Li Tu has qualified for his first ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, becoming one of seven Australian men to appear in the main draw of the prestigious Chinese event.
Shanghai, China, 2 October 2024 | Jackson Mansell
Li Tu has achieved many firsts in the last three months.
In July, he reached his first Challenger final. In August, he made his first US Open, and on that same night, he took a set off Carlos Alcaraz.
Yesterday, the world No.193 made it to the main draw of his first ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. The 28-year-old progressed with a 6-2 6-2 win over China’s Xiao Linang in the final round of qualifying.
Tu has been pleased with the milestones he has passed since reaching the Lexington Challenger final. He believes the confidence acquired from each achievement has snowballed, allowing him to flourish on court.
“It’s been a very positive last two or three months. Since making that final of the Challenger in Lexington, I think I’ve played some really good tennis,” Tu said in Shanghai. “I think I’ve just been able to ride the confidence and the momentum of New York at the US Open into these few weeks and hopefully I can keep it going.”
His improvement can be credited to a mental shift and the ideology of leaving everything on the court.
“Mentally I’m really prepared to work and really prepared to compete and just leave it all out there week-by-week, I think that’s probably been the biggest thing,” he said of his sudden rise.
“I think I’ve always had the tools to compete with some of the best players here. But I think something that I’ve improved lately is that mental side of believing in myself a bit more and just knowing that all the one-percenters count, and just really trying to make sure that when I step on the tennis court, I put my absolute best effort out there and play with no regrets.”
Tu is one of seven Australians in the Shanghai Masters main draw, making it another tournament with a strong green-and-gold presence.
> DRAW: Shanghai Masters men’s singles
“I honestly think that having such good camaraderie, seeing how everybody goes about their business and looking at each other and seeing what everybody’s doing, what we can improve ourselves, seeing all the Aussie players do well just instils belief subconsciously,” Tu said.
“There’s 10, 11 [Australian men] in the top 100 now which is really amazing, so looking forward to getting a few more in there.”
World No.90 Aleksandar Vukic is one of those Aussies who will feature in the first round in Shanghai, stamping his ticket with a 6-4 6-4 win over American Mitchell Krueger in the final round of qualifying.
The New South Welshman is ecstatic with his performance amid troublesome conditions.
“I thought I served well and played a really solid match in tricky conditions. It’s gone from really hot and humid to cold and windy. I handled it pretty well today and overall, I’m really happy,” Vukic said.
Vukic will play later today against Frenchman Corentin Moutet, vying for a spot in the second round for the second consecutive year.
The other Aussies featuring in the main draw are Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Rinky Hijikata, Christopher O’Connell and James Duckworth.
