Zhang Zhizhen becomes first Chinese tennis star to reach Madrid Open quarterfinals

In order to defeat Taylor Fritz on Tuesday at the Madrid Open and advance as the first Chinese player to an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal, Zhang Zhizhen had to save three match points. At the clay-court competition in the Spanish capital, Zhang came back from a set down against the eighth-seeded American to win 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), and 7-6 (10/8). This was his third consecutive victory in a final-set tiebreaker. The 26-year-old’s victory over a top-10 foe was his first of any kind.

“Before the match, you know it’s a very tough player. There is no weakness, so [I] just tried what I can do,” Zhang said. “Then [after] losing the first set, [I was] thinking about trying to play a little bit closer match. In the end [that] I can win, that’s amazing.”

Zhang Zhizhen will next face Aslan Karatsev in the quarterfinals of Madrid Open

The world No. 99 Zhang defeated the No. 21-seeded Denis Shapovalov in the second round of the Madrid Open, knocking off No. 13 Cameron Norrie for his biggest career victory. In total, he has played seven tiebreakers in Madrid and has won six of them. Zhang will next take on Aslan Karatsev, a former No. 14 who defeated Daniil Medvedev, the second-seeded player, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4.

“I’ll tell you a secret,” Zhang said. “We had a practice, and I lost 6-0 with Karatsev. I’ll do my best. Here everyone is a great player, a huge player… [I will] try to do the best what I can do,” he concluded.

Carlos Alcaraz easily defeated Alexander Zverev in another men’s singles match 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. Third-ranked Daniil Medvedev lost to fellow Russian Karatsev and was eliminated, while Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 6-1. World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka was made to work hard in the women’s competition by Mayar Sherif, but she eventually prevailed 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the Madrid Open 2023, that started on April 24 and will have it’s last game on next Sunday, May 7.