Chinese tennis player Zhang Zhizhen hits a return to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia at the French Open on May 29, 2023 in Paris, France. Photo: IC

Tennis star Zhang Zhizhen continued his history-making run at the clay court competitions as he advanced to the second round of the French Open on Monday. 

The 26-year-old became the first from China to win a main-draw match at Roland Garros, after his Serbian opponent Dusan Lajovic retired due to illness when trailing 6-1, 4-1.

"It came as a surprise… I didn't envision my first Grand Slam main-draw win to be like this," Zhang said after the match, referring his opponent's choice to pull out of the match. "I'm sorry he was not well."

At the Grand Slam competitions, men's matches are played in best-of-five sets. Previously Zhang lost in five sets in each of his three major main-draw appearances, including being edged out in a fifth-set tiebreaker at the Australian Open earlier in 2023.

"Playing in five sets is totally different from other competitions," Zhang, currently ranked world No.71, told the Global Times. His recent ATP Masters 1000 breakthroughs were played in three sets. 

"My goal is always to win, but I need to take matches one at a time." 

His compatriots, 18-year-old Shang Juncheng and 23-year-old Wu Yibing, were eliminated in the first round. However, Zhang, the oldest of the trio, has a chance to go even further when he takes on Argentine qualifier Thiago Agustin ­Tirante, currently ranked world No.153, for a place in the third round. 

Zhang has previously stated that clay court is his least favorite, but his recent achievements on clay court show that he is a strong competitor. 

"It's surprising but amazing that my recent achievements were made on clay courts," Zhang told the Global Times, before crediting his new K-Swiss equipment for enabling him to perform with strengthened baseline skills.

The Shanghai native had never made a main-draw appearance at the French Open until 2023. Prior to his achievement at Roland Garros, Zhang became the first Chinese mainland player to reach the quarterfinals at an ATP Masters 1000 event - at the Madrid Masters earlier in May.

As a right-hand powerful hitter, Zhang became the first Chinese mainland player to crack the top 100 in the ATP's world rankings in October 2022. He has set his sights on climbing into the top 50 in the ATP rankings this year. His win in the first round at the French Open allows him to climb to 58th place, just one place behind fellow player Wu. A win against Tirante will make Zhang the leading men's singles player in the Chinese Tennis Association.