3-1! Chinese Men's Team Makes History in Davis Cup

Although there were no top-tier tournaments this week, the tennis scene remained exciting. The match that drew the most attention from domestic fans was the World Group 1 playoff between China and Portugal held in Nansha, Guangzhou. On the first day, despite Bu Yunchaokete losing 4-6, 4-6 to Rosa, Wu Yibing defeated Portugal's top singles player Borges in straight sets, helping China level the score at 1-1 temporarily.

On the second day, the men's doubles team of Zhang Zhizhen and Zhou Yi took the court first, ultimately defeating Borges and Cabral 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Later, Zhang Zhizhen beat Borges 7-5, 6-4 in singles. With this, China secured a 3-1 overall victory over Portugal, marking the first time the Chinese team has advanced to the World Group 1 since the Davis Cup adopted its current format.

“I felt that our doubles performance today was very good. Of course, Zhou Yi helped a lot during the match, which eased a lot of pressure on me. At critical moments, his returns were excellent. After winning the doubles, I also felt more confident going into my singles match.”

After the match, Zhang Zhizhen shared this with reporters. Meanwhile, the thousands of fans at the Nansha International Tennis Center also provided intangible support for the Chinese team, their thunderous applause creating pressure on the opponents.

Besides the Davis Cup, several women's tour events crowned their champions this week. Notably, home favorite Kostyia swept top seed Raducanu in the final of the Cluj-Napoca tournament, winning her fourth career title without dropping a set on home soil. She had announced that she would retire after this season, making this her final appearance in this event. Currently, Kostyia’s world ranking has risen to 31.

At the Ostrava WTA 250 event, Bolt overturned a 5-7 first set loss to defeat Kolpach 6-2, 6-1 in the final, claiming her second tour title of 2024 after Nottingham. This marks the fourth career tour title for Bolt.

In the higher-tier WTA 500 Abu Dhabi tournament, a new champion emerged. Beleck, who came through qualifying, defeated second seed Aleksandrova in the final to win her first career title — and it was a 500-level title at that. This victory is especially significant for the 20-year-old Czech player, who overcame three seeded players on her way to the championship, extending her winning streak to seven matches starting from qualifying.

As for Aleksandrova, her record in 500-level finals remains poor. She has now lost four consecutive WTA 500 finals, including those at Monterrey, Seoul, Ningbo in 2025, and most recently Abu Dhabi.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)