Meet Shang Juncheng – A Tom And Jerry Fanatic Who Faces Sumit Nagal At Australian Open 2024 Second Round

Melbourne: Sumit Nagal is expected to face a daunting challenge against Chinese Shang Juncheng in the second round of the Australian Open 2024 on Thursday (January 18). While Nagal upset Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the first round, Juncheng overcame Mackenzie McDonald challenge to set up a second-round date with the Indian. The match is set to start tentatively at 8 AM IST but the timings may change. This is also the second time Nagal is playing in the second round at the Australian Open and his fourth Grand Slam main draw appearance after 2019 (US Open), 2020 (US Open) and 2021 (Australian Open). The 26-year-old is also the first Indian to qualify for the Australian Open second round after now-retired Somdev Devvarman in 2013.

Who is Shang Juncheng?

A fanatic of famous cartoon show Tom and Jerry, Juncheng is an 18-year-old prodigy who is making high waves in the sport. His nickname of Jerry also comes from the above-mentioned cartoon character. Born in a sports family, to footballer father Shang Yi (Beijing Guoan) and table tennis world champion mother Wu Na, sports was in Juncheng’s genes. The youngster took up tennis at the age of five on the insistence of his parents and is currently based at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, USA. If not tennis, Juncheng would have taken golf professionally.

Juncheng came into limelight with his first ITF Junior Circuit title in 2019. Two years later, Juncheng reached French Open quarterfinals, Wimbledon semifinals and US Open final, all in junior level. He entered the top 200 in 2022 and also made his debut on the professional tour. Juncheng won 2022 Lexington Challenger to become the first from China to clinch a trophy in the Challenger Tour history.
The next year, Juncheng made his Grand Slam debut at Australian Open, thus becoming the youngest male player at the tournament and the youngest Grand Slam men’s qualifier since 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz at the 2021 Australian Open.

He became the first from his country to win a match at the Australian Open in Open Era when he defeated Oscar Otte in the first round followed by qualification at the French Open few months later. In 2024, the 5’11’’ star overcame the likes of Laslo Djere, Botic van de Zandschulp and Frances Tiafoe (all higher-ranked players) at the Hong Kong Open in the lead up to AO 2024.