7 wins and 1 loss, is he the nemesis of Chinese male players?

The 2026 ATP250 Hong Kong event is in the men's singles second round, with matches involving Chinese players attracting considerable interest. As a wildcard entrant, Huang Zelin overturned a 1-6 first-set deficit to defeat the much higher-ranked sixth seed Diallo, reaching the singles quarterfinals of a tour event for the first time in his home city.

This young Hong Kong talent will face the tournament's top seed Musetti in the next round, who himself struggled in his opening match, battling through three sets against Echeverry to secure a hard-fought victory.

Another wildcard, Wu Yibing, faced the tournament's third seed Rublev. Although Wu once led 6-3, 2-2, the Russian player gained momentum mid-match and ultimately prevailed, marking a smooth start to his new season.

According to Wu Yibing’s competition schedule, his next event will be the men's singles qualifying rounds at the Australian Open. Notably, despite the loss, Wu immediately headed to the practice courts with his coaching team to work on his serve and review the match, clearly surprised by how the match unfolded.

For Rublev, the victory over Wu Yibing improved his head-to-head record against Chinese players to 7 wins and 1 loss, with the sole defeat occurring in the 2024 China Open men’s singles quarterfinals, where Bu Yunchaokete surprisingly beat Rublev in straight sets 7-5, 6-4.

The other seven wins came against Zhang Zhizhen, Shang Juncheng, and Wu Yibing, who are currently the core strength of Chinese men's tennis, showing that Rublev has considerable experience facing them.

Next, Rublev will compete against the tournament’s eighth seed Borges for a place in the men’s singles semifinals; Borges recently defeated Grand Slam champion Cilic.

According to the schedule, the second round of the men's singles bottom half will begin today. Wildcard Shang Juncheng will challenge the fifth seed Sonego this afternoon.

Shang Juncheng started this season with a win and afterwards commented on his ranking outside the top few hundred, saying there are many opportunities to compete, and he does not need to stress about it yet, believing that step by step, his abilities will improve.

The second seed Bublik will face a challenger later. It’s clear that although the Hong Kong event is only an ATP 250 tournament, it features a strong field and exciting matchups. We look forward to more victories from the Chinese players currently in the draw.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)