Things are looking up for China's aces Down Under

Ten years after legend Li Na's inspirational win, Chinese tennis is again taking the Australian Open by storm, as a rarely-seen collective surge is stealing the show in Melbourne.

Having watched the replay of Li's 2014 final "more than 10 times", top Chinese women's ace Zheng Qinwen has left her own mark on the season-opening major by charging into the third round of the competition for the first time in her career with a straight-set victory over Katie Boulter of Britain on Thursday.

Despite windy conditions at Melbourne Park, world No 15 Zheng refocused to prevail in a power battle after wasting five match points in her final service game to clinch a 6-3, 6-3 win against Boulter, with an ace at the sixth attempt to claim an emphatic victory.

The win makes the 21-year-old Zheng only the sixth Chinese woman, and the youngest, to reach at least the round of 32 at all four Grand Slams, following in the footsteps of the "Golden Flowers" generation led by Li.

A few hours after Zheng's win, her senior compatriot Wang Yafan ousted 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, on the same court to set up an exciting all-Chinese third-round clash, which is expected to draw a huge contingent from the local Chinese diaspora when they square off against each other on the weekend.

"Obviously China has very good players in the women's game, and now, the men's game as well. All of us are trying to improve and develop as best as we can," Zheng, who credited Li's influence on the current crop of young players after the first round, said during the postmatch news conference on Thursday.

"We are young and we are trying to explore our game style. Right now Chinese Tennis is in a really good position," Zheng said.

A powerful player that boasts a kick-serve and a strong forehand, Zheng's mental toughness had emerged as a stumbling block in her ascent to the top echelons of the sport, underlined by a string of first-round defeats during the 2023 grass season.

After a solid run late last season, which saw her fight into a Slam quarterfinal for the first time in New York, Zheng attributes much of her improvement to that big-time challenge, noting that it has made her stronger inside.

"I learned a lot from that match (the quarterfinal against Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open)," said the WTA's Most Improved Player in 2023. "The loss against her made me try to develop my game more, to try and catch up. Coming here, I have more experience than before for sure."

Unstoppable Shang

Joining Zheng to spearhead China's surge Down Under is teen star Shang Juncheng, who overcame a one set deficit to beat Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal 3-1, reaching the third round in the men's main draw — the first Chinese mainland player to do so at the Australian Open.

Fresh from making his first career semifinal at the Hong Kong Open two weeks ago, Shang leaned on his much-improved fitness and composure to step up a gear after dropping the first set to outplay the 137th-ranked Nagal, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5,6-4, in two hours and 50 minutes on Court 13.

The hard-fought win has propelled the 18-year-old left-hander to a mouthwatering fixture against world No 2, and title favorite, Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 32, underscoring the rise of Chinese men's tennis.

"He's one of the best players on tour. I've watched him the whole year ... For me, again, there are low expectations. I expect nothing but a really nice crowd and to just enjoy every point and every moment out there. To just try and learn," Shang said of the David-vs-Goliath challenge awaiting him in the next round.

"It's going to be great. I'm going to have fun," said the 18-year-old, whose father used to be a professional soccer player.

Having already created many "firsts" for Chinese men's tennis, Shang, who, last year, became the first Chinese mainland men's player to win a main draw match in Melbourne, said that he owes much of his breakthrough success to his underdog mindset.

"I actually spoke to my coach just before coming to Australia. He says, 'if you expect nothing, then everything you get is overachieving'," Shang explained.

"For me, I've been just kind of having low expectations, just starting from scratch. I mean, it's always an opportunity for me to learn, because this is only my second year (on the pro circuit), so everything is still kind of new to me."

Led not just by Shang, but also another main draw player Zhang Zhizhen, who lost to Frenchman Ugo Humbert 3-1 in the second round on Thursday, Chinese men's tennis has finally come good, stepping out from the shadow of the country's more successful women's players after decades of trying.

Zhang, China's current top male player, ranked 54th in the world, said it's only the beginning.

"I'm happy to catch up to them (the Chinese women). Even though they are so far away, I'm still trying to catch them, which is pretty tough. There's a long way to go," Zhang said earlier, during the recent United Cup world mixed-team tournament in Perth, at which he represented China alongside Zheng.

"Yeah, I mean, why not? Why not try to be the best?"

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn