Buyunchaokete joins Wu and Zhou in Shanghai second round

Buyunchaokete defeated Luca Van Assche 7-6(3), 6-3 on Thursday to become the third Chinese player into the second round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. According to the tournament’s match report, he won 37 of his 38 first-serve points and did not have to save a break point during the victory.

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The result earned Buyunchaokete a meeting with Casper Ruud. Explaining his approach afterwards, he said he had directed more of his play towards Van Assche’s forehand because of the Frenchman’s strength on the backhand side. He also identified two double faults in the second set as the opportunity that allowed him to secure a break.

The 24-year-old arrived in Shanghai after moving up 11 ranking places to No. 93, returning to the top 100. His recent results included a quarter-final appearance in Hangzhou and a three-set defeat by eventual champion Novak Djokovic in Beijing’s second round. His Shanghai win followed opening victories by compatriots Wu Yibing and Zhou Yi on Wednesday.

Zhou’s passage was considerably longer, requiring a deciding-set tie-break against Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci. The 21-year-old wild card won 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4), with the tournament’s separate report describing an attacking performance built around his forehand and willingness to finish points at the net. He advanced to face 24th seed Lorenzo Musetti.

Zhou earned his wild card through his performances at the Shanghai Challenger, where he was the best-performing Chinese player. He reached that event’s quarter-finals in both 2025 and 2026, securing entry to the Masters tournament in each year. A win in his next match would mark his first appearance in the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event.

The Beijing-born player originally pursued badminton before switching to tennis at 10. He later climbed to No. 3 in the junior rankings in 2023 and now works with a team led by Davide Sanguinetti. Zhou cited Roger Federer as an influence on the aggressive, net-oriented game that helped him through his Shanghai opener.