A possible exploit for Shang?

The Chinese player has finally won a match in this tournament that means a lot to him. Maybe this breakthrough could help him take his chance and surprise Zverev.

Shang has finally broken the curse, but it was really tough against a pretty inspired Baez. I really felt the Chinese player didn’t serve well, which is obviously a handicap since he had to constantly grind from the baseline against an excellent baseliner. I still want to give him credit, because he held up physically in a long, intense match. And he also managed to stay strong after missing chances at the end of the third set. It’s a good win for his confidence and also, in tennis terms, for him to feel strong from the back of the court. On the other hand, I didn’t find him very sharp on the return, and that was only Baez. He’s not managing to make the opponent play enough. And knowing what’s waiting for him tomorrow, that could be very problematic. But one thing is certain: he’ll be able to play with a lot more freedom. This time, no one is expecting a win from him.

Because yes, obviously, it really is Zverev, the huge favorite in this match-up. The German is having a complete season and spoke about the end of the year, which can be hard to manage for a lot of players. He said that in the past he sometimes lacked freshness and motivation. But he ended up saying that this year, he still has goals and feels good physically. I want to believe him without fully believing him, since at the slightest defeat he’ll come out with all kinds of excuses. So it’s better not to rely on him, or at least let’s wait and see. In his first round, he beat Norrie and saved a set point, but the match was pretty clean from his side. He served well, the conditions suit him, and he’s riding a huge wave of confidence. He might be one of the players who will suffer the least from the tight schedule with the Laver Cup.

I have to talk again about his statistic against left-handers, which he keeps extending. It’s his favorite type of opponent, and for the reasons mentioned earlier, Shang shouldn’t be an exception. The Chinese player will try to play his aggressive tennis, hitting harder and going for very risky shots, but he doesn’t really have a choice. I should also mention that he took an MTO for a foot problem, which needs to be monitored given his long history with that type of injury. I don’t know if it was the same issue or just a knock after a fall, but it’s not very reassuring.