Jerry Shang Shocks Ex-Top 10 Player at Australian Open

China’s Jerry Shang Juncheng opened his Australian Open campaign with a four-set win over former top-10 player Roberto Bautista-Agut on Monday. The 20-year-old hit 63 winners in a 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, 6-0 victory in two hours and 52 minutes. Meanwhile, packed crowds and long queues turned out to see Alexandra Eala, but the Philippines trailblazer was unable to deliver for her adoring fans in a first-round defeat to the United States’ Alycia Parks. Shang, a former world No 47, reached the third round at the Australian Open and US Open in 2024, but struggled to regain his best form last year as he battled a foot injury. At the Bank of China Hong Kong Open earlier this month, he lost in the quarter-final to Kazakh eventual champion Alexander Bublik while suffering a throat infection – a year after illness forced his withdrawal from a semi-final against Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Backed by a strong Chinese contingent in the crowd, Shang started aggressively and struck 14 winners to take the opening set.