Zhang Zhizhen made history on Thursday at Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old beat Buenos Aires finalist Francisco Cerundolo 6-0, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(6) to reach his first major main draw and become the first Chinese man to make the main draw at The Championships in the Open Era.
This was the World No. 178’s fourth attempt to qualify for a Grand Slam. In his first three attempts, he did not advance past the second round of qualifying.
Zhang will be the fourth Chinese man to compete in a major singles main draw in the Open Era according to Wimbledon.com. Wu Di did it three times at the Australian Open (2013, 2014 and 2016), Zhang Ze played in Melbourne twice (2014 and 2015) and Li Zhe competed in the 2019 Australian Open.
Zhang did not lose a set in his first two qualifying matches, and he got off to a quick start against Cerundolo, losing just three games in the first two sets. The two-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist had to dig deep in the fourth-set tie-break to triumph after two hours and 20 minutes.
Did You Know?
The 24-year-old is the No. 1 Chinese player in the FedEx ATP Rankings at World No. 178. Last year, Zhang reached a career-high World No. 136.
The 24-year-old beat Buenos Aires finalist Francisco Cerundolo 6-0, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(6) to reach his first major main draw and become the first Chinese man to make the main draw at The Championships in the Open Era.
This was the World No. 178’s fourth attempt to qualify for a Grand Slam. In his first three attempts, he did not advance past the second round of qualifying.
Zhang will be the fourth Chinese man to compete in a major singles main draw in the Open Era according to Wimbledon.com. Wu Di did it three times at the Australian Open (2013, 2014 and 2016), Zhang Ze played in Melbourne twice (2014 and 2015) and Li Zhe competed in the 2019 Australian Open.
Zhang did not lose a set in his first two qualifying matches, and he got off to a quick start against Cerundolo, losing just three games in the first two sets. The two-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist had to dig deep in the fourth-set tie-break to triumph after two hours and 20 minutes.
Did You Know?
The 24-year-old is the No. 1 Chinese player in the FedEx ATP Rankings at World No. 178. Last year, Zhang reached a career-high World No. 136.