Munar reaches last eight at ATP 250

Shang Juncheng is at home at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open. A semi-finalist at the ATP 250 event last year, the Chinese lefty moved into the quarter-finals at this year’s edition on Thursday when he dispatched Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-1.

The #NextGenATP star was aggressive throughout the 78-minute encounter and was resilient under pressure in front of a capacity crowd in Hong Kong. Shang clubbed 28 winners and saved all six break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats to set a meeting against top seed Andrey Rublev or Fabian Marozsan. Rublev defeated Shang en route to the title at the ATP 250 hard-court tournament 12 months ago.

“It is very enjoyable playing here. It is good to be back in Hong Kong with the amazing city and fans. It has been a good start to the season,” said Shang, who beat Coleman Wong in the first round.

Shang's success in Hong Kong last January provided the launchpad for him to become the first Chinese teenager ever to break inside the Top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings in May and in September he reached a career-high No. 47 after clinching his maiden ATP Tour title in Chengdu.

Earlier, second seed Lorenzo Musetti made the perfect start to his season by overcoming Canadian Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-3. The Italian is searching for his first title since 2022 and will next play Jaume Munar after the Spaniard beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-5.