ROLEX SHANGHAI MASTERS

October 3, 2023

Shang Juncheng

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the press conference of Shang Juncheng. As usual, we'll do the English questions first. One question per time. If we have time, we'll come back to you for a second one. Before questions, please tell us your media outlets and names.

Jerry, welcome to Shanghai. First Masters 1000 in China. How do you feel about your preparations so far?

SHANG JUNCHENG: Yeah, I mean, good preparation, great weather, good courts, and everything has been comfortable for me, I would say. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to this one.

THE MODERATOR: English questions first.

Q. Hello, Jerry. I was just wondering if you could talk about your memories of this event growing up. I know you idolized Roger and Novak and Rafa. Did you come and watch those players?

SHANG JUNCHENG: Unfortunately, I've never came on site to watch live, but obviously, I've been following every year, ever since I started playing tennis. Amazing event. The crowd is amazing. Yeah, I mean, everything about this tournament is unique, and especially, it's in China and it's in Shanghai. Just super excited to be here, and hopefully, I can play some good tennis.

Q. Congratulations. You've had an amazing year. Obviously, the fans are going to love watching you compete. I was just wondering if you could comment on how you feel about that fan support.

SHANG JUNCHENG: Yeah, I mean, the fans in China are great. It's actually my first China swing for me. A little bit nervous in the beginning, in the beginning starts, but obviously, it's great support and more of a push for me to keep going forward, other than some negative pressure. So I'm glad that they can support me during the matches, also off the court.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Questions in Chinese.

Q. You came back to China for the matches from challenger to 250 and now to 1000. Could you summarize for us your feelings?

SHANG JUNCHENG: Over the past matches, I have accumulated a lot of experience. I've been lucky to play tennis with some of the top players. My feeling is I think I am playing good tennis because this is the first time I came back to China to play. These are the pressure of the home court, which is brand-new for me, so it's very good experience for me. I also learned how to welcome and embrace the stress.

Q. At China Open you were defeated, and they said that you had problems of having cramps in your legs, so you tried to figure out what to do. Any plans how to face the Shanghai Masters?

SHANG JUNCHENG: I've discussed a lot with my team for this issue. We found a few reasons, but it takes time for us to find the solution to get used to the climate, for example, as well as my pace playing games. I need to do a better job in my daily routine as well as diet, etcetera, because sometimes I'm not sure what's happening, but I'm trying to find the root cause. We've identified some of the issues, and we've had solutions, and hopefully, it's successful.

Q. I wonder whether you've paid attention to the finals of the Asian Games? Because your opponent was playing with Zhang Zhizhen at the Asian Games.

SHANG JUNCHENG: I only saw the score as well as the ball of the match point. If I met Zhang Zhizhen, I will discuss the tactics with him. I think we are totally different players, and then our age and then the height, very different. So Zhang Zhizhen's feeling may be very different from what I would feel. I've played with this opponent twice this year; one win and one loss. I think we both know each other's games, and I will discuss with my coach how to deal with him.

Q. You said that you felt the pressure and the stress of playing at the home court. I want to know, where does the stress come from? Is it because you have very high expectations on you or you felt the expectations from the outside world? Because you're still beyond the world's top 100 in the ATP rankings.

SHANG JUNCHENG: I think the answer is both. Sometimes I do have very high expectations of myself. I discussed with my parents, for key issues, definitely I'll stick to the main principles, but then on the other hand, I shall try to enjoy each game rather than focusing too much on the result, starting from my daily practice and then I try to relax and just face each and every match.

Q. I heard that your grandparents also come to Shanghai this time. So your family is with you now. How different is that?

SHANG JUNCHENG: Yes, my grandparents are here. After the Shanghai challenger, my grandmother took the train to be with me for a day. We had lunch together. For my grandfather, I haven't met him for many years because I haven't seen them since the beginning of the pandemic. I am very happy that they can come to Shanghai. They also came to watch me practice.

I don't think too much when my family is watching me play because I think I'm used to focusing on playing the game. I hope that my grandparents will continue to watch my game and support me.