On July 4th, local time, the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Men’s Singles saw Chinese player Shang Juncheng suffer a come-from-behind defeat against 10th seed and former semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov. Despite taking a two-set lead, Shang lost in five sets with a scoreline of 7-5, 7-6(4), 4-6, 2-6, 4-6, ending his campaign for the round of 32.
Shang Juncheng
Right from the start, Shang played aggressively, earning a break point in Dimitrov’s first service game but failing to convert. Both players held serve until late in the set when Shang secured a crucial break in the 11th game. Saving two break points in his next service game, he clinched the first set 7-5.
In the second set, Shang broke again early on, only to be broken back in the sixth game, leveling the score at 3-3. The set went into a tiebreak, where Shang dominated after a 3-3 deadlock, winning 7-4 to take a two-set lead. Dimitrov regained his form in the third set, breaking in the fifth game to win 6-4 and pull one set back.
As fatigue set in, Shang experienced physical discomfort and took a medical timeout in the fourth set. The rejuvenated Dimitrov capitalized, breaking twice in the third and seventh games to take the set 6-2, equalizing the match at 2-2. In the decisive fifth set, Shang started by losing his serve and lacked the stamina to mount a comeback. Dimitrov maintained his lead, sealing the final set 6-4.
(Written and edited by Fei Wang)