Gifted 17-year-old Shang Juncheng will lead a historic Chinese language cost on the Australian Open subsequent week — extra proof of the rising power of tennis within the Asian nation.
Three male Chinese language gamers together with {the teenager} will compete in Melbourne in the primary draw, a primary at any Grand Slam because the Open period started in 1968, officers on the event and Chinese language media stated.
Former junior primary Shang — often known as “Jerry” — battled by means of qualifying and faces Oscar Otte of Germany within the first spherical, the place he might be joined by fellow Chinese language athletes Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing.
The 23-year-old Wu final yr turned the primary Chinese language man in 63 years to win a singles match at a Grand Slam when he knocked thirty first seed Nikoloz Basilashvili out of the US Open.
Wu reached the third spherical in New York, one other milestone.
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There may even be seven Chinese language gamers within the girls’s singles attract Melbourne, led by the fast-emerging Zheng Qinwen, 20, who’s ranked thirtieth on the planet and touted as a doable future main champion.
The retired Li Na stays China’s best-ever participant after she received the French Open in 2011 and Australian Open three years later.
