China's twin stars have fallen! Zhou Yi becomes the biggest pace-setter, Shang Juncheng fails to defend title and drops out of TOP 200

Zhou Yi and Shang Juncheng brought a huge shock on the first day of the Chengdu 250 event, but just like a wave, it arrived quickly and disappeared just as fast. The brothers appeared to be in sync, both bowing out after the second round, marking their exit from Chengdu.

Zhou Yi faced Australian O'Connell, while Shang Juncheng played against American Brandon Nakashima! Before the matches, when everyone was discussing these two key battles, Zhou was clearly favored over Shang. After all, O'Connell is considered easier to handle compared to Nakashima.

The strong confidence in Zhou Yi advancing to the third round mainly stemmed from his stunning first-round upset over the powerful Norrie. Many believed that since Norrie, who ranks and performs better than O'Connell, was defeated, Zhou had a great chance to continue progressing against the 31-year-old Australian.

Some even said that even if Shang Juncheng suffered an upset against Nakashima, as long as Zhou Yi won, the final outcome would still be acceptable to everyone.

Unexpectedly, after facing O'Connell, it seemed Zhou Yi had exhausted all his energy battling Norrie, as he was in trouble from the very first set.

Against the 31-year-old Australian veteran, Zhou completely lost the fearless spirit he had shown against Norrie, quickly dropping the second set 2-6.

Many expected Zhou to rally in the second set and fight desperately against O'Connell, but seeing his condition was not much better than in the first set, fans watching the live stream suddenly realized that Zhou was likely doomed, with little hope of turning around the increasingly dominant Australian veteran.

When O'Connell sealed the second set at 6-4 to end the match, many found it hard to accept Zhou's poor performance despite high expectations. Having defeated the formidable Norrie only to lose to the relatively unknown O'Connell, acting as a pace-setter for others, was truly frustrating.

According to post-match statistics, Zhou Yi's performance was indeed far from his impressive first-round showing against Norrie. In both break point conversion and first serve points won, O'Connell had a clear advantage.

Throughout the match, Zhou had two break point chances but failed to convert any, while O'Connell converted 3 out of 7. Coupled with his high first-serve win rate of 80.56%, Zhou’s 64.1% looked quite weak, making his loss inevitable.

Of course, many comforted Zhou after the match, reminding that at only 20 years old, he still has huge potential for growth. However, they strongly advised him to improve his consistency. If he can only perform well in single matches but cannot maintain form, establishing himself on the tour will be extremely difficult.

After Zhou Yi's unexpected exit, Shang Juncheng became the last hope.

Before the match, many were worried about Shang because in the first round, despite losing the first set easily, he dragged what was expected to be a quick win into a three-set battle. Although he narrowly advanced, the instability exposed then made facing the in-form Nakashima unsettling.

The concerns proved justified as Shang lost in straight sets, 5-7 and 3-6, without completing a full three-set match this time.

Looking back at the match against Nakashima, Shang's loss was largely due to his weak performance in the closing stages of the sets.

Whether in the first or second set, Shang started off quite aggressively, even managing to put some pressure on Nakashima.

Especially in the first set, Shang was the dominant player and had a great chance to take the lead and put all the pressure on Nakashima. However, repeated mistakes at crucial moments gave the American the opportunity to level the score and then seize the chance to break through Shang’s defense.

Seeing Nakashima win the first set despite being under pressure, many in the live chat lost hope for Shang’s comeback even before the second set began. When the American sealed the match in the following sets, the reaction to Shang’s exit was very different from Zhou’s, with few surprised by the result.

As last year’s Chengdu 250 defending champion, Shang Juncheng’s second-round exit and early failure to defend his title resulted in a major setback. After losing last year’s champion points, his current world ranking has dropped out of the TOP 200. If he plans to compete in the China Open and Shanghai Masters, Shang must stabilize his form and seize chances to earn points, or else the consequences will be severe.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlit Starry Sky)