Jannik Sinner was facing a local player in the 2024 China Open semi-final and was pleasantly surprised that the crowd was equally cheering for both players.
Bu Yunchaokete is a rising player from China who spent much of this year grinding on the ATP Challenger Tour. It was a wonderful decision for his career because he improved massively, playing lots of tennis and gaining a great deal of confidence as well.
That was evident this week at the China Open as he reached the semi-finals. It’s the best run he’s ever had on the ATP Tour, especially since this event is an ATP 500 tournament, which is quite significant.
He faced reigning World No. 1, Jannik Sinner, in the semi-final, and it was a competitive match. The Chinese player likely outperformed expectations, but battling the Italian the way he did was quite impressive.
What impressed Sinner, besides Bu’s performance, was how fair the crowd was. He expected most of them to heavily back their player, which would have made sense given that the match was held in China.
The Italian was surprised to see the crowd equally supporting both players, but there are reasons for that. Sinner is a big name, the reigning World No. 1, and that naturally draws support.
Legends like Roger Federer always had fans backing them, even when playing against local favorites. Additionally, Chinese fans have generally been model spectators over the years.
"Yeah, I was actually quite surprised how fair the crowd was. It was a very fair crowd. It was a great atmosphere. Was a packed stadium. It was a pleasure to play there, to be honest, to be part of the match. I felt like the match, it was going to get very tight in the second set. That's exactly what people wanted to see."
"They want to see a great match. I always feel like, especially night sessions, you always have to feel that you are honored to step on the court because they're special occasions, doesn't matter where you are and where you play. Obviously, when you play against a player where he is from that country where you're playing in, it's a little bit different. It has been a very fair, fair crowd."
The final match at the event will be a showdown between Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, and that’s a special match. The stands will certainly be packed, and it will be interesting to see whether the crowd favors one player over the other.
Alcaraz is generally regarded as a fan favorite. Sinner doesn’t command the same level of global fan support, but perhaps he’s won over the Beijing crowd with his play this week.
The final itself should feature some of the best tennis fans have seen throughout the event, making it a delight to watch. The two protagonists had some spectacular battles in the past, and this upcoming one might just be another memorable contest. The crowd and the fans certainly won't mind it.
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