Former US Open champion Marin Cilic became the lowest-ranked player to win an ATP Tour title with an emotional victory at the Hangzhou Open.
Croatia's Cilic, who started the tournament at 777th in the world, has spent the majority of the past two seasons out with a knee injury which required multiple surgeries.
Given a wildcard to play in Hangzhou, the former world number three had not won an ATP Tour match in 22 months before this week.
On Tuesday, just four days before his 36th birthday, he beat home favourite Zhang Zhizhen 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) to lift the title.
Teenager Jerry Shang Juncheng beat Italy’s Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti 7-6, 6-1, in the Chengdu Open final on Tuesday to become only the second Chinese player to win an ATP title.
It is the first ATP Tour title for Shang, who is currently China’s No 2 and ranked 55 in the world. The former Juniors number one is also the youngest ATP winner of the season at 19 years old.
Li Na remains China’s most successful singles player with grand slam wins at the French Open in 2011 and the Australian Open in 2014, while there are several women hoping to emulate her, including Paris Olympics gold medallist Zheng Qinwen.
But success on the men’s side has largely eluded the nation, and Wu Yibing became the first Chinese player to capture an ATP trophy when he won the Dallas Open last year.
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Негізгі бет ATP Weekly: Cilic makes history · Shang arrives · Alcaraz inspires Europe to Laver Cup win
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