Zhang majorly enthused by historic Wimbledon appearance

Chinese tennis ace Zhang Zhizhen immediately set his sights on making more major breakthroughs after his historic appearance in the men's singles main draw at Wimbledon fell narrowly short of victory.

Zhang this week became the first Chinese mainland player in the Open era to appear in the men's main draw at the grass-court Grand Slam, after coming through three qualifying rounds. He came agonizingly close to another major milestone on Tuesday, but eventually succumbed 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 6-3,6-2 to Frenchman Antoine Hoang in a thrilling five-setter.

The 24-year-old Zhang, China's top-ranked male player at No 175 in the world, looked on course for the second round when he led 2-1. However, a four-hour rain delay midway through the fourth set threw him off his rhythm and the momentum shifted to Hoang, ranked at No 156.

Zhang, however, bowed out of the iconic tournament with enough encouragement to suggest he will return for a longer run in the future.

"It is for sure not the last time I play in the main draw," said Zhang, who succeeded in qualifying for a Grand Slam at the fourth attempt after two failed campaigns at the Australian Open and one at Roland Garros.

"Winning the two sets were huge positives for me. Overall, I did not think I was better than my opponent and he was stronger in the last two sets. It was definitely a very good experience, though, playing the five sets. Hopefully, I can make it through to the second or third round next time and stay as long as I can."

Earning more recognition for his country in the highly competitive men's game has been a strong motivation for Zhang, and he is looking forward to seeing his name and the Chinese flag appear in later rounds on the draw sheet.

"Maybe if I win more matches, they will be easier to find," he said.

It had been 62 years since a Chinese mainland player last competed in the Wimbledon men's main draw, in 1959 before the Open era, when Mei Fuji reached the second round.

In contrast to the struggles of China's male players, Chinese women have enjoyed greater success at the grass-court major. Zheng Jie reached the semifinals in 2008, Li Na played in three quarterfinals (2006, 2010 and 2013), while Zhang Shuai made the last eight in 2019.

In women's doubles, Zheng teamed with Yan Zi to deliver the country's first Grand Slam trophy at Wimbledon in 2006. Peng Shuai earned a second doubles title at the All England Club for the nation with Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei in 2013.

Zhang, who turned pro in 2012, admitted more hard work and patience are required for China's men's players to catch up with their female compatriots.

"Women from our country have had good results for many, many years," Zhang told atptour.com. "They had Grand Slam wins already in singles and doubles."

"The men, we are not even close to the top 100. That's quite a difference, so we need to go step by step. It cannot be over one day or one week that we can figure this out."

Born into a sporting family, Zhang was first handed a racket at age 4 by his father, a former professional soccer player with top-tier Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua. He ultimately chose tennis over soccer and other options, such as swimming, because of the "fun and independent" nature of the sport.

"My father was a soccer player, but he didn't want me to play soccer. The reason is there are 11 players on the field. Your success is dependent on the whole team, so it's tough," he said. "He wanted me to play something that I can decide how the match goes. In tennis, it's all about me, it's not about the other 10 people."

Zhang made a flying start to his pro career, highlighted by his first main-draw ATP tour-level win at 18 in 2015 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. However, multiple injuries took a toll on his early progress, and he dropped to No 894 in the rankings by May 2017.

The tough youngster, who stands 1.93 meters tall and boasts an aggressive forehand, came back strong to claim two ATP Challenger titles and several tour-level main-draw wins at the end of 2019. In February 2020 he reached an all-time Chinese mainland high of No 136 in the world rankings.

Now, with his confidence boosted by this week's London milestone, Zhang is targeting breaking into the top 100 as soon as possible.