Mochizuki Marches On: Young Gun Emerges Victorious in Thrilling Tour Qualifier Showdown
Shintaro Mochizuki Qualifies for Chengdu Open Main Draw
Shintaro Mochizuki, the second seed, defeated eighth-seeded Lohan Tu (Australia) in a thrilling match, 7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 7-6 (7-1), to qualify for the main draw of the Chengdu Open men’s tennis tournament (China/Chengdu, hard, ATP250) for the first time.
Mochizuki’s Road to Qualification
Mochizuki, 21 years old and ranked 147th in the world, represented Japan in the Davis Cup World Group 1 match between Japan and Colombia (Japan/Tokyo, Ariake Coliseum, hard), which Japan won on the 14th and 15th.
He then traveled to China to compete in this tournament through the qualifiers, where he came back to defeat Charles Chen (China), ranked 1,305th in the world and a wildcard (recommended by the organizers), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round to advance to the qualifying finals.
A Thrilling Qualifying Final
In the qualifying final, Mochizuki faced Lee, ranked 194th in the world. In the first set, they each broke once and the match went into a tiebreak. Mochizuki allowed a mini-break first, but from 2-3 down, he won five points in a row and took the lead.
However, in the second set, Mochizuki made four unforced errors and was unable to maintain his serve, winning only one game and losing all in one set.
In the final set, Mochizuki was broken in the fourth game and was trailing 3-5. However, he managed to break back in the ninth game when Toe was serving for the match, forcing the match into a tiebreak. Mochizuki won the match after three mini-breaks in a fierce battle that lasted 2 hours and 48 minutes.
Next Match
In the first round of the main tournament, Mochizuki will face Y. Hanfmann (Germany), who is ranked 95th in the world.