Are we taking advantage of the home advantage?

The Chinese driver wants to—and has to—shine here to kick off his 2026 season and climb back to the top.

Shang is coming back from a long way. He suffered a serious injury to his right foot that required surgery at the beginning of March 2024, and since then, the comeback has inevitably been tricky. Yet he’s a young player with enormous potential, notably thanks to a forehand that can do a lot of damage. His current ranking doesn’t reflect his true value at all: he has already shown what he’s made of by going on to win a title at the end of 2024.

Key point here: Shang performs particularly well in Asia. He won the title in Chengdu and reached the semifinals in both of his appearances at this tournament. On the other hand, it’s hard to know exactly where he stands physically and in terms of match rhythm. He lost two exhibition matches last week, but without looking bad. One thing is certain: this tournament means a lot to him, between the points he has to defend and the context of the home advantage.

Comesaña, for his part, is coming off a very fine season. He’s the typical South American player profile who doesn’t hesitate to test himself on hard courts to improve, even if clay remains his favorite surface. Notably, he put together a nice run in Cincinnati in quick conditions, followed by an overall decent indoor season. He’s a player I find a bit underrated, always with the right attitude and capable of capitalizing on the slightest dip from his opponent.

The head-to-head is currently in Shang’s favor (1–0), with a very convincing 6–2 6–1 win on hard courts in 2024.