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Zhang Zhizhen sealed Chinese history again on Sunday at the Hangzhou Open.

With his 6-3, 6-3 win against Roberto Carballes Baena, the sixth seed set the first all-Chinese tour-level semi-final in the Open Era. He will face wild card Buyunchaokete for a place in the final.

“First of all, I’m super happy that he won that match today and, really, congratulations to him,” Zhang said in his on-court interview. “It’s really not easy for us. Me and Shang [Juncheng] and Bu now, three of us, we’re stepping in the Top 100. That’s really good for the history for China. It doesn’t matter who wins tomorrow. It will be one Chinese guy in the final anyway.”

No stopping Zhang! ?

The Chinese No.1 soars into the semi-finals @HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/YobGLM8h2B

Entering the week, Buyunchaokete had only played one ATP Tour main draw in his career, reaching the second round in Shanghai last year. But the 22-year-old stunned second seed Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals and on Sunday ousted the resurgent Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-2.

Can Shang Juncheng ride home support all the way to his maiden ATP Tour title at the Chengdu Open?

The #NextGenATP star notched a 6-4, 7-6(8) upset against second seed Alexander Bublik on Sunday to reach the semi-finals at the hard-court ATP 250. Shang, the 19-year-old rising star of Chinese tennis, saved a set point at 6/7 in the second-set tie-break before wrapping a one-hour, 51-minute triumph against the World No. 27.

“I guess Alex is always tricky, always a tough battle,” said Shang. “He can serve anywhere. He can put the drop shots anywhere, and overall he’s an amazing player. His past results show that he can win titles, and we’ve played tough matches against each other. I’m just super happy to be in the semis. [It is] my first time here in Chengdu, playing so well.”

5 star Shang ?

The teenage sensation beats (2) Bublik 6-4 7-6(8) ? SFs@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/G7ZKHIM4Gr

Shang, who also defeated Bublik in the first round at the US Open last month, now leads the Kazakhstani 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. With his quarter-final victory, the home favourite consolidated his position in third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. Shang is bidding for a debut appearance at the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Can Marin Cilic complete his fairytale comeback to the ATP Tour following his return from injury?

Former US Open champion Cilic came back from the brink of defeat, saving two match points to survive Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) Sunday to advance to the semi-finals at the Hangzhou Open.

The Croatian was serving at 5-6, 15/40 down in the final set, but rallied to win the match in a tie-break and down Uchiyama, who upset top seed Holger Rune on Saturday. The 35-year-old Cilic also saved eight of the nine break point chances against him to seal his 67th Tour-level semi-final in his career and take his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Uchiyama to 2-0.

Cilic is playing as a wild card in his first ATP Tour event since Buenos Aires in February, after he was sidelined with a knee injury for several months. Progressing to the semi-finals means that Cilic is now one step closer to attaining a 21st ATP Tour title and completing a perfect comeback.

Mar-INCREDIBLE! ?@cilic_marin saves TWO match points to earn a semi-final spot@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/rZY5v5XNJ0

Can Lorenzo Musetti forge a late surge to a Nitto ATP Finals debut?

Top seed Musetti overcame Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday to advance to the semi-finals at the Chengdu Open.

The Italian, who was a semi-finalist last year in Chengdu, struck 23 winners to take his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Frenchman to 1-1. The No. 19 in the PIF ATP Rankings also saved three of the four break points against him to close out the match in two hours, 16 minutes.

The 22-year-old Musetti recorded a personal best 35th win of the season. The Italian is 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but has moved within 915 points of eighth-placed Alex de Minaur following his victory against Mannarino. Musetti has now reached six semi-finals in his past eight tour-level events.

2023 - SF
2024 - SF

(1) @Lorenzo1Musetti returns to the Last 4 in Chengdu 6-2 5-7 6-2@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/zXBtjkztj2

Most weeks of the year, Carlos Alcaraz’s ATP Tour rivals are focused on how they might defeat him on some of the biggest stages in tennis. This week at the Laver Cup, some of those same rivals are discovering what it is like to have the Spaniard’s sublime talent on their own side for once.

On his singles debut at the teams event on Saturday in Berlin, Alcaraz downed Ben Shelton in straight sets to earn two crucial points for Team Europe. As his teammates supported from courtside, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings gave them a reminder of why he is such a tough opponent.

That winning smile ?

With the 6-4 6-4 victory over Shelton, @carlosalcaraz helps Team Europe level things with Team World.@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/Ty8oCsfsWK

One of those watching from the Team Europe bench was Casper Ruud, who is yet to notch a win in four Lexus ATP Head2Head clashes against Alcaraz, including in the 2022 US Open final.

“I’m happy to have him on my team, that’s for sure,” Ruud told ATPTour.com prior to Alcaraz’s match against Shelton. “He’s an incredible player, so I’d rather have him on my team than against me. It’s cool. He’s going to come out explosively, as always, to hopefully get some important wins for Team Europe. We all know how great he is and it’s his debut so I’m sure he would like to do well.”

Is Taylor Fritz set for a late-season surge that takes him all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals?

The Team World star on Saturday notched his seventh victory against a Top 10 opponent in 2024 by overcoming Team Europe’s Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-5 at the Laver Cup. Fritz rallied from 2-4 down in the second set before securing a one-hour, 57-minute win, his third consecutive tour-level triumph against the German, to set Team World on course to opening an 8-4 lead after Day 2 in Berlin.

“I think over the years we have always had close matches,” said Fritz in his post-match press conference of his rivalry with Zverev. “I think the games match up well. I can serve and hang in there with my serve, because he's very tough to break. You have to have a good serve to stay in the match with him or else he's just going to serve you out of the match.

“His backhand is incredibly good. I think my backhand is my stronger side, too, so I feel like maybe I can neutralise and hang with him on that side where maybe some people wouldn't be able to stay in a pattern. But the biggest thing is I have just been playing well.”

Back on ? @Taylor_Fritz97 gives Team World the 6-4 lead after a 6-4 7-5 triumph over Zverev.@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/zAHTgLVl39

When Zhang Zhizhen defeated Mattia Bellucci 6-3, 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals in Hangzhou Saturday, he made history for Chinese tennis.

It is the first time multiple Chinese players have made the quarter-finals of the same ATP Tour event. On Friday his countryman Buyunchaokete upset second seed Karen Khachanov to reach the quarter-finals.

“We’re happy to [earn] some wins for Chinese people,” Zhang shared after the match.

? Home hero ?

ZZZ mania is in full swing!@HangzhouOpen|#HangzhouOpenpic.twitter.com/e18YM5Cd0Z

In a near-perfect performance, Zhang fired six aces and faced no break points throughout the match as Bellucci made 29 unforced errors. The Chinese will face Roberto Carballes Baena in the quarter-finals. It will be the first meeting in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Frances Tiafoe caught such fire on Saturday in Berlin that he felt like he was Roger Federer.

That form helped the Team World player rally past Team Europe’s Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 to give his side a 4-2 lead in Berlin.

“Honestly I just started having fun. Laughing with my team, laughing with my team over there and here. Just having a bit of fun and started really finding my rhythm,” Tiafoe said. “The courts are obviously much slower than I’m used to playing on, so it’s tough playing Daniil on this court. But after the second set, midway into the second and in the tie-break, I felt like I was Roger Federer, honestly.”

Team World back on top ?@FTiafoe with an impressive 3-6 6-4 [10-5] victory over Medvedev.@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/ZeRI2ycna8

Federer, who was in the crowd, gave on-court reporter Mark Petchey a double thumb’s up when asked about Tiafoe’s comment. The American is playing some of the best tennis of his career, having just reached the US Open semi-finals for the first time after making the final in Cincinnati.

Japanese qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama upset top seed Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the quarter-finals at the Hangzhou Open.

The No. 160 in the PIF ATP Rankings won 77 per cent of his first-serve points to record the joint biggest win of his career, after his victory over World No. 14 Kyle Edmund at Brisbane in 2019. The 32-year-old Uchiyama also saved two of the four break points that he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to close out the match in one hour, 40 minutes.

UNST?PPABLE

Qualifier @yasutaka0805 downs top seed Rune 7-5 6-4!@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/bIY092bOe6

“I’m very excited, I’m happy with my performance today,” Uchiyama said after the match. “I couldn’t imagine winning in two sets, I was just thinking about my performance, I had to play 100 per cent the whole match to get the chance to beat him, so it went well for me today”.

Uchiyama will compete in the third ATP Tour quarter-final of his career, in which he will face wild card Marin Cilic.

Lorenzo Musetti battled past Christopher O’Connell 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(4) on Saturday to advance to the quarter-finals at the Chengdu Open.

The top seed recovered from 5-3 down in the deciding set to notch a personal-best 35th win of the season and progress to his seventh quarter-final of the year. The 22-year-old Musetti hit 33 winners, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to close out the match in two hours, 37 minutes.

This is what it means. This is tennis.@chengduopen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/VNgf8mxk9y

“That was a difficult match, he [O’Connell] was serving pretty sharp and really precisely and I didn’t find so many break points,” Musetti said after the match. “But at the end I stayed focused, I played the right tactics and I managed to play well throughout the match.”

The Italian will meet fifth seed Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-finals, after the Frenchman survived a scare to beat home hope Yi Zhou 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4.

Lucas Pouille knows what it is like to win ATP Tour titles, reach the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings and compete in a major semi-final. The adrenaline of a match day is nothing new for the Frenchman. 

In 2017, Pouille held his nerve to secure the Davis Cup title for France in front of a raucous home crowd. It was a final, all-or-nothing deciding rubber against Belgium.

Now ranked World No. 142 and competing mostly on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, Pouille continues to live for that thrill of going toe to toe against another competitor.

“Before the match, in the morning you wake up and you have this little thing in the stomach. You know it’s a match day. You don’t wake up like the other days,” Pouille told ATPTour.com at this week’s Saint-Tropez Open, an ATP Challenger Tour 125 event. “Once I step on court, they are there for sure, but I take it as a positive. For me, it’s just great to have this kind of stress.”

In May, Pouille won his first title across all levels in five years at the Mauthausen Challenger. It was an important moment for Pouille, who has been plagued with injuries. He underwent elbow surgery in 2020 and last year at Wimbledon, he suffered a stress fracture in his lower back.

Roger Federer has seen a lot in his career. Friday at the Laver Cup, the Swiss was faced with something new.

Federer watched four-time major champion and No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings Carlos Alcaraz play a match in person for the first time.

The stars had already gotten to know one another during the leadup to the event, chatting at various functions, posing together for a photoshoot and having a nice conversation on the practice court Friday before the Spaniard's match.

Carlitos & Federer shared a nice moment on court ahead of his first match in Berlin. ?@lavercup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/BQThHJOq91

But for the first time, 103-time tour-level titlist Federer experienced the Spaniard's game up close when Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev faced Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton in doubles. Fritz and Shelton won the match in straight sets.

The battle for the 2024 Laver Cup is intriguingly poised heading into Day 2.

Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton drew Team World level at 2-2 with Team Europe after downing the host team’s star Friday-night doubles pairing of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final match of the day in Berlin.

All tied up ?

? Team World: 2
? Team Europe: 2@Taylor_Fritz97/@BenShelton tie things up after a 7-6(5) 6-4 win over Alcaraz/Zverev.@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/XgtoSsulPo

Americans Fritz and Shelton fired 20 winners, including eight aces, en route to a 95-minute victory against the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings Zverev and No. 3 Alcaraz, the latter of whom was making his Laver Cup debut. They sealed their win after clinching a crucial break in the ninth game of the second set to restore parity for Team World in the annual teams event.

“We both served really well under pressure,” said Fritz in his on-court interview. “Ben served incredibly well, so I didn’t have to hit any volleys. That was huge.”

Francisco Cerundolo helped Team World take its first step towards a third consecutive Laver Cup title on Friday afternoon. Team Europe's Stefanos Tsitsipas then promptly issued a swift reminder of the challenge facing the Argentine and his teammates this weekend in Berlin.

The No. 31 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Cerundolo upset Casper Ruud in the opening match of the 2024 edition of the teams event. He triumphed 6-4, 6-4 after 97 minutes to take a 4-3 lead in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the World No. 9.

“I’m super happy. I had the responsibility to go there and play the first match. I knew it was going to be tough,” said Cerundolo in his post-match press conference. “Casper is a great player. We played many times, so I knew how he was going to play, and I think I did a really good job from the beginning to the end.

“I was really there, focused, and super happy to get my second win in Laver Cup and first this year.”

Cerundolo outhit Ruud by 16 winners to 11 to avenge his recent defeat to the Norwegian at the Paris Olympics. The Argentine adjusted more quickly to the indoor conditions at Uber Arena than Ruud, who struggled with the consistency of his groundstrokes, to give Team World and its captain John McEnroe the perfect start in Berlin.

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Fourth seed Brandon Nakashima saved two match points to overcome #NextGenATP star Coleman Wong 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1 on Friday and advance to the quarter-finals at the Hangzhou Open.

Nakashima, who is at a career high No. 39 in the PIF ATP Rankings, held his nerve to save two match points as he served at 6-5 down in the second set. The American struck 39 winners to defeat the 20-year-old in two hours, 40 minutes.

The former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF winner has maintained his momentum in the recent months, posting an 11-4 record since August, including a fourth-round run at the US Open. At Flushing Meadows he defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune as he equalled his best run at a Grand Slam.

Nakashima advanced to his 14th ATP Tour quarter-final where he will face Australian Rinky Hijikata, who progressed after Fabian Marozsan withdrew due to sickness.

Mikhail Kukushkin rolled back the years as he defeated Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 7-6(3) in an all-Kazakhstani battle.

The Laver Cup and the ATP have today announced a five-year extension to their existing certification agreement, which began with Laver Cup 2019, and both renews and enhances their partnership.

This extension comes as the Laver Cup enters its seventh edition today at Uber Arena in Berlin, marking a significant milestone for the event as it continues to bring together tennis superstars from the past, present and future in a thrilling team competition and a unique celebration of the sport.

The Laver Cup, where top players from Europe take on their counterparts from the rest of the world, will continue to benefit from the ATP’s global reach, marketing services — including press and social media — and operational support, including officials and physios.

"We are delighted to continue our partnership with the ATP," said Tony Godsick, Laver Cup Chairman and CEO of TEAM8.

"Their recognition validates the Laver Cup vision, which is to bring together the world’s top players – rivals year-round – as teammates, to celebrate and honour the legendary Rod Laver and his compatriots, while growing interest in this wonderful sport at new destinations around the world."

Yannick Hanfmann overcame seventh seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Friday to advance to the Chengdu Open quarter-finals.

In the pair’s first meeting, the 32-year-old won 79 per cent (37/47) of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats. The German also struck 26 winners to seal victory over the 21-year-old in one hour, 49 minutes.

"You have to be patient, that was the key to the match," Hanfmann said. "You’re not going to get a lot of chances to break him, he’s an amazing server.

Nicely done ☑️

Hanfmann reaches his 17th ATP Tour QF after battling past Mpetshi Perricard 6-4 3-6 6-3!@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/CKZZWT1qnW

The 2024 Laver Cup gets underway on Friday 20 September in Berlin, Germany, where John McEnroe’s Team World will begin its Laver Cup defence against Bjorn Borg’s Team Europe.

There are plenty of interesting matches from the start. The first match begins at 1 p.m. with World No. 9 Casper Ruud facing Francisco Cerundolo.

[ATP APP]

Fans will be able to watch four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz compete alongside Alexander Zverev in the doubles action. The two will face the American duo of Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, concluding Friday’s order of play.

ORDER OF PLAY – Friday

For the seventh and final time, legends Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe will face off as captains of Team Europe and Team World, respectively, at the Laver Cup in Berlin. The event, which begins Friday, marks the end of an era.

The Laver Cup, founded in 2017 by former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Roger Federer, has seen Borg lead Team Europe and McEnroe Team World since the event’s inception.

“For me it’s very much a bittersweet week with Bjorn and John because I would love them to be captains forever,” Federer said. “At the same time, we’ve got to move with the times, I guess.”

Despite the end of their captaincies, Federer expressed deep gratitude for their contributions to the tournament.

“It was supposed to be three years, four or two, and it ended up being seven,” Federer said. “It’s been seven great years. Couldn’t have had better captains, to be honest.”