Juncheng Shang is on a roll. After knocking out Atlanta’s own Ben Shelton in the Round of 16, Shang advanced farther than he’s ever gone in the Atlanta Open — the semifinals — by defeating Australian Max Purcell in two sets 7(6)-6(3), 6-4, despite two rain delays and the match starting late.
It’s a remarkable run from Shang, but he doesn’t seem fazed by it at all. Wearing his neon yellow outfit, he was perfectly calm on the court. As Purcell argued with the umpire about the balls and complained about the rain, Shang seemed his usual calm self. Even two rain delays couldn’t mess with his rhythm.
“I was just having fun in the room with my team,” Shang said, smiling after the match. “Just trying to get myself relaxed, but also focus on the match. Try not to think about too much because these rain delays, they can be tricky. We’re all in the second set, it could be 10 minutes, I could be down six four or I could win the match like that. So I did a good job with my team to keep it together, so I’m super happy about that.”
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Shang’s composure held him through the first set, where each player had their serve broken once, ultimately ending in a tie break. In the middle of the tie break with Shang up 5-2, the game was halted for a brief rain delay. Upon returning, Purcell scored a point. It was the kind of break that could have broken certain players, but Shang remained unflappable and scored his next point to win the set.
His confidence continued into the second set, where despite making errors, Shang continued to pull through. That was best exemplified in the eighth game where despite Shang losing a 30-0 lead, he fought through multiple break points to win the game. In the next game, he broke Purcell’s serve to put himself ahead even with another rain delay near the end of the game, and closed out in the final game with four straight points, sealing the win with a 120 mph ace.
“With Max, he’s got unbelievable hands and he’s really quick,” Shang said. “So both of us, you know, similar playing style, maybe I’m a little bit more aggressive. So we have some cat and mouse games on the course. So it’s always fun to have those but again, you gotta focus on the match the whole time.”
Shang advances to his first semifinals at the Atlanta Open and will play Australian Jordan Thompson.
