The Madrid Challenger gives us the opportunity to sit down with Juncheng Shang, one of those young people who seem chosen to be protagonists on the ATP circuit. At only 19 years old, the Chinese has his goals more than defined.
Walking through the Villa de Madrid Country Club, it may not be the one that attracts the most attention, but on the path of Juncheng Shang (Beijing, 2005) walk the footsteps of one of the great promises of men’s tennis. At 19 years old it is still early to make predictions, but his junior career (No. 1, US Open finalist) and his emergence into professionalism (current #113 in the rankings) do not help to stop the illusion that he may become the best player in the history of his country.
He claims that he grew up playing on clay, although the start of this tour has not brought him great news. The Asian closed his first time at the Challenger Open Comunidad de Madrid with a record of one victory (Alejandro Moro) and one defeat (Marc-Andrea Huesler), depriving the Spanish public of seeing him a little more in action. Thank goodness that at Punto de Break we knew how to tie him in short so that this great community knows him more in depth. All yours.
How was your time in Madrid?
Well, I think it was a positive start, it was my first tournament on the clay court tour. I’ll stick with the first round match, where I played against an opponent I knew well after having trained together at some point at the Sánchez Casal Academy. This week has been a great challenge.
It was your first tournament on land since Roland Garros 2023.
That’s right, although the land of Paris is totally different, here everything goes a little faster due to the height issue. Let’s say that the conditions are not the easiest because the ball flies a lot. Obviously, I prefer to play on hard courts, but clay is one of my favorite surfaces, especially when things go a little faster.
What things are you working on in the transition to clay?
Everything is based on mobility, as demonstrated by players like Rafa or Carlos, both very solid on clay, although they then know how to compete anywhere. They have both grown on this surface, so I would say that mobility is the most important factor to play well here, in addition to having the ability to develop a lot of strength when counterattacking the opponent’s shots. Patience is also key, much more than on other surfaces, since here it is not so easy to find the winner.
You are only 19 years old, you are in a formative period, do you already know the type of player you want to be?
Right now I have the direction quite defined: I want to be a very aggressive player, but at the moment I am not as strong as I would like. In this case, Alcaraz would be the role model for everyone, just like Jannik Sinner, they are two of the young people who are doing the best tennis. I don’t want to copy them, but I do want to learn from them, as happened to me with Carlos in Australia.
What did you learn that day?
When I was in front of him I realized how he was capable of leaving you without an answer many times, but then there were other points where he did allow you to play. All these things are what I have to learn as a tennis player. My favorite player is Novak Djokovic, I can find certain similarities with him, since he is not the strongest on the tour, nor the tallest, so I hope to get closer to his game in the future.
Since we’re talking about that game in Australia, damn injuries…
It was hard, I did everything possible to finish the match, but the Davis Cup was very close, as well as other upcoming tournaments, so I couldn’t take any risks. It was a shame not to finish that match, I spent a couple of days very sad, especially because I was playing against Carlos, an exceptional person.
Your father was a soccer player and your mother was a table tennis player. Why did you choose tennis?
The funny thing is that soccer is played on a very large field and ping-pong on a very small table, so tennis is somewhere in between (laughs). When I was little I loved playing soccer, I am a big fan of Real Madrid, but my father suffered a lot of injuries, so I thought that I would do much better in tennis as it was not a contact sport. Here you have the network in between and you compete against yourself.
Tell me something about your origins.
I remember that at first I was going to play without many pretensions, I just had a good time playing with friends, it was fun, and my parents never pressured me to do one thing or another, they didn’t force me to be good at sports. I tried to do my best, without worrying about the rest of the things, I was just a child who enjoyed playing tennis. It didn’t matter if I won or lost, tennis gave me happiness in itself, something I still maintain now. The main objective has always been to give my best version and be happy on the court.
You are one of the best of your generation, does this mean pressure?
I don’t feel pressure. Obviously, I always want to do my best, I want to be the best of my generation and, in the future, the best in the world. The feeling I have right now is more of motivation, of desire to continue evolving to reach the professional circuit and compete with the best. I feel very confident and I believe I can achieve it.
In recent years you have had several coaches. Why so many changes?
Well, this happens all the time, many players break up with their coaches and start new stages. It is true that I have had several coaches so far, but I was able to learn many things from each one. They taught me to work hard, they helped me a lot with my game, but they just didn’t fit in at the right time. Now I work with Martín Alund, who knows all this perfectly. I think we are making a great team in this transition period.
How was your experience with Marcelo Ríos? That didn’t last long…
Definitely, we are talking about a very special person (laughs). Everyone knows Marcelo, he knows that he was No. 1 in the world and all his statistics, but there is much more. We started working together really well, but as time went by I realized that he was not the coach I needed right now. He helped me a lot, we had a great time working, I appreciate him a lot as a person, but in the end we decided not to continue. I wish you the best for the future.
Chinese tennis is in fashion, do you get along well with each other or is it impossible to have friends on the circuit?
I think it is possible to have these relationships, but we can never be best friends, since there is a possibility that next week you will have to face one of them and we will have to kill each other on the court (laughs). I empathize with all the players and they with me too, there is a very fraternal atmosphere in the locker room, but at the end of the day it is necessary to have that personal space reserved for you and your team. They are the ones who understand me best, the ones who travel with me every week and the ones who truly want the best for me.
Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune… what relationship do you have with them?
I don’t have a very close relationship with them either, although I hope to get to know them a little more in the future, train with them more times. With Jannik, for example, I never had that opportunity, but with Holger we have trained sometimes and he is a charming boy on and off the court. I watch some of his games and he is super entertaining, he is someone very close and I admire him a lot. The same thing happens to me with Carlos, he is possibly one of the kindest people in the world, having played with him is incredible.
Right now you are #114 in the ranking, do you see tp10 very far away?
Definitely yes. If you look at the ranking it’s rational thinking, I’m still very far away, but there are many players who currently have that potential to reach the top 10, although I still can’t tell you where the differential is to get there. If one day I manage to get into the top 10 I will know what the difference is with the rest of the group, for now I focus on being a better player and a better person off the court every day.
Can you imagine being the best Chinese tennis player in history?
Yes, in this world anything is possible, there are many young players currently fighting for it, so I am one of those who dream big. For me it is not a primary objective, something that I have in my head, but in each challenge I aim to achieve my best version, without entering into comparisons with others.
Let’s go with the quick round. Favorite tournament?
Beijing.
Favorite hit?
Backhand, although there are days when I feel very comfortable with the forehand, but I am more solid with the backhand.
Favorite surface?
Hard track.
Your best memory as a tennis player.
Playing at home for the first time, in Beijing, in front of my family and all my people. An incredible experience.
Why do they call you ‘Jerry’?
I didn’t choose it, it was my parents’ thing. When I was little they compared me to the mouse from Tom & Jerry, the cartoons. He was small, but he had the talent to play with the big guys, as if he were playing cat and mouse. My tennis could be understood from that perspective: since I am not the biggest or the strongest, I have to use my intelligence more.
Win a Grand Slam or be Nº1?
Win a Grand Slam.
Win a Grand Slam or be an Olympic champion?
Winning a Grand Slam, I maintain, although I hope to achieve both.
Asking, what Grand Slam?
[…] Right now, I would say the Australian Open.
The hardest match you’ve ever had.
This year I have played several matches that were very tough, but I choose Mackenzie McDonald, in the first round of the Australian Open. It was my first victory in five rounds, I ended up playing at a high level, probably the most important victory of my career so far.
What music do you like?
I listen to a lot of Chinese music which helps me relax, but I also listen to English music. I like pop, I like dance, what I don’t like is rap.
Spanish music?
Only if I have the lyrics in front of me and I can understand the meaning (laughs).
A hobby apart from tennis.
Golf, I love it. It gives me a lot of calm after tournaments.
Technically, is it more difficult than tennis?
I would say no, at least it doesn’t seem that way to me.
Best friend on the circuit?
I just started, I couldn’t tell you one, but I have a very good relationship with all the Chinese players. In the future I will be able to tell you someone specifically.
Who is the GOAT?
Novak Djokovic.
We’re going to 2028, what players do you see in the top5?
This one is really complicated […] I hope to be one of those in that group, but it’s still very early.
A goal for this season.
Give my best and be happy on the court.
What is your dream?
Reach my best version… and win a Grand Slam.
2024-04-11 20:41:35
#dont #copy #Sinner #Alcaraz
