Shang Juncheng began his season in the best possible fashion. Then 17, the Chinese #NextGenATP star qualified for his first major at the Australian Open and then won a match in the main draw. The dynamic lefty was charging up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings like a freight train.
But in the weeks following the tournament, the Shang train came to a screeching halt. The teen suffered from mononucleosis.
“You're doing something you love every day, and all of a sudden, you don't get to do it. I think that's not the best feeling for three or four months,” Shang, who is competing this week in the Mubadala Citi DC Open, told ATPTour.com. “But I got through it, I pushed myself, my team and [those] around me helped me, and we got through that. Now we're here, back on Tour again.”
After his big breakthrough in Melbourne, Shang won just one match at any level until Roland Garros. From the second week in April until the clay-court major, he did not compete at all, leaving him plenty of downtime in Florida as he recovered.
“Most of the time, [I was] very bored. I was on TV watching those guys compete. It was fun. I learned a lot of stuff,” Shang said. “Mostly, I was going to the golf course almost every day. That's probably one of the best moments to play golf, in the time off.”
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Above all, Shang missed tennis. The competitive fire to return to action burned within. Veteran coach Dante Bottini, who has worked with stars including Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov, began mentoring Shang last offseason. According to the Argentine, he has quickly learned how much the teen loves the sport
“He cannot stay still. I tell him many times, ‘Okay, take some days off, don't do anything.’ He still goes and plays golf or hits some balls with his dad or mom,” Bottini said. “He loves tennis, you can tell he loves tennis. He follows the scores, follows the players. And obviously, he loves to play. That's why he was eager to come back pretty soon after his sickness.”
Shang was flying higher than ever in January. Despite the mono roadblock, his mindset never faltered. He made the most of his time at home by working with his team to best prepare for when he would return to the ATP Tour.
“After Australia, I was playing very good, playing very confident on the court. I know what I'm capable of doing on the court,” Shang said. “So in the time off, there was never a doubt that I would play like that again.”
A big win for Shang both mentally and physically was being able to return for Roland Garros, where he qualified for the main draw. He led Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas two sets to love. Although the lefty let slip his advantage, his level was clearly there.
Shang won seven times in a nine-match stretch ahead of Wimbledon at grass-court ATP Challenger Tour events, before losing a tight qualifying match at The Championships to World No. 80 Matteo Arnaldi.
He then advanced to the semi-finals of a Challenger in Chicago, losing to red-hot American Alex Michelsen in three sets. Last week, Shang upset Ben Shelton in his first ATP 250 main draw, at the Atlanta Open, before falling to former World No. 4 Nishikori, with whom he has trained in Bradenton.
“I played Ben in the first round. We were basically playing juniors together since we were 12 years old, 13 years old, so that was a good match. Ben is an amazing person and obviously amazing player,” Shang said. “Not to mention playing, Kei Nishikori in the second round of my first [ATP] 250 event was unreal. And Kei has taught me so much stuff in practice as well. He's an amazing person. So I'm just happy that he's back on tour again, and I got to play him.”
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Bottini added of Shang’s recent success: “We haven't had that much time to practise and to do fitness, which I would like to do. But it's a good problem to have. That means that he's winning matches, so let's keep going.”
Shang is thankful to be competing at some of the world’s biggest tournaments. This week, he has won three matches in as many days to qualify for the Washington ATP 500 and then make the second round of the main draw, setting a rematch with Shelton.
“It's always good to stay healthy and play tournaments. Not to mention these 250s, 500s, they're very good tournaments, as well. [I am] also very excited to play my first US Open in the pros,” Shang said. “And obviously, [later this year], the most exciting part is I get to play in China in front of a home crowd again.”
For now, at a career-high World No. 149, Shang is focussed on staying in the present and taking it all in, from his efforts on the court to the process of trying to improve off it.
“I think he's soaking it all in, all the information that I give him and some of the stories, moments that I went through with these players on certain occasions,” Bottini said. “I think he's excited, I can tell when I tell him some stories, he opens his eyes and is eager to listen. It's fun and hopefully one day we can tell our own stories.”
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