A remarkable pattern has reappeared: in the past two years, those who won the Chengdu and Hangzhou tourneys inevitably faced defeat afterward.

As everyone knows, tour-level tournaments showcase top-level tennis. This makes winning these events quite challenging. Usually, players remain in good shape for the next tournament after a victory. Yet, exceptions occur. Over the past two years, those who won the Chengdu and Hangzhou Opens have all been defeated in their following competitions. Today, this article will take you through this phenomenon.

Last season, Croatian player Cilic, a former US Open champion and Grand Slam semifinalist, struggled with poor results starting in 2023, causing his world ranking to drop beyond 770. In mid-September, he entered the ATP250 Hangzhou Open as a wildcard. Subsequently, Cilic defeated American Schweida, eighth seed Japanese Nishikori, Japanese qualifier Uchiyama, fourth seed American Brandon Nakashima, sixth seed Chinese Zhang Zhizhen, and others, claiming his first tour title since 2022.

Notably, he became the lowest-ranked player ever to win a tour-level title. However, after this victory, Cilic suffered four consecutive defeats, only securing a win again in early November at the ATP250 Belgrade Open.

Last season, Chinese player Shang Juncheng twice reached the round of 32 in Grand Slams, marking a career breakthrough. Moreover, he earned his first Masters-level victory that year. In mid-September, Shang competed at the ATP250 Chengdu Open. During the event, he defeated Japanese wildcard Nishikori, eighth seed Russian Safiullin, second seed Kazakhstani Bublik, German Hanfmann, top seed Italian Musetti, and others to claim his first tour-level title. However, in the first round of the subsequent China Open, despite winning the first set, Shang was overturned by compatriot Bu Yunchaokete and could not advance further.

Recently, Bublik from Kazakhstan, who had already won three tour titles in the 2025 season, appeared as the third seed at the ATP250 Hangzhou Open. After a first-round bye, he lost the first set in a tiebreak in the second round but rallied to win the next two sets against Australian Wujiqi, reaching the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Bublik dominated lucky loser Czech player Svrčina, losing only two games, and advanced to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Bublik swept past Chinese player Wu Yibing to reach the final. There, he won two tiebreak sets against French player Rué, securing his fourth tour title of the 2025 season. Unfortunately, at the China Open’s first round, Bublik was swept aside by French veteran Mannarino, ending his winning streak.

Chilean player Tabilo, who has twice defeated Serbian star Djokovic, had recently dropped outside the top 100 and had to start from the ATP250 Chengdu Open qualifiers. In qualifying, Tabilo defeated Chinese player Terigele and South African Lloyd Harris to enter the main draw.

In the main event, Tabilo consecutively beat Australian Thompson, Italian Darderi, Australian O’Connell, and American Brandon Nakashima, reaching his first tour final of 2025. In the final, after a tough three-set battle, he defeated top seed Italian Musetti to claim his first tour title of the season. However, at the following ATP500 Tokyo Open first round, despite a hard-fought three-set match, Tabilo lost to Belgian player Verhaegh and could not advance further.

Thus, for two consecutive years, players who won the Chengdu and Hangzhou Opens have all been defeated in their subsequent tournaments. Whether this is coincidence or a mysterious pattern remains to be seen. What do you netizens think? That’s today’s tennis story; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)