Published: 17:01, January 6, 2025 | Updated: 17:06, January 6, 2025
China's Zhang, Wang fall short at tennis Adelaide International
By Xinhua
Zhang Zhizhen of China hits a return shot to Taylor Fritz of the United States during their United Cup tennis match in Perth, Australia, Jan 1, 2025. (PHOTO / AP)

CANBERRA - China's Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu were knocked out of the first round of the Adelaide International, a warm-up event for the Australian Open, on Monday.

Zhang, the ninth seed at the tournament, was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Canada's Denis Shapovalov in 67 minutes.

The Canadian former world No 10 was dominant on serve, winning 80 percent of his service points.

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Shapovalov hit nine aces in the match and won 31 of 32 first-serve points. Zhang did not have a single opportunity to break serve, while Shapovalov converted two of his five break point chances.

It came after Zhang won one of his three matches at the United Cup in Perth, with a straight-set victory over Brazil's Thiago Monteiro followed by defeats against top-five opponents Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz.

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Earlier on Monday, Wang went down against 16-year-old Australian Emerson Jones 6-4, 6-0.

After both players had their serve broken twice early, scores were level at 4-4 in the first set before Jones won eight straight games.

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Wang, the world No 37, won only 39.6 percent of her service points for the match, compared to 60.9 percent for Jones.

It was the first career win against a top-50 opponent for Jones, who is the top-ranked female junior player in the world.