ROLEX SHANGHAI MASTERS

October 4, 2023

Bu Yunchaokete

Press Conference

BU YUNCHAOKETE/M. Kecmanovic

6-7, 6-2, 2-1 [Ret.]

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the press conference of Bu Yunchaokete. We'll start with questions in English, and then we'll move to the native language. One question per time, as usual. Please tell us your name and media outlets before your questions.

First off, congratulations on your first tour-level win and it's in China at Rolex Shanghai Masters. How do you feel now?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: I feel great, but I don't want to celebrate too much because we didn't finish the third set, and when we shook hands, he told me he was sick. So I wish good luck for him, recovery some.

But, yeah, it was a very, very tough two sets, especially the first set. We finished maybe one hour 30 minutes or 20. We start, and then it was raining, we stop again two times and, yeah, it was very tough.

THE MODERATOR: Any other English questions, please?

Questions in Chinese, please.

Q. Could you share with us your feelings of winning today's match? Perhaps you can also repeat your answer of the first question in Chinese.

BU YUNCHAOKETE: First of all, of course I'm very happy to win the match today, but we didn't finish three sets. When we shook hands, the opponent told me that he got a cold, so we didn't finish the third set. I hope that he can recover very soon.

Actually, from the Wimbledon to the US Open in about two months, I've experienced the same thing, catching a cold, having illness, etcetera, so I really hope that he can recover very soon.

Q. Good afternoon. You were very excited at the moment of winning the match. There was also tears. Could you share more feelings?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: Actually, I don't want to say too much, but that was a very special moment for me. I was having a lot of feelings and emotions at that particular moment. When there was tears in my eyes, I told myself that I have to control myself, and I did it. Yes, that's it.

Q. My question is, well, you've had a wonderful year this year, and when you are faced with opponents who are much, much higher in rankings, what was your feeling?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: I didn't think a lot. Just like at the first day when I came, I was asked about whether I am very nervous, etcetera, I can tell you that I enjoy the whole thing. I am not nervous because I know that I have to be 100 percent focused. I have to work very hard to have a chance of winning my opponent.

But on the other hand, I am very self-confident because I think I am playing good tennis. In each and every detail, I can say that I have trust in myself. I am very confident throughout the season this year, yes.

Q. How will you prepare now for the next stage of the competition? What's your strategy going forward?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: You mean next match or what?

Q. Yeah, the next match.

BU YUNCHAOKETE: I heard I go against Sebastian, no? So I don't know, maybe I have a day off tomorrow, so I will thinking about it in tomorrow, I think. Yeah, so that's it.

Q. I noticed that one of the female fans at the court were very visible. I'm sure that you noticed her, and then you were very excited at the moment of winning the match. Did you know the female fan? Anything that you can share with us?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: Are you talking about the lady who called out my name? Yes, I don't know her, but I noticed that she called out my name twice, and then the second time I heard my name being called I was smiling. That was very interesting. I'm grateful for her support.

Q. She's coming from Hangzhou.

BU YUNCHAOKETE: She's coming from Hangzhou? I didn't know about that. I don't know anything about that. I don't know her. There was so many people there. I just heard a lot of noise from that particular direction calling out my name, or maybe she thinks that she's coming from the same hometown from mine?

Q. The first tournament win comes from a 1000 Masters match. This is very special and unique. What's your take on that?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: Well, I think this is my first ATP Tour, and it's a 1000. But I have never been to any 500 or 250. I can only say that I am very happy because in a 1000 Masters tournament, everyone around you is a top player. Many of them are my idols that I watched during my years of growing up, so I am very happy and excited.

Q. I can see many young children coming to the court watching the matches. You're also very young. Are you aware of the fact that you should also show the responsibilities of being a good model for the younger generation?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: I am not sure, but when I watch videos of my previous matches, I can see the change and the difference. Of course I hope for the best of the younger generation. I am very different from other top players in China, such as Zhang Zhizhen or Wu Yibing. So I only want to try my best, but if whatever I do can influence and have some impact on the younger generation, that's terrific.

Q. We've all experienced a lot over the past three years. You've also experienced a lot of growth over the past several years. I wonder whether you've changed your personal objective going forward. Any plans?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: Of course the past three years have been very difficult for all of us, Juncheng, Yibing, and Zhang Zhizhen as well as many other Chinese players. We have all come through the most difficult period.

We can also see that the Chinese male tennis players are doing better. I, of course, hope that we can be much better in the future.

Q. My question is, you came to Shanghai Masters right after the Hangzhou Asian Games. This is a short period of time. How do you adjust yourself physically and mentally to make sure that you are on top of your game?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: Well, we go to different matches and games throughout the year. Everyone has their own way to be physically and mentally well. I not only do singles, but also doubles. I want to thank myself for making preparations for both doubles and singles.

Q. You showed sympathy to your opponent who caught cold just now. Could you tell us more about the difficulties and challenges that tennis players go through?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: Actually, I was not feeling well two days before the Wimbledon tournament. I had a sore throat, didn't sleep well. On the first day of the Wimbledon, I could feel that I had a fever, and after the match, I remember that I stayed in bed for three days. I was tested positive.

After the fever was gone, I went back to training and practice, but then one day after the training, I began to feel very uncomfortable on my joints, my knee joints and finger joints, etcetera, on and off, which forced me to stop all my training and practice.

I began to be very anxious two to three weeks after that because I tried to do some training and practice while treating myself, but then I got anxious, and I decided to focus on treating my illness first.

It was a very difficult period. Also, the test results that I got showed that I had a lot of -- well, many bad signs about my body test results were bad. I had swollen finger joints on and off for about four weeks. I was not in the best condition at that time and, yes, that was the situation.

I don't know. It seems that I was infected by a lot of bacteria, a variety of different bacteria. I am not sure what happened.

Q. I have one more question. We talked about injuries. Yibing retired because of injury, and then you were with him at the Asian Games. You are good friends to each other. Could you talk more about Yibing? Did you talk to each other at the Asian Games?

BU YUNCHAOKETE: Well, when he had injuries, I tried not to ask too much about that. That's basically a mutual respect among players because everyone might have injuries, and they might not want others to know about their injuries; therefore, I try not to ask too much about his injuries, but I know he is feeling uncomfortable, and even if I know that he had injuries, I try not to talk too much about him.