China lost to the top seed 0-2! Stopped in the top 8 of the United Cup for 2 consecutive years, Zhang Zhizhen was avenged by the first brother of the United States

In the last 1/4 finals of the United Cup on the evening of January 1, Beijing time, the No. 5 seed Chinese team faced off against the top seed United States team. In the second men's singles matchup, China's "first brother" Zhang Zhizhen lost 0-2 to the American star Fritz, allowing the opponent to take revenge. Coupled with the first women's singles matchup, the veteran Zhang Shuai lost 0-2 to the world's No. 3 Gauff, and the Chinese team, which fell behind 0-2 in aggregate, was determined to miss the semifinals in advance. This is also the second consecutive year that the Chinese team has stopped in the top 8 of the United Cup.

【World Ranking】

Zhang Zhizhen is currently ranked 45th in the world, and his best career ranking is 31st in the world; Fritz, on the other hand, is ranked No. 4 in the world, which is his best ranking. In the past 2024, Fritz won the US Open and the year-end finals singles runner-up.

【Confrontation Situation】

The two have met once before, with Zhang beating Fritz 2-1 in the Madrid Masters in 2023.

【Contest Review】

In the first set, both sides held serve in the first six games, Zhang Zhizhen saved one break point in the seventh game but was finally broken, and Fritz brought the score to 5-3 after holding serve in the eighth game. In the 10th game, Fritz scored four points in a row to complete the hold and won the first set 6-4.

In the second set, a similar plot played out again, Zhang Zhizhen was the first to break again in the crucial 7th game, and as Fritz won his own serve in the 10th game, he won the second set with a score of 6-4, thus losing 2 sets to complete the "revenge" against Zhang Zhizhen, and the United States eliminated the Chinese team with a total score of 2-0 and advanced to the semifinals.

【Next Matchup】

Due to the loss of the Chinese team's women's singles and men's singles, it has been announced in advance that it will miss the top 4. The next mixed doubles showdown will not be able to change the result, and according to the arrangement, Zhang Shuai will be paired with Sun Fajing to face Gauff and Fritz.