Bu, the surprise guest in Beijing!
His name is surprising.
In an ATP 500 tournament in Beijing with an extraordinary line-up, seeing Bu Yunchaokete, ranked 96th in the world and invited by the organizers, reach the semi-finals is quite astonishing.
At 22, the Chinese player is in Olympic form. Already a semi-finalist in Hangzhou, his tournament was simply outstanding.
After a fine victory over Shang in the first round, he has just followed up with wins over Lorenzo Musetti and Andrey Rublev, both in straight sets.
Against Andrey Rublev on Monday, he produced the perfect match. Uncompromising on his serve and bluffingly resilient in the exchange, he blew away a Russian who was still mentally unstable (7-5, 6-4).
For a place in the final of his tournament, he will face world number 1 Jannik Sinner.