Shang Juncheng defeats Auger-Aliassime, climbs back into the TOP 300, while Yuan Yue’s smile after losing is seen as a win in itself.

Following these two key battles involving Shang Juncheng and Yuan Yue, although Yuan Yue did not share the same victorious joy as Shang, her charming smile after the match was perceived by many as deeply significant — “losing is also winning.”

Unlike the Chinese players who competed on the first day of the Australian Open and were generally underrated by bookmakers, Shang Juncheng, the first Chinese player to compete on the second day, was finally supported in the betting odds. The bookmakers set Shang’s odds at 1 to 1.3, far better than former world No. 9 Auger-Aliassime’s 1 to 3.5.

This spotlight match drew great interest for two reasons: first, whether 37-year-old Auger-Aliassime could prove that experience still counts; second, whether Shang Juncheng, often criticized for his stamina faltering at crucial moments, could show toughness if the match became a tough fight.

Although Auger-Aliassime is currently ranked 91st and it seems his prime days might be behind him, the fact that the Spaniard has maintained a stable position within the TOP 100 shows he remains a very dangerous opponent. Fans and netizens directly warned Shang to be extra cautious against such a player, otherwise he might not live up to the optimistic odds.

At the start of the match, some joked that Shang Juncheng was wearing the lucky orange-red shirt paired with white shorts, showing great ambition — “aiming to be the dazzling fiery white horse of the court.”

In fact, Shang’s performance in the first set matched the positive expectations. Amid the enthusiastic cheers from Chinese fans at the venue, Shang gave Auger-Aliassime an early shock by leading 2-0 and maintaining the advantage to win the set 6-4.

Starting from the second set, it became clear that the pre-match warnings to be cautious about Auger-Aliassime were justified. The Spanish veteran finally displayed his formidable strength and won the second set tiebreak, leveling the match.

Even though Shang took the third set 6-4, many believed there was an element of luck in the decisive point he won. Had Auger-Aliassime successfully held serve, the outcome of the third set might have remained uncertain.

Therefore, as the match moved into the fourth set, another concern arose: given how fiercely Shang had fought in the previous three tough sets, would his stamina hold up at this critical moment, and could he avoid being overturned by Auger-Aliassime?

Surprisingly, Shang’s stamina held strong, while 37-year-old Auger-Aliassime’s endurance faltered, leading to a dominant 6-0 fourth set loss and Shang’s return to the Australian Open round of 64 after two years.

With this victory over Auger-Aliassime, Shang Juncheng not only earned AUD 225,000 (over 1.05 million RMB) in prize money but also gained 50 ranking points, propelling him up 58 places to re-enter the TOP 300 at world No. 260.

Although Yuan Yue fought just as hard as Shang, she did not achieve a win against Swiatek like Shang did. However, her smile after losing gave fans and netizens plenty of material for jokes, describing it as breathtakingly beautiful and full of charm.

Looking back at Yuan Yue’s match against Swiatek, she displayed great fighting spirit throughout, with a fierce, roaring determination.

Yuan Yue’s post-match smile received overwhelmingly positive reactions mainly because Swiatek is such a formidable opponent and Yuan was unlucky in the draw. Had she faced a different player, her performance today would have given her a strong chance of victory, likely avoiding a first-round exit at the Australian Open.

After the match, some fans and netizens jokingly challenged the bookmakers, saying, “Did any of you bet on scores like 6(5)-7 and 3-6 with odds of 1 to 19?”

What they meant was that, given the bookmakers set Yuan Yue’s odds at 1 to 19, she was expected to lose easily. But the actual score completely overturned those dismissive odds. Even though Yuan lost, she had no regrets — she won against the odds.

Therefore, judging from Yuan Yue’s smiling and friendly handshake with Swiatek after the match, it seems she is satisfied with her performance. Sometimes hard work doesn’t yield the desired result, but it can still demonstrate personal ability in another way. Yuan achieved this at this year’s Australian Open, which is why her post-loss smile captivated everyone and earned praise as “losing is also winning.”(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlight River’s Starry Sky)