CHENGDU, September 16, 2025 (Press Release)
The Chengdu Open 2025 comes alive on Wednesday at the Sichuan International Tennis Center, as the main draw gets underway with four compelling first-round singles matches.
All eyes will be on defending champion Shang Juncheng, making a determined comeback after an injury-interrupted season. Awarded a wild card for this year’s tournament, the 20-year-old Beijing native will face Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in Wednesday evening’s Center Court feature match. The pair have met twice before in Masters qualifying last year, with Bergs claiming a clay-court victory in Rome and Shang prevailing on the hard courts in Paris.
Shang’s road back hasn’t been easy. After undergoing right foot surgery in March, the young star has only played three events this season—the Masters in Canada and Cincinnati, and the US Open, where he retired in the first round with a bruised left ankle. Now fully recovered, Shang is eager to make the most of the remainder of the season.
“It’s been a tough year for me with injuries. I’m glad we’ve got everything sorted out and figured out what’s been going wrong. I’m happy that I’m healthy to play now for the China swing, and for sure, I’ll give everything I have,” said Shang in an interview yesterday.
The only seeded player in action tomorrow is fifth seed Cameron Norrie, who will face 20-year-old Chinese wild card Zhou Yi in his opening match. The British No.2 has enjoyed strong Grand Slam runs this season, reaching the fourth round of Roland Garros, the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and the third round at the US Open.
The day’s other first-round matches will see American Marcos Giron face Ethan Quinn for the second time this year, having defeated his compatriot at Delray Beach in February. Meanwhile, Frenchman Quentin Halys will take on Australia’s Christopher O’Connell in their first Tour-level encounter, after O’Connell claimed victory in their only previous meeting at the 2023 Dubai qualifying rounds.
Despite brief rain interruptions, all first-round qualifying matches were completed today. Notably, former Chengdu Open champion Bernard Tomic made a strong start to his qualifying campaign, defeating fellow Australian and qualifying top seed Tristan Schoolkate 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 34 minutes on Center Court.
Tomic, a former World No. 17 and four-time ATP title winner, his last coming here in 2018, is making a determined return to the Tour after years of challenges. Having started the year outside the Top 200, the 32-year-old has steadily regained form on the Challenger circuit and earned his first ATP main-draw win since 2021 at the Mallorca Open in June. Tomorrow, the now World No.165 faces Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round of qualifying, in what will be their first meeting on Tour.
The remaining qualifying finals, set for tomorrow, will feature Japan’s Taro Daniel against Briton Billy Harris, American Mackenzie McDonald facing Norway’s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, and South African Lloyd Harris taking on Chilean Alejandro Tabilo.
