.”
The Japanese star, who will return to the Top 100 for the first time since June 2022 on Monday, leads Norrie 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Former World No. 4 Nishikori will play Shang in the semis.
Earlier, seeds Arthur Fils and Lorenzo Musetti were on the wrong side of upsets. Frenchman Alexandre Muller overcame fourth seed Fils 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach his second tour-level semi-final.
Muller’s victory against World No. 20 Fils was just his second in 14 attempts against Top 20 stars. Muller will play Jaume Munar in the last four after the Spaniard defeated second-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 in two hours and 38 minutes.
Munar, who leads Musetti 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, is chasing his first ATP Tour title at the ATP 250 in Hong Kong. The 27-year-old reached the final in Marbella in 2021.
