Chinese men's tennis faces a complete wipeout! Shang Juncheng reveals reasons for his loss, Wu Yibing’s “big plan” falls through.

The Australian Open campaign for Chinese men's tennis concluded after Shang Juncheng and Wu Yibing both fell in the second round!

Beforehand, when discussing the chances of Shang Juncheng and Wu Yibing advancing past the second round, many thought at least one would reach the third round, particularly with Shang being the favorite. However, since Wu Yibing had expressed strong ambition to reach the second week, some believed that with such motivation, even facing the tough American Spizzirri, the former Chinese No.1 might fight hard enough to advance.

Yet, Shang Juncheng, who was most favored, left many disappointed after the match, performing far below pre-tournament expectations.

Ahead of his match against Vandeweghe, predictions based on Shang’s excellent first-round performance suggested a fiercely contested battle, with some even expecting Shang to win in three or four sets.

However, after a thrilling first-set tiebreak loss, the intensity quickly faded; Shang seemed completely drained, losing the second and third sets 2-6 and 3-6 respectively, allowing Vandeweghe to close out the match in straight sets. Instead of surprises, the outcome left the public stunned.

The public’s dissatisfaction with Shang’s performance was matched by his own clear self-awareness; he admitted after the match that he didn’t play well, saying, “I was too soft in the tiebreak and lost points. Maybe because of the windy conditions today, I tried to play it safe. Tennis is sometimes won by the brave.”

However, unlike many who regretted Shang’s loss, he himself did not feel it was undeserved, explaining, “That’s tennis — if you seize the key points, you can win the match.”

When asked about the reasons for his defeat, Shang additionally emphasized two points: first, he didn’t fully utilize his strongest skills; second, his opponent avoided those strengths through skill and shot selection.

After the media disclosed Shang’s comments, some expressed concern that if he struggles to deploy his best assets against opponents like Vandeweghe, the long tour ahead might be challenging for him to establish himself, which is worrisome.

Compared to Shang’s collapse after one good set, Wu Yibing’s defeat was described by many fans and netizens as “full of tragedy.”

Before facing Spizzirri, some had already warned Wu Yibing by referencing the American’s first-round upset over the young prodigy Fonseca, advising that to beat the American, Wu must strike first, as chasing from behind would make a comeback even harder.

Unfortunately, the feared scenario happened earlier than expected!

Wu quickly lost the first set 2-6 and then the second 4-6, finding himself dangerously cornered by the American with no room to retreat.

Many expected Wu to lose in three sets, but surprisingly, he narrowly won the third set tiebreak and then took the fourth set 6-4, leveling the match.

At this point, many fans and netizens openly said Wu was about to stage a comeback from two sets down to win in five, humorously noting, “I used to misunderstand Abing, thinking his stamina couldn’t handle a five-set Grand Slam battle, but now he’s changed everyone’s perception.”

Just as everyone was eager to see Wu claim victory in a five-set thriller, the unexpected happened: the former Chinese No.1 ultimately succumbed to physical exhaustion at the critical moment, losing a hard-fought five-set match. Some lamented, “Abing’s comeback attempt failed.”

The 3-6 score in the final set became the main reason many sympathized with Wu, as the scene of his loss was hard to watch.

Afterwards, Wu described his physical issues painfully: “Serving at 2-3 in the fifth set, my waist got slightly strained when the ball landed, then I wasn’t stable on the serve, my right leg cramped, and then my abs cramped too — it felt like everything cramped up completely.”

Though Wu might not have guaranteed a win even without the physical problems, given his fighting spirit and condition, most believed he had a strong chance to prevail, as Wu himself said after the match, “I really wanted to pull off a big upset.”

Wu’s “big upset” plan was to challenge Sinner in the third round to see what could happen. From his words, it’s clear he was ready to give his all and believed in his ability to win, but due to physical issues, he lost, and thus his grand plan fell apart.

Both Shang Juncheng and Wu Yibing exited in the Australian Open’s second round on the same day, and combined with Zhang Zhizhen and Shang’s doubles loss the day before, this marks the end of Chinese men’s tennis at this Australian Open, with the best result being the singles second round.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)