The 26-year-old, who is making his debut in Madrid, rallied from a break down in the first set and saved one set point at 5/6 in the first-set tie-break to move ahead. He then struck 12 winners in the second set and earned the decisive break in the fifth game to advance after one hour and 33 minutes.
With his first tour-level win of the season, Zhang has climbed four spots to No. 95 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Last year, he became the first Chinese man to crack the world’s Top 100, before he reached a career-high No. 91 in February. Zhang will face Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the second round.
In other action, German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff downed Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-1 to earn his fourth Top 50 clay-court win of the season. The World No. 65, who reached the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo earlier this month, next plays #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton.
<img src="https://eltaszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/chinas-zhang-earns-maiden-masters-1000-win.jpg" alt="Jan-Lennard Struff“>
Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki defeated Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-3, while Cristian Garin overcame Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-6(5), 6-2. Pedro Cachin defeated Jordan wild card Abdullah Shelbayh 6-1, 6-4 and Marcos Giron moved past Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-6(7).
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
