On Saturday in Beijing, Juncheng Shang had one of the worst days of his career in front of his home fans, and he was not afraid to say so. The 21-year-old was swept aside by world No. 2 Alexander Zverev 6-0, 6-3 in the second round of the China Open, and afterward described a match that left him wanting nothing more than to get off the court.

“The match was pretty easy for him and really hard for me. For the first time in my life, I just wanted to leave the court as quickly as possible. I wasn’t feeling well, I was in pain, and I was uncomfortable,” Shang said. 

He explained that the discomfort traced back to abdominal pain that had first appeared during a doubles match earlier in the week. 

“When I woke up this morning, my abs were quite stiff and I didn’t know if I would be able to play at full intensity. I warmed up carefully and everything felt fine, but after the first break, I started to feel discomfort again and the pain gradually got worse.”

Zverev, for his part, was simply ruthless. As usual, he landed 76 percent of his first serves, hit nine aces, and won 89 percent of his first-serve points. The dominance did not stop there. The German won 53 points in the match, whereas his opponent only managed to win three games and 24 points throughout the match. It was also the first-ever meeting between the two players, with no prior head-to-head history to speak of before Saturday.

The win extended a remarkable stat Zverev has against left-handers. He is 48-1 against lefties in the last 49 matches and 92-19 overall in his career, which is the third-best record in the Open Era. 

Despite the physical struggles in singles, Shang’s week in Beijing has actually gone well on the doubles side. Paired with Alexander Bublik as a wildcard entry, he has helped the duo fight through two consecutive three-set battles. First rallying from a set down to beat Francisco Cerundolo and Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 in the opening round, then edging Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 in the quarterfinals. 

That run has put Bublik and Shang in the semifinals, where they will battle Sander Arends and David Pel to secure their spot in the final, and the home fans will have something to cheer for after his singles defeat. 

Zverev is also playing doubles in Beijing with his best friend, Marcelo Melo. The same pairing that won the title together in Acapulco earlier this season, the duo beat Constantin Frantzen and Robin Haase in straight sets in their opener and have advanced to the quarterfinals, where they now face second seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, the 2025 Wimbledon champions.

A mouthwatering quarterfinal awaits

Zverev’s victory over the home favorite puts him against a player who has never lost a match in his seven editions of the China Open. The German will lock horns against unbeaten Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal, who has been navigating his own physical issues this week but is still perfecting his record to 31-0 in Beijing. The Serbian holds a 9-5 edge in the head-to-head against the top seed, giving him the psychological advantage he needs while he struggles physically. 

For each man, there are different stakes to advance in the competition. For Djokovic, finding a way to win against Sascha will give him a huge boost after the recent setback at the US Open.

For Alexander Zverev, the picture is more about the golden opportunity he has in the absence of Jannik Sinner. He arrives at this quarterfinal with a genuine shot at finishing the year as the ATP’s year-end world No. 1 for the first time in his career. Sinner has withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters as well, so if Sascha manages to win Beijing and Shanghai, he will undoubtedly become the men’s new world No. 1. 

Moreover, Zverev has consistently come up short in Beijing, making it to the semifinals three times but never reaching the final or winning the trophy. Getting past Djokovic will not only secure him a fourth semifinal at the China Open but also dispel the notion that the German benefits from an easy draw, which explains his trophy cabinet this season.