In the first round of the ATP2025 Hong Kong men's singles competition, Chinese young player Shang Juncheng performed outstandingly, defeating Huang Zelin, who was participating with a wild card, with a score of 7-6(3), 6-4, and a big score of 2-0, achieving a good start to the new season and continuing his good form against this opponent. The last time he defeated Huang Zelin was in the first round of the Shanghai Masters.
Currently ranked 50th in the world (previously reaching as high as 47th), Shang Juncheng shone on the Grand Slam stage last season, reaching the third round at both the Australian Open and the US Open, stopping at the second round at Wimbledon, and also winning his first tour title at the Chengdu 250 event. Huang Zelin, currently ranked 170th in the world (previously as high as 128th), stopped at the qualifying rounds in all four Grand Slams last season, but also eliminated Wu Yibing, who withdrew due to injury, in the first round of the Hangzhou 250 tournament, advancing to the second round, demonstrating a certain level of competitiveness.
At the beginning of the match, both sides held their own service games steadily in the first five sets, with Shang Juncheng slightly ahead at 3-2. In the sixth set, Shang Juncheng once scored three points in a row, but Huang Zelin, relying on his excellent serving performance, managed to hold serve with a total of 5 aces, leveling the score to 3-3. After that, both sides engaged in a fierce battle, with the game becoming deadlocked until it reached 6-6, leading to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Shang Juncheng quickly adjusted his state after falling behind 1-2, completing an overtaking and eventually winning the tiebreak 7-3, taking the first set.
In the second set, in the third game, Shang Juncheng took advantage of Huang Zelin's declining form, scoring four points in a row to complete the only break of the match, and maintained the lead until the end, securing the victory with a score of 6-4.
The entire match lasted 89 minutes, during which Shang Juncheng hit 4 aces (Huang Zelin had 17 aces throughout the match), had a first serve percentage of 56%, a first serve winning rate of as high as 88%, made 16 winners, and capitalized on 1 out of 7 break points, while the opponent did not get any break points. With this victory, Shang Juncheng earned 25 points and a prize of $11,935, making a good start to the new season and raising fans' expectations for his upcoming matches. We look forward to him continuing to achieve remarkable results and shining even brighter on the ATP stage.