Nishikori breezes past Shapovalov, Borges advances

Chinese #NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng started 2024 with a breakthrough semi-final run at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open. On Tuesday, he bookended the calendar year with a rock-solid opening win at the 2025 edition of the hard-court ATP 250.

Under the lights on New Year's Eve at Victoria Park, Shang secured an absorbing 7-6(3), 6-4 triumph over local prospect Coleman Wong.

"Me and Coleman go way back to 11, 12 years old playing juniors together. Seeing him on the biggest stage with me here, in front of his home crowd, I'm really honoured," said the No.50 in the PIF ATP Rankings. "It's great to be back in Hong Kong. It's such a beautiful place, such a beautiful city. It's a special place for me. 2024 started and ended here for me. I have enjoyed every moment so far on these courts.”

Shang's success in Hong Kong in January provided the launchpad for him to become the first Chinese teenager ever to break inside the ATP Top 100 in May and five months later the left-hander reached a career-high World No. 47 after clinching his maiden ATP Tour title in Chengdu.

"Definitely physically I'm a little bit stronger, playing faster, but mentally I'm still the same, trying to be positive all of the time, giving it all on the court," added the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitor. "It's been a real rollercoaster year for me and a really happy one."

Shang faces seventh seed Pedro Martinez at the next hurdle. The Spaniard advanced 6-4, 6-4 against Francesco Passaro.

Earlier on Tuesday, former World No. 2 and three-time Hong Kong champion Michael Chang, who coached Kei Nishikori for the best part of a decade from 2014, told the media that the Japanese icon would find returning to the Top 50 ‘a piece of cake’ if he stays fit.

Nishikori's emphatic 6-2, 6-3 dismissal of Denis Shapovalov certainly set the tone for a strong start to the new season.

"This is a great start," said the 12-time tour-level champion Nishikori. "The next goal is that Top 50. I'll have to go slowly, but if I can be healthy and play the whole season, I think I can do that. I can't speak too much because I'm still around 100 and I need to maybe play some Challengers, to get more points, to get more wins."

Currently the World No. 106, Nishikori arrowed plenty of shots to keep Shapovalov consistently off balance and his vintage display set a second-round clash with third seed Karen Khachanov for New Year's Day.

Nishikori leads his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Khachanov 4-2, having prevailed in their three most recent encounters.

"It's a big test, he's been playing well, especially at the end of the year," said Nishikori. "Big serve, big forehand and it’s going to be very interesting. It's a good challenge for me to see how much I can play with these Top 20 guys. I'm excited."

Nuno Borges and Zizou Bergs were among the other first-round winners in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The fifth-seeded Borges held off Buyunchaokete for a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) opening win, while Bergs sunk qualifier Alejandro Moro Canas 6-4, 6-4.

Story republished with the permission of hkmenstennisopen.com