Shang Juncheng denies any injury, Musetti insults Chinese people, Laibakina struggles, and Opelka is swept away

27/09/2025 11:59:00 sport

Three minutes daily to catch up on tennis worldwide. Hello tennis fans, today is Saturday, September 27, 2025. Welcome to the midday news brought to you by "Tennis Home."

From noon to evening yesterday Beijing time, the ATP 500 China Open went on. In a key first-round singles match, young Chinese player Shang Juncheng won the first set 6-0 but was then overturned by French qualifier Kaczo, who won 7-6(5), 7-5 to claim victory, denying Shang his first tournament win. Near the end of the third set, Shang appeared physically drained with discomfort in his left leg, frequently crouching and delaying his serves, which led to a first serve penalty and a crucial break. Some spectators thought Shang was injured again.

However, at the post-match press conference, Shang Juncheng denied being injured, saying, "I think this was a very exciting match with many positive aspects. I played very well today; it’s one of the few matches I’ve played this year where I gave 100%. My physical condition is good, no pain in my foot, and I wasn’t injured on court. I haven’t played many matches this year, but I believe things will improve." He added, "Overall, I want to congratulate Arthur; he played better than me in the crucial moments at the end. I really enjoyed the crowd today. Although I didn’t win, playing at home means a lot to me." Hopefully, Shang really isn’t hurt!

In another match, last year’s semifinalist and China’s top player Bu Yunchaokete lost 4-6, 0-6 to the third seed, Australian rising star Deminal, marking his third consecutive defeat to him.

Other matches: Second seed and German star Zverev defeated Italian Sonego 6-4, 6-3, maintaining a perfect 6-0 head-to-head record. Next, he will face French player Moutet. Fourth seed and Italian Musetti battled through three sets to narrowly beat French big hitter Pericard 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-4, extending his unbeaten record against him to four wins and advancing to round two. He will next face French qualifier Mannarino, who defeated Kazakhstan’s Bublik, the recent champion in Hangzhou, 6-3, 6-2.

During the latter part of the Musetti vs. Pericard match, Musetti became displeased with some spectators repeatedly coughing in the stands. He responded by coughing back and allegedly insulted Chinese spectators, saying, "Those damn Chinese, they keep coughing, come on, cough." Some fans clarified that the coughing came not from Chinese fans but from French supporters of Pericard. Regardless, Musetti’s insult towards Chinese people is unacceptable, and he will lose their respect from now on.

Russian star Rublev lost in straight sets to Italian rising talent Cobolli, exiting in his debut; meanwhile, Medvedev, Lener-Chien, Lindgren, Menshik, and others won their matches and advanced smoothly.

ATP 500 Tokyo: In the second round singles, fourth seed Ruud defeated old rival Berrettini 7-6(4), 6-2; second seed Fritz narrowly beat Portuguese player Borges 7-5, 7-6(4), both advancing to the quarterfinals. Vukic and Korda also won their matches, securing spots in the last eight.

Turning to the women’s court, last night Beijing time, the WTA 1000 China Open completed its third day of competition. Veteran Chinese player Zhang Shuai defeated compatriot Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round. She will next face the third seed, American star Anisimova.

Kazakhstan’s Laibakina fought hard through three sets to narrowly beat American McNally 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in her debut; Latvian Ostapenko had a rough start, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Australian Han Tianyu and exiting early. Most other top-ranked players won and progressed, including Bouchard, Kenin, Kudermetova, Buzkova, Muchova, Badosa, Riske, Kessler, Krejcikova, Bencic, Fernandez, and Gauff.