Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik is all set to face the home-favorite, Shang Juncheng in the QF of the Chengdu Open. This will be the third meeting in the 2024 season and guess what? It’s all level in between them as of now and this is what makes this contest more interesting. Bublik reached the final here in the 2019 season, however, J.C. Shang will be competing in this tournament for the very first time. So, is this the only factor that may give the Kazakhstani star an edge over the Chinese?

Alexander Bublik vs J.C. Shang: Preview

Bublik has already won a title this year at the Open Sud de France. Apart from that, he also reached the finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. However, he entered this tournament after a first-round exit from the US Open! Guess who was his opponent in that match? Alexander Bublik, however, managed to pull things back on track in Chengdu after his disappointing loss at the hands of Shang in NY. He started his campaign here with a win against Argentina’s Federico Agustin Gomez. Now, it’ll be interesting to see if he can continue this winning run in this tournament.

His opponent, Shang Juncheng on the other hand, started his season with a bang! He reached the SF in the Hong Kong Open and after that; he made quite a few deep runs into the next few tournaments, but he’s yet to win a title this year. Shang was defeated by Casper Ruud in the R3 of the US Open. However, he clinched a hard-fought victory against Roman Safiullin in his previous match in Chengdu. He defeated the Russian by 5-7,6-3,6-3.

Bublik vs Shang: Head-to-Head

Both tennis players are currently leveled at 1-1 in their H2H scoreline. Their recent meeting came at the US Open, where J.C. Shang defeated Alexander Bublik in a marathon five-setter.

• 2024 Indian Wells R64: Bublik 6-4,6-1.
• 2024 US Open R128: Shang 6-4,3-6,5-7,6-3,6-4.

Prediction: Bublik to win in three sets

Considering the venue and the result of their previous encounter, we can expect some fighting from the Chinese in this thrilling encounter. If we look at their current form and rankings, Alexander Bublik is currently ranked 27th in the men’s singles ranking. He has a win-loss record of 24-20 in this season. On the other hand, J.C. Shang (67) has a win-loss record of 21-15. 

Alexander Bublik is a right-hander who loves playing an aggressive brand of tennis, while J.C. Shang is a left-hander who has garnered an immaculate reputation for his calm demeanor. If we take a look at their playing styles more closely, Bublik’s playing style is more like a compilation of unorthodox new school innovations. His creativity and unpredictability are what make him a special player in the men’s division. Bublik loves using underarm serves and trick shots to put his opponents off guard. He can generate some real power in his serves and has hit 480 aces so far this season. However, he needs to keep an eye on his double-fault counts. We saw him hit 8 aces and 9 double faults in the previous match.

So, Alexander Bublik needs to pull things a bit on that aspect of the game. J.C. Shang has a good return game and his left-handed forehands can put Bublik into some real trouble in this match. This 19-year-old Chinese player has an incredible ball-striking ability. He is a clever player, who can change his gears pretty quickly during the match. His favorite shot is his forehand, but is it enough to topple Alexander Bublik? Although both the players excel on hard courts, we expect Bublik to win this contest by a fine margin. Reason? Experience should be on top of the list!