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Summary Zhang Ze recently became the highest ranked male player in Chinese tennis history, currently at 165.
Chinese wildcard Zhang Zes fairytale run at the China Open came to an end on Friday when he suffered a straight-sets defeat to Germanys Florian Mayer in the China Open quarter-finals.The 22-year-old, ranked 165th in the world, made history in the last 16 when he became the first Chinese man ever to beat a top 20 player, dumping out Frances Richard Gasquet.His defeat of the Frenchman, ranked 14th, also meant Zhang was the first mens player from China to reach the quarter-final of an ATP event since Pan Bing made the semi-finals in Seoul in 1995.But matching Pans 17-year-old mark proved a step too far for Zhang, with world number 29 Mayer winning 6-3, 6-4.The six foot two inches (188 cm) right-hander from Nanjing has enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings this year.Recently he became the highest ranked mens player in Chinese tennis history, moving from 292nd at the start of the year to 165th currently. Pans highest ranking was 176.
