Shang controls proceedings from the outset
Montreal, 2 August 2026 – On the hard courts of IGA Stadium, Shang Juncheng delivered an authoritative performance at the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open. The Chinese player, who entered the tournament on a Protected Ranking following an injury-ravaged 2025 season, defeated Adolfo Daniel Vallejo Álvarez in convincing fashion in the opening round, 6:3, 6:3. It was the first official meeting between the two players on the ATP Tour — and Shang made it an entirely one-sided affair.
The left-hander from Beijing dominated from the very first game. His serve was a clear weapon throughout: he won 79 per cent of service points overall, and when his first serve landed — at a 64 per cent clip — he took a remarkable 81 per cent of those points. He held serve in 89 per cent of his service games and did not face a single break point all match. That statistic alone speaks volumes about his dominance on serve.
Vallejo fights back, but Shang's return game proves decisive
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo Álvarez, the number one player in Paraguayan tennis and only the third player from his country ever to break into the world's top 100, did his best to stay competitive. The 22-year-old from Asunción, who had climbed to a career-high ranking of 70 in May 2026, fired four aces and compiled 15 winners. But 38 unforced errors — compared to just 24 from Shang — told the real story of the day.
The decisive factor was Shang's return game: the Chinese player won 44 per cent of return games, while Vallejo managed to break serve in just 11 per cent of his opponent's service games. Shang converted 57 per cent of his break points — Vallejo boasted a perfect conversion rate of his own, but barely got to use it. When the dust settled, Shang had claimed 58 per cent of all points played.
Comeback on track: Shang announces his return
For Shang Juncheng, whose career-high ranking of 47 came in October 2024, this victory means far more than a routine opening-round win. After an injury-plagued 2025 and a defeat against Kei Nishikori in Washington just days earlier, the now 21-year-old is sending a clear signal: he is back. Coach Martín Alund, with whom Shang works at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, will have been pleased with a display of such focus and control.
Vallejo, for his part, must move on quickly. The Paraguayan, coached by Andrés Schneiter, had already celebrated a Masters 1000 win against Grigor Dimitrov in Madrid — becoming only the second Paraguayan in history to achieve the feat — and remains one of the most compelling development stories on tour. In Montreal on this occasion, however, there was simply no answer to a Shang Juncheng firing on all cylinders.
