Zhou Yi upset Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 at the Shanghai Masters, fueled by watching Karen Khachanov grind through three tie-breaks earlier that same day.
Inspiration from a Three-Tie-Break Battle
The 21-year-old Chinese wild card entered the court ranked No. 277 in the world. Hours before his second-round match, Zhou sat in the player lounge watching Karen Khachanov defeat Arthur Fery in a tense contest decided entirely by three tie-breaks. That match sparked a simple realization for the young player, who wondered why he could not replicate a similar feat if others managed it.
That mental shift immediately translated to the court against Musetti. In the opening-set tie-break, Zhou faced a 3-6 deficit, leaving his opponent just three points away from the set. He erased all three set points by attacking the net behind a second serve on the decisive point, punctuating the comeback by cupping his hand to his ear to rouse the home crowd.
Closing Out the Career-Best Win
After dropping the second set 6-3, Zhou reset for the decider. The third set forged toward another tie-break, where the Beijing native raced to a 5-0 lead before closing out the match by conceding just a single point to the Italian.
“I don’t believe it and at the same time I do believe it,” Zhou said after securing the biggest victory of his career. “I’ve proven to myself that what I’m doing is right.” The result made him just the third player with a ranking outside the top 250 to reach the third round in Shanghai tournament history.
Zhou Shifts to Tennis Under Italian Coaching
Born in Beijing in 2005, Zhou originally gravitated toward badminton at age seven before his family nudged him toward tennis at age ten to avoid academic interference. His style mirrors his childhood idol, Roger Federer, featuring aggressive approaches and frequent trips to the net. He is coached by former Italian professional Davide Sanguinetti.
Outside of training, Zhou manages type 1 diabetes, a condition diagnosed when he was 14 that requires strict daily monitoring. His support team previously sought management advice from the entourage of Alexander Zverev to handle the athletic demands of the professional tour.
