Zhang Zhizhen: I never thought I could win a Challenger

• Tennis News
• Davis Cup

Taking on Korea Republic in the Davis Cup Group 1 tie, China’s Zhang Zhizhen comes in with tons of confidence following a win at Challenger Event in Jinan, China. “I was surprised. Before the tournament I never thought I would be the last one left at the end,” said Zhang.

“But you play and play and play and you make the final and you think ‘maybe I can be the last one.’ And I was”. Speaking about his Challenger win, he said, “It’s not been a little confidence boost, it’s been a lot,” Zhang said.

“I never thought I could win a Challenger, or that I would win one now. You have a lot of doubts when you are just starting out but now I hope I can do bigger things”. Spearheading the Chinese challenge, Zhang said he is up to the task.

“I’ve only played Davis Cup once [in 2017]. I have always wanted more and it is good to be back”. The other singles player - Li Zhe was also looking forward to the tie, saying, “That is in the past now and I am happy to be here again.

We gained a lot of experience playing Japan. We came close and it was very tough. But here things are very good. Chinese players like to play indoors”. Korean captain Chung Hee-sung showed full faith in his young team, “We have a lot of young players in Korea and they are doing really well. Kwon is one who is playing really well”.